It's fun that Chopper gets a holiday weekend for his birthday and we all get to benefit from it. This year for number FORTY-ONE we drove to France. The Alsace region is only about 5 hours away and turned out to be gorgeous. It's a wine region and mostly sees tourists from Germany and France on wine tours so it was busy but not overrun and actually there weren't a lot of people that spoke English! We have beautiful weather for the entire weekend although it was pretty warm. On Friday we drove over and stopped first in Strasbourg, France. Strasbourg is where the U.N. Parliament meets although we mainly walked into town in order to see their cathedral and a little bit of the city.
Alsace is just over the Rhine river and so like the Rhine you have amazing half-timbered houses and rolling hills and mountains. In fact, this area has been pulled back and forth between France and Germany for years but it was really interesting that as soon as we crossed the Rhine into Strasbourg it was all French. Most of the time when we cross borders we drive through countryside for a bit and the change doesn't feel as abrupt.
Because it was right after lunch and it was hot we stopped for ice cream pretty much first thing. But it wasn't Eis, it was sorbet and it too was delicious!
We wandered the streets a bit making our way to the center and the cathedral.
The cathedral is famous (ok a lot of the cathedrals are) and it did have some really beautiful work. At this point, we're looking for things that are a little different from the others, that stand out. This statuary of the three kings presenting their gifts did that - mostly because the kids were like "mom look at that baby's bottom!" Strasbourg Cathedral will forever be remembered as the one with the baby's bottom.
Just pictures of Strasbourg. Most Americans from our area come here for the Christmas markets but I'm so glad we came now with the flowers blooming everywhere.
Inside the cathedral was a really beautiful organ
This one wasn't heavily Baroque - in fact behind the altar was actually quite plain but interesting paintings. Unfortunately we couldn't get any closer than this to examine.
The Alsace region is definitely French although they still keep some ties to their German heritage. Their local dialect is a little bit of a German/French mix and some of their foods are German - sauerkraut and Bretzels particularly. We came across a really quirky store in both Strasbourg and Colmar that sells Bretzel (German for giant pretzel) shirts. If they'd had a tote bag I totally would have bought one - I just don't wear a lot of pop culture shirts. But this was my favorite - mainly because I was traumatized by ET as a child.
On our way out we wandered by this church and peeked in. I wish we could have taken a better look because it looked really interesting but they were in the middle of a service - in German with a French accent!
The kids were getting really hot so we headed back towards the car and just admired along the way.
We stopped at a Patisserie for a snack - eclairs, macarons, and William got a cheese cake thing that was good. Ok it was all good. French food!!!
We got back in the car and drove south to Ribeauvillé, a small town on the wine route where I had booked us a house to stay in. So the driving and parking in this town was terrible for our minivan - narrow roads, cobblestones, one way streets - typically European - but once we found the location - oh my I was in heaven. This is looking out the front door.
And that's the house! The cutest place I think we've ever stayed it was half-timbered and had steep narrow steps inside but was renovated and modern. And it was right in the heart of the town. In the mornings I walked to the Brasserie to get croissants and strawberries from the farmer's market. It had cute shops to look at and restaurants and cafes everywhere. It was amazing!
And I'm not posting it here but yes, I did get up one morning and quietly sing "Little town, it's a quiet village." I couldn't help myself and the rumor is that this is one of the towns Disney used for their inspiration for Beauty and the Beast anyway!
Abby is pointing at the top of the statue's head where pigeons are roosting.
So the next few posts are going to be filled with houses. I couldn't help myself.
We sang to Chopper that night and gave him a few presents (you have to have something to open on your birthday!!) and the next morning after breakfast we were on the road to Colmar.
Maybe I do need to invest in a nice camera and learn how to use it. I'm not sure that any picture can really do this place justice but it could probably do better than my phone!
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