Necropolis
This is what they called a large cemetary. Set on a rise above the vineyards, this large military cemetary commemorated the battle for Alsace. Almost all of the graves were dated from the end of '44 and the beginning of '45. We were attracted to go up there because of the large French flag that could be seen from far off. There were fairly few flags in the area. We asked about an Alsace flag to put on the bike, but everyone said we would not find one. In this historically contested area, with its own regional culture and language, you do not play lightly with nationalist or regional symbols.
The cemetery had a separate section for Muslim soldiers. There were some Jews mixed in with the Christians. There was a monument to Americans, but no American graves. They must have been somewhere else. We saw almost no one else up there. The view was beautiful.
Keysersberg and tower
Keysersberg was another very pretty little town we got to after climbing up to the cemetery. Like many villages, it had a medieval castle behind it. We looked around the town, had lunch while it rained and then climbed up to the tower. This one had signs saying "Private Property - no entrance" but there was a well worn path to it with a steady light stream of people going up. The tower had been beautifully restored with a spiral staircase.