March 13: cemeteries

A view of the Doller Valley

Streams provide good trout fishing

Yup. We went cemetery hopping

Visiting the valley!   The Doller valley, prior to this trip, I (and my relatives) referred to the place as the "Masevaux Valley". WRONG!  We learned that Masevaux is the name of a village located in the Doller Valley.

About the Doller!   The Doller valley is a protected, natural area that is peaceful and beautiful. It offers delightful landscapes in every season. There are babbling brooks, streams, springs, and lakes. People come to the valley to use the walking and bicycling paths. Something that Les and I should have done is, stay at a "Ferme-auberge" (farm house-inn). They are reportedly wonderful places to stay overnight and in the morning, dine on a breakfast made from the foods grown on the farm.

Only a few Studer headstones

Behra, is part of Studer heritage

Relais du Ballon d'Alsace

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We drove from village to village looking for cemetery's with the Studer name. When we found some, we took photos. We were hoping to find the grave stone of Sebastian Studer but had no luck. Perhaps he never had a gravestone. Or perhaps it was worn away by time. (Sebastian died 1841). Starting at the mouth of the valley (driving on road RD466) the village and town names list as follows: Masevaux, Niederbruck, Sickert, Kirchberg, Wegscheid, Oberbruck, Rimbach (tucked away in a canyon), Dolleren, and lastly, Sewen.

Anybody Here?!   Some strange things happened to us while staying at the Relais du Ballon. Our first evening and following day, we shared the hotel with rescue teams who were practicing their techniques and skills (in the halls). The following evening we returned to the hotel and discovered that the teams were gone, the lights were off, the doors were locked. We were relieved to discover that our room key unlocked the front door. How odd, Les and I were the only customers in the 47 room hotel. The owners/management had gone home. (they lived at the very Back of the building). Our last morning, we had tremendous difficulty finding someone to help us check-out. After rousing a body, we discovered the fellow did not know how to use the credit card system. Les somehow communicated we would come back with cash. The fellow seemed to understand and we proceeded to our appointment at the Masevaux Archives. Later in the afternoon we returned with cash and a note of explaination written in French. With determination, Les tracked down the owners and handed them the cash and note.