Bon jour, welcome to Gersheim. Was that French? Spoken in Germnay? Yeah, well, if you lived right on the French border — you’d be parlez vous Francais-ing yourself. Such as the case of the town of Gersheim in the Saarland. ;-)
The partnership between France and Germany in Gersheim (and Germany as a whole, actually) extends beyond just some geo-polticial map. There is the European Culture Park Bliesbruck-Reinheim.
Oh wait ’til you see this. One-hundred acres of Celtic tombs (one of a Queen, no less) and Roman ruins including villas. Extraordinary to say the least.
Which is what you could say about the Museum für dörfliche Alltagskultur (Museum of Rural Culture), where they have tens of thousands of items on display at the old farmhouse. Which you can see, so long as its the third Sunday of the month.
Got a little time on your hands? Call ahead to the Eiskeller or Ice Cellar, where they’ll give you a guided tour of this underground area that was used as far back as Roman times. Today it’s a winter roosting site for bats, so visits are only available from May to August.
Funny, that’s a wonderful time to visit Gersheim’s Grillhütten, or grill huts. Ahh, a picnic never tasted so wonderful surrounded by the German and French countryside.
Afterwards a walk around the Orchid Area is a splendid idea; and where you can learn all about the 25,000 known species of the plant. Too bad not all of them are found here, but a lesson in other flora and fauna is found at the Spohns Haus — dedicated to all sorts of organic biodiversity.
What the heck does that even mean? In my world it means come see St. Mark’s Church, which has been around since 800 A.D. And the St. Martin Church, built in 1350.
Before you say anything — I know that’s not what it really means, I was just being funny. Trying to, anyway ;-)
Bad jokes aside, I really think you’ll like the cycling and hiking trails through the Saarland. Don’t go too far, otherwise you’ll find yourself in Zweibrücken (some 20km away). And you wouldn’t want to miss out on all the festivities at Corpus Christi, the Theater Weeks in the beginning part of the year, and the Trofeo Karlsberg — a six event bicycle race for youths.
And it doesn’t matter what language you cheer in for your favorites. Uhhhh, Go Germany! ;-)