The Bottomleys’ Trip to Alsace: Bergheim, Tuesday October 7

Another day in the local villages. First we wandered around Hunawihr, a small place deeply engaged in wine making activities. You could hear the whir of rotating machinery at the various processing facilities and see lots of trucks, trailers, and other implements all over everywhere. We’ll start with a few pictures that are representative of the ambiance of the place, and then move on.

A view down into a school yard. We love the gate!

A view away from the walled town from the churchyard. We watched massive flocks of birds scanning the entire area, seemingly looking for a vineyard that hadn’t yet been picked. Occasionally they would send a scout down to check things out more carefully.

Vineyards, mountains, and castles (châteaux in French). Ruins of course.
One secret to understanding French vocabulary: both the circumflex and the acute accent are often symbolic of an S that used to exist after the vowel, long ago. Put the S back in and the English word might become recognizable.

Then to the big treat of the day, the butterfly farm (Jardins des Papillons) on the way back from Hunawihr to Ribeauvillé.

First we saw a short video about the butterflies’ life cycle, and then we went into the large, enclosed, climate controlled area, filled with beautiful flowers, where the butterflies had total freedom to fly all over the place.

One thing we learned very early is that most butterflies are nocturnal. So we have no idea how many might have been hidden away for their day-long naps, but there were still lots to be seen. Most had settled in on their favorite type of flower, and some were feasting on some fruit that had been put out for them.

This large blue variety almost seemed like the roaming security force. They wore the right color uniforms, and they spent most of their time flying around in groups of three or four, stopping to check out the action as they made their rounds but rarely settling in. We saw lots of their human counterparts in various public locations in Paris, some quite heavily armed.

On closer inspection, we did learn that the blue ones were especially fond of the fruit put out for them, thin blackish bananas. They looked at first glance like sliced sausages. Perhaps we’ve spent too much time in Alsace? You had to look carefully to identify these butterflies while they were eating, as they tended to fold up their wings and reveal the underside’s mottled brown camouflage pattern. This must serve as great protection against those who would like to attack them while they’re having their meal. Some other varieties were also like that, while others were identical on both sides.

Here’s a montage of some of the many varieties of orchids and butterflies we encountered.

To add to the interest of the place, they also had a couple of chameleons from Madagascar who just loved to perform for the crowds, and another terrariums featuring little brightly colored poisonous frogs from Surinam and Brazil. These are the species that the locals would smear onto their arrowheads to make them especially lethal. According to the signs, the frogs aren’t inherently poisonous, but they eat insects that deposit the poisonous (to others) substances in their bodies. Nature sure works in mysterious ways.

Here’s one of the chameleons. They tended to nap a lot, but when they detected an audience they would put on a show. This fellow is demonstrating how he can climb up the inside of his enclosure with only one foot holding on to the frame and the other three on shiny glass. Their two-part feet make them especially agile. Note his independent eyeballs, each capable of at least 180 degree rotation in all directions.

We saw one woman (not the one shown below!) so enthralled by the chameleon that she got right up to the glass and kissed it.

OK, chameleons, prepare to be drawn!

Drawing chameleons, with butterflies as a distraction

Here we are!

Then we moved on to Ribeauvillé, scene of the Untour orientation lunch last Thursday. In our characterization of the various towns and villages in the area, Ribeauvillé could be described as both touristy and normal. You can buy all the usual tourist things, but there are also places selling the regular supplies of daily living which seemed to be missing or at least well hidden in the purely touristy places. There’s even a hypermarket, relatively small compared to many we’ve encountered elsewhere, but by local standards a large, one-stop place that sells pretty much everything. Walmart light.

Before we even got into the town from the parking lot, we passed this strange structure. We had seen something similar in Bergheim, but with no explanatory sign. Here in Ribeauvillé it was also a mystery till we moved on a bit farther and encountered this very complete illustration. It’s an insect hotel, with accommodations matched to the specific needs of each variety of the beneficial insects.

Since the sign identifies the value of the various species, either as pollinators or as eaters of parasites, and their preferred mode of habitat, we assumed that this display was intended as much as informational for the local agricultural people as it was entertaining for the tourists.

The description at the top center tells of the prowess of the Guêpe (wasp), which in a lifetime of just a few weeks can consume over 2000 harmful insect pests.