Flammkuchen in France

We have become fans of flammkuchen (flam-coo-kin), which is the French version of pizza, made from a very thin rectangular bread crust, creme fraiche, onions, and pieces of bacon.  We have eaten it several times here, but our friends suggested we head to France to try it in its original form, where it is called a tarte flambee. So, off we went on Saturday to Lauterbourg, a small French village just across the Rhine from Karlsruhe. After 3 trams and one short train ride (and 90"), we finally ended up at the small train station in Lauterbourg. It was a lovely day and we walked up the hill from the station to the center of town. We really had a pleasant day exploring the town and enjoyed our tarte flambee, which is even better than a flammkuchen.

A typical house in Lauterbourg.

The town square. Just up the street to the right were several patisseries. We bought some fabulous eclairs to take home with us. 

A new church, circa 1750s.

More lovely houses in town.

We had lunch here at Chez Gilbert, Restaurant a la Charrue. 

The restaurant interior, which was small but lovely. We were the only Americans there. 

Tarte flambee and a glass of bordeaux for lunch. Yummy! Apparently, tarte flambee was originally used to test the temperature of the bread oven. If the temperature was correct, the flambee was cooked in 2-3 minutes, in which case, the oven was hot enough to bake the bread.   

I expect my bordeaux at lunch did not come from these casks; but, I thought they were an interesting artifact. 

More typical houses in Lauterbourg. Although the town did not have any spectacular castles or historic buildings, it was charming nonetheless. Tidbit: in Germany, you push a button on the top of the tank to flush the commode; in France, you pull the knob up...all part of the adventure learning to live in a different country. :)

Here is the town gate, built as part of the fortifications of the old town in the 1600s. You can see the original wall to the right.