Along the Route des Vins

Alsace is a remarkably beautiful region of France with the rivers, mountains, forests and vineyards and along the wine route there are many wonderful towns with narrow streets, and colourful houses.

One such town is Berghiem which is in the valley below the château du Haut Koenigsbourg. It is a quiet little town surrounded by vineyards.

The gate tower stands at one end of the main street and while there is no gate to bar the way now the town has a defensive wall and moat and the houses that encircle the town have stood for centuries.
 

Clearly Reflected

An early start on Saturday meant that I got to witness a truly beautiful sunrise and the lighting for these pictures was absolutely perfect. In the shade of the stable block there was no breeze to disturb the surface of the water and so the reflections of the trees, buildings and clouds are flawless. Another bonus due to the early start was that I had the place almost entirely to myself and without the masses of visitors who would arrive later in the day I was able to get these undisturbed shots.

A Dilemma

So here is what I think is a great shot of the stable block and pond at Dunham Massey, the pond supplies the power to the water mill via the sluice in the foreground.

The dilemma I have is "which is the better image?"

In both I love the reflections which are crisp and clear.

I love the warm colours and the blues in the first image but I really like the black and white image which to me has more character. 

Let me know in the comments which you prefer.

Also can you spot the two deer soaking up the sun? You might have to enlarge the image to find them...