Jared kept us going through the Alsace Region of France…this time to Kayserberg and then Colmar.
I don’t remember anything specific about Kayserberg…so I’m assuming these were all drive-by photos 🙂
I’m assuming this is where my photos switch from Kayserberg to Colmar…but how is one to be absolutely certain more than 2 1/2 years later when trying to catch up on blogging?
In Colmar I would have liked to take this little tram/train tour through town (headset tours available in many languages) so I could have learned something…but headset tours are something that simply doesn’t mesh well with small children when traveling.
So, later research told me that this Gothic building is St. Martin’s Church.
It was originally built around the year 1000. Then, a second church was built on the spot in Romanesque style. The present building was constructed between 1234 and 1365, and then in 1572 the bell tower was added in Renaissance style (after a fire).
I caught Ethan…being…well…Ethan.
We kept walking the streets (crowded with tourists) and came across all sorts of sights…
Anyone know what this is? Meat of some sort…looks so yucky, I had to take a photo! 🙂
Beautiful details on every building…
A jester, I assume?! Belly button showing, and all!
And call me silly…but I thought these recyle bins were cool.
Verre = glass
We landed in front of the Unterlinden Museum to take a rest, and I managed to snatch a few photos of Ethan when he wasn’t moving too fast.
Jared and the kids were evaluating the local map…
This is a classic view of Colmar:
Colmar was founded in the 9th century, and is connected to the Rhine river (in the east) by a canal. A very popular thing to do here is visit the “Little Venice” part of town, where you can take flat-bottomed boats (“barques”) or mini-cruises along the canal.
Truth is…I didn’t do any research beforehand, and all planning was left to Jared. Colmar? What’s that? Just a dot on the map that Jared put there.
Unfortunately, it was only on the way out of town that he mentioned to me that we had skipped almost all of the Little Venice part of town. Apparently he wasn’t interested in that aspect of it.
I was disappointed…but realized we had a tight schedule to make it to Switzerland the next day!
On the way out of the Alsace region…I had to jump out of the car to take a few photos at some vineyards.
We crossed the border back into Germany, and managed to find a farmhouse where we could rent an upstairs room for the night. Don’t ask me how we managed to find it or communicate with the German-only-speaking owners. I do remember standing in the front hallway and looking at a world map with the farmer husband who said to me, “Obama good!” with a thumbs up and big smile. I shook my head, “Nooo…Obama not good!” Hahaa!
The room had a little kitchenette to prepare our dinner and breakfast—our preferred method of eating our way through Europe affordably.
I struggled a lot that night to find working internet to answer business emails (trying to catch poor signals on my phone, because the rental didn’t have internet), but regardless, I was pleased in the morning when I was able to wake up to this view out the window.
I hope the people that live here know how stunning it is!
