InTouch Travel

Vivianne is married to an anesthesiologist who also serves as mayor of Rosheim, a small town near Strasbourg which has been home to his family for several generations. They have three sons, two who live and study architecture in Paris and one at home.

"What I like most about my life here is the extraordinary variety of things I do. From everyday village life, where I'm known as an active 'first lady' involved in various aspects of civic life, to my professional activities of guide in the cities, countryside, museums, castles or convents."

"One of my special interest expertise fields though is Jewish heritage in Alsace. Though I am not Jewish I am the primary English speaking guide for this field in Alsace."

"I remain fascinated by the dual culture of this land which has been German and French at different periods of its history and how the people have adapted and evolved into the modern day Europe and its new institutions."

Alsace ... Up Close with Vivianne Beller

The Alsace Wine Road

I'll pick up you up in Obernai (or Strasbourg), have a look around and then bring you to Rosheim for coffee at home or local tea shop. Visit the Romanesque church and the small museum of medieval life, then go to Boersch to visit with my friend the great artist Jean-Charles Spindler and his gallery. Then we'd head up to Mt. Saint Odile to get a look at the view, the pagan wall in the forest and the convent with its mural paintings of the 12C manuscript written there. Lunch there or in Mittlebergheim and then head down the wine road's charming villages with a stop in Kaysersberg or Eguisheim or Bergheim dependingÖthen a stop in Hunawihr for a wine tasting at Sipp-Mack winery before heading back to Obernai for dinner.

Cultural Alsace

After a look at Obernai and coffee in Rosheim we could head to Strasbourg; or visit instead Colmar and the Unterlinden museum and perhaps Selestat's Humanist library. In Strasbourg we visit the cathedral, see the astronomical clock, lunch in the students' quarters (or more chic if preferred) and do a walking tour to the Petite France and eventually the Alsatian Museum or one of the others before getting back into the car to head out to have a look at the European institutions before heading home. On warmer evenings, it's also nice to take a boat tour around Strasbourg, ending with supper at a restaurant overlooking the canals.

Jewish Alsace

Start with the town of Obernai which has a long history of Judaism and can be witnessed through a tour of the town and visit to the synagogue. Then head out to Bouxwiller to visit the wonderful judeo-Alsatian museum housed in the old synagogue and then walk around the town to see the different vestiges of the community there. Then we go to the tiny town of Pfaffenhoffen to see the synagogue dating from the French revolution times and the community center built with it. Depending on the time we have we could make a stop in one or another synagogue and also the Jewish cemetery in Rosenwiller.

"Vivianne is a great asset to your program, she is informative, friendly and very helpful"

— Barbara Kindelan

"She was very helpful for answers to questions and special requests, excellent"

— Don & Kate Goetman

"The villages are all so wonderful and the surrounding area so beautiful, the sights, the smells, and the people are charming and Vivianne was outstanding in every aspect."

— Jeanne & Chuck Mettam

"Vivianne is very knowledgeable, her expertise and sunny disposition made our discovery of the region most pleasant."

— Tom & Janice Montgomery