Notes from the host
Hunting Lodge the East Wing
DESCRIPTION OF THE HUNTING LODGE, THE EAST WING, IN VILLERS - EN - ARGONNE, CHAMPAGNE
EQUIPMENT The semi-detached lodge (there is also a West Wing), with 3 hectares garden and orchard, and exclusive access to private swimming pool is luxuriously restored, with antique furniture, original engravings, paintings , furnished and equipped with all the modern accessories (WiFi, TV with CD & DVD players and satellite dish with almost all German, and the most important English & American TV stations). Garden furniture, games, table tennis, 8 bicycles (for children (3-18 year) + 4 for adults, and BBQ grills are available. The lodge is surrounded by well kept wooded gardens and a not impenetrable fence. The rentable East Wing, with three bedrooms has a large living room with open fireplace (38 m²) and an open kitchen (4m2) with 4 electric hobs (induction), pressure cooker, microwave and oven, dishwasher and bar. Furthermore, in the kitchen annexe/laundry room, a drying and a washing machine, 2 refrigerators, (one freezer and one, very great, for cooling). Two separate toilets and two bathrooms, each with double washing sinks, shower (downstairs) and bath (upstairs).
MORE INFORMATION ON THE HUNTING LODGE, THE EAST WING, IN VILLERS - EN - ARGONNE, CHAMPAGNE
BIRD WATCHING: Many possibilities at the estate itself and the near beyond, but the Lac du Der is from October to March a massive meeting place for a variety of bird species (cranes, ducks, herons, geese, eagles and many other species.
CHAMPAGNE TOURS / VISITS / WINE TASTING. Villers is 45 minutes away from Reims, the city's cathedral, where the kings of France have been burried, the city of Jeanne d'Arc, and of the champagne wine cellars! The wine grapes harvesting start from mid-August, onward: the best time for visits to Champagne cellars and the vineyards around Epernay., or closer by at Bassuet.
ADELBERT VON CHAMISSO.The castle Boncourt, the birth place of Adelaïde de Chamisso, 7 minutes away from Villers, is no more. But the outlines of the castle moat are still clearly visible. And the castle chapel, where he was baptized in 1781, survived and was recently restored. The Castle of Villers, where his uncle lived and which was the only one of the 3 castles the family possessed in the region that survived the Revolution go 1789, is the most important monument in France commemorating him. His mother is buried here in Villers in the Chamisso family tomb at the cemetery around the beautifully restored 14e / 15 century built village church.
THE GREAT WAR 1914 -1914. Villers lies in the on the border of the war zone in the Argonne forest. Many, including German and American, cemeteries and other war monuments, among them for instance the Kaiser Tunnel, are near here. You can see how Germans and Frenchmen lived and fought at 100 meters distance from each other. Verdun is 45 km away. There was a large scale commemoration in 2014 of the beginning of that War then hunderd years ago.
THE NEAR BEYOND. Villers (in Champagne) is situated near the border of the Lorraine region. This allows you to easily visit towns of historic significance in both the Champagne as as in Lorraine, like Reims, Troyes, Chalons-en-Champagne on the one hand, and Nancy, Bar-le-Duc and Verdun on the other.
CULINARY. The Champagne is known for its excellent cuisine and good wines. In the immediate vicinity there are many small restaurants where you can eat very well for surprisingly little money. Many bakeries with fresh bread and pastries at 8km distance at Saint Menehould.
OTHERS .The estate has its own gardener and a housekeeper. Garage and horse stables available.
J
Hosted by Johannes C. Landman
