Friday 20 August
Lots of dark clouds that looked here to stay, but we're off this morning on a 5 hour drive towards Colmar in the Alsace region.
We were taking the non autoroute roads to avoid the tolls until we got very close and basically had to take this tunnel through a mountain to get there faster. The toll was a horrendous 20 Euro and the tunnel was the longest we've been through to date.
The weather had changed to fine and hot by the time we arrived at our camp site at Camping de L'ill in Colmar. The camp looked nice at first glance but once we set up and had a look at the sanitaries, we weren't so impressed. There is a brand new sanitary but unfortunately it's closed tonight, during the high season, for repairs until tomorrow morning so we had to use the old ones which are unisex, have very poor drainage in the showers, lights that don't work and open urinals for good measure.
But on the upside, it's only for one night, and we're in Colmar which has been highly recommended by one of our guide books so we'll explore tomorrow.
Saturday 21 August
We have been so lucky with the weather of late and it certainly feels like summer now in these north/east regions of France.
Finding a car park in down town Colmar didn't prove to be all that difficult in the end. France really makes it easy for mobile homes at tourist attractions, by providing their abundant Aire services throughout the country and even car parking in the city. We just pulled in behind two other mobile homes in special spots for camping cars, paid the meter and set off.
Like the Champagne region, Colmar was under German governance until the end of World War I, and you can really see it in the architecture. It was like we'd been transported back to the first German town we had visited. There is obviously a modern side to Colmar, but we headed straight for the old town.
Many of the works of Colmar's great artist, Martin Schongauer of the 15th century can be found in the Unterlinden Museum which was once a Dominican Convent. The building itself is incredible, but the multitude of different works gathered here is amazing.
The Isenheim Altarpiece, created as a distraction for people with the skin disease Ergotism, is really beautiful and surprisingly large compared to other altarpieces we've seen.
In the “English Maiden's Room” was the first harmonica every constructed and played with a foot pedal.
The suits of armour in the Weapons and Armour room definitely looked the real deal with worn leather backing and indentations in the chest plates from being struck by lances way back when.
Once outside, the Colmar dream just continued. This place is totally enchanting with so many gorgeous “icing” covered houses, colourful flower boxes, inviting restaurants and historical monuments.
Following the Tourist Trail, our second attraction was the Dominican Church containing the Virgin in a Rose Garden altarpiece by Martin Schongauer from 1473. Stolen from this very church in the 1970's but recovered a few years later, the security is obviously now very high and no photos are allowed (not sure how we got these then). The piece is wonderful as are the many wooden carvings throughout the church, again a German influence.
Another famous son of Colmar is Bartholdi who went on to create the Statue of Liberty. The museum housing his works is actually the house he grew up in. In the courtyard is a fantastic work depicting The Three Foundations of the World – Justice, Work and Fraternity - Very inspiring.
We could have spent the entire day visiting this town but we were on the meter and wanted to get to our next camp site, only 30 minutes away in Kaysersberg.
Our camp site, Camping Municipal Kaysersberg, is terrific. You can see the German influence here too and it's great to finish off our European tour this way.
After setting up and lunch we headed into town but were soon (nicely) accosted by an French older gentleman insisting we walk up to the Chateau to take some panoramic photos “almost to America”. The Chateau is abandoned and much of it is gone but it has been maintained to a safe standard including the 107 stairs to the top. It was such a clear afternoon, we could almost see America :)
By the time we got down to the town centre, we were a sweaty mess with this glorious, fine, 29 degree day. This town is as gorgeous as Colmar with “icing” covered houses etc. And it is the start of the Route de Vin (wine road) which we will explore tomorrow.
The Church of Saint Cross dating back to the 13th century is in the Roman Gothic style. The first thing you see in the central naïve is the crucified Jesus measuring 4.1m surrounded by the Virgin and St John. We've never seen anything like it. There is no gold or marble but quite a large altarpiece, beautiful stained glass windows and many large statues, amazingly well preserved.
Down an alleyway further along we watched a glass blower in action making a beautiful golden coloured vase then visited the boutique containing all sorts of lovely, expensive things.
Back at camp, Sylvi had her first go at cooking rabbit stew with red wine, carrots and champignons, accompanied by mashed potatoe and greens It was pretty good.
Sunday 22 August
Another beautiful sunny day with a pleasant breeze which proved to be very welcome for what we were about to unknowingly undertake.
The maps of the region we'd been given weren't great in their description of the terrain, nor did any of the sign posts along the way mention that the 2hr walk to the next town of Riquewihr was mostly uphill for an hour (we reached 650m at the peak).
It would have been longer uphill but we decided to use our instinct and follow the path amongst the vines for another hour to our destination. Only the other day Sylvi had complained about not having done many hill walks lately, so this was the “reward”.
Walking amongst the vines was wonderful though. They totally covered the hill above us and stretched as far as we could see below. The bunches of grapes were huge and plump and of course we had to try just one grape each. Delicious and sweet.
Arriving into the town of Riquewihr slightly exhausted and dripping in sweat, we found it to be very similar to Colmar and Kaysersberg only smaller. These towns are so cute with their cobbled streets, gorgeous houses and multitude of local craft (wine, cakes, cheese etc). The place was bustling with tourists.
After lunch we set off in the direction of home but on a flatter route which took us to the even smaller and more deserted town of Kientzheim. Being a Sunday everything was shut except for a small gathering of people enjoying a BBQ and wine tasting.
We decided to carry on home as the day had become extremely hot and we just wanted a cooling shower so stopped in town only long enough to buy a bottle of the local Pinot Gris to try with dinner.
It certainly was a very full on day and we were proud of our efforts and happy that our fitness levels haven't dropped too much since this trip began. We'll see if we pay for it in the next day or so.
Monday 23 August
Woke up feeling pretty good. Today we'll start cleaning the motor home and sorting out what we'll take and what we'll leave behind relating to things we've bought for the motor home (buckets, kettle, heater etc). Although we've posted some things home already (summer clothes mainly), we won't have room to take everything to the UK and will have to buy them again there if they don't come with that motor home.
Later we'll go back into town for a wander and dinner tonight. The day is once again hot and sunny which is a lovely way to finish off the European leg of our adventure.
We may not post again until after we arrive in London on Wednesday as tomorrow will only be travelling back to Germany to stay overnight close to Frankfurt and Wednesday we return the motor home and head for the airport.
Hopefully those reading have enjoyed the first half of our adventure including the great photos Bill is taking. This is our way of communicating with you all, so don't hold back in making comments or sending us emails to let us know what is happening back home and in your lives.
More photos of Alsace here.
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