FOREST HOLIDAYS "DISCONNECTION" STAY

This house sits on the edge of a forest on the side of the hill above the small town. It feels very private and remote, the hamlet is very spread out. It's about 45 min from Ballon d'Alsace, so there is plenty of great hiking in all directions, and also towns and other places to reach from there. The town is just a few minutes' drive which has bakeries, pharmacies, post office, supermarket etc. The house was clean, the rooms are a little small but fine. The kitchen is quite small but also fine and very well equipped. The bathroom is quite dated.There is a nice porch area where you can sit and eat when it's nice weather and also when it's raining. All in all we really enjoyed our stay there, if being secluded and in peaceful surroundings is important for you then I can recommend it.

We stayed only for 4 days, as a dessert of our summer holiday in France. I estimate that the cottage was built for recreational purposes in the late seventies, and decorated with out of fashion furniture from family homes, dated a decade before. Being a fan of this epoch, we felt welcomed in this home museum. You find a mix of sturdy original materials like aluminium window frames, blinds that were really hip in those days, or a Danish sixties design cupboard. But you will also have to reckon that some aspects have become outdated, like the paper thin chalk interior walls, the small and awkward bath room, and crammed kitchen, which is located luckily at the best side of the house, right before the window from where you can see the field with the apple trees surrounded by a forest. There's more outside to discover in the wide garden, a nostalgic caravan at the side of an emptied pool, blackberry bushes, lots of bird species and an occasional visit of a small deer. And if you go further, you will find marvellous woods to wander, or on a 45 minutes walk, the Notre-Dame du Haut Chappelle of Le Corbusier, that is hyped tremendously in this old miner region which is not spoilt with an overload of cultural heritage. Still, we like it that way: enough to see and do, and without many tourist that absorb the authentic environment. Back in the house you will find all the comforts that you nowadays accept for granted, like a washing machine, dishwasher, a big and modern refrigerator, a microwave, a fine conventional oven, and many, many kitchen utilities. A little too much perhaps, because it is not easy to find a free place to chop and prepare your food between all this modern stuff. The same accounts for the rest of the rooms. There is much redundant: two big tables, two big cupboards, two sets of cutlery and table ware. The house would benefit to lose some weight, but what could stay and what would have to go? Not only for sentimental reasons, but many items also has some historic value, and some pieces are priceless like the unique seventies squared stained glasses. So we would be fine if it stays just the way it is now. For us it was an experience as if we were living in a time capsule of 40 years ago, and felt privileged that the owners allowed us in a part of their lives. We really enjoyed it, and for the record: the house was very clean when we arrived, so I assume the experience of the other guest was indeed caused by an error in de communication