Bed Breakfast France

St. Donatus, Iowa, clings to old-world roots

ST. DONATUS, Iowa - A hot day haze is not making much headway in a shady valley below St. Donatus. Standing on a hillside, I try to convince myself that I am in Europe, not Iowa.

St. Donatus is "old world," in a wooded basin exactly 71.3 miles north of the Quad-Cities — Iowa's version of the tiny European country of Luxembourg.

Just about everyone here is Lux-related. It's a hamlet where everyone loves wiener schnitzel and potato pancakes, and where the mother tongue is not only regularly spoken — it is taught.

You walk unsteadily in St. Donatus because everything seems as if it is on a slight slope.

"Watch your footing," Sue Deppe calls out. "The whole town sort of slants."

There are 152 residents in St. Donatus. The population has not varied by more than 10 or 15 people in a quarter-century or longer. That says something about hanging on at a time when small towns are dying on the vine.

These Luxers will tell you they are a sturdy bunch, with their own Heritage Society and steeped in the roots of their founders who arrived from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg more than 150 years ago. They named the valley, which reminded them of their homeland, St. Donatus for the patron saint of storms. Some statues around town show St. Donatus with a lightning rod in hand.

If you go, you will be corrected if you pronounce it "Do-nah-tus." It is "Do-nay-tus."

At first look, I didn't find much to see in St. Donatus, even though the whole village is on the National Register of Historic Places. The town, the atmosphere and the sociable people have to sink in. What doesn't have to sink in is the scenery. The highways and roads in, around and out of this village are picture postcards to some of the most glorious scenery in all of mid-America.

Slipped into one hillside is St. John's Lutheran Church. On another hillside is St. Donatus Catholic Church, where the 150th anniversary of its renowned stations of the cross will be celebrated July 10.

At nightfall, I find the looming Catholic church still unlocked. It is dim, steeped in the essence of an empty church lit only by flickering vigil candles. Kerosene chandeliers - dating to 1908, when the church was built - hang unlit. It is a consoling place to be on a late afternoon as a light rain falls outside. The church is still in active use, but at this time of day, we prop the door just in case it slams and leaves us locked inside for the night.

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There is a couple of diffrent options re Euro rail, I will be traveling from Naples to Paris mid May. Should I get a pass, or pay as I go? Also I want to stop in southern France before going to Paris can anyone suggest a good bed and breakfast if so where?

there are SOOO many options. you need to make an itenarary of some sort and plan on not sticking to it. It rarely works out, but, that makes for a better story! See, if you’re going for 3 months, then you probably want the pass that allows you X miles, or X uses over the course of 2-3 months; however, you may want the 2 week pass. Try to access the state sites for various euro trains. if you’re on a short time frame, the trip from Paris to Amsterdam on the bullet train will cost you a bit more; however, if you have time to kill, take the other, stop in antwerp, have some belgian beer, etc etc…There is also a great busline (and the name escapes me at the moment) that is very affordable and flexible for travel times…it runs from London to Rome to Russia to etc (small towns and big) … But, all in all, if you plan on staying in France, there just may be a French pass…parlez vous francais? if not, find a friend that does and have them translate the “rail.co.fr” page … see what the locals are offered and take advantage!

Check out Nice, unless you want a small town, and then I would look at the france tourism page… or, find your French speaking friend to help you find a place where the locals would stay — always better then the beaten path. Also, stop at the wine stands that look like the lemonade stand down the street, you won’t find better.

btw….I put “rail.co.fr” in “” b/c it doesn’t exist, otherwise, I would have left them out and added some w’s. I just offer search hints b/c my experience with France and the country as a whole is limited to the northern part. But, many of the aspects of travel there are uniform throughout — at least according to my French friends.

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