Our last day on the cruise took us to Colmar, in the Alsace region of North Eastern France. It was founded in the 9th century. The town is situated along the Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the "capital of Alsatian wine"
It was the last town in France to be freed after the second World War, on February 2nd, 1945.
We begin the tour....
Our guide was a Brit who now lives in the Alsace region. For a medieval city, it is surprisingly big, but you can get around on foot with no difficulty.
For Georges Duhamel (as he wrote in 1931), Colmar was the "most beautiful town in the world". It has also often been said that it is the most Alsatian town in Alsace! It remains an exceptional town due to the wealth and variety of its historical and architectural heritage.
One of Colmars most famous residents was Aguste Bartoldi,(born 1834) the 'father' of The Statue of Liberty.
The replica below is in Colmar and was created to commemorate the centenary of his death.
This is the plaza outside his home
His home (now a museum)
Colmar is a dreamy place with a very privileged location near Germany and Switzerland, between the Vosges mountains and the Rhine, between Strasburg and Mulhouse.
Wonderful shop signage
and again...my fascination with the gorgeous churches and their architecture
If you look very closely you'll see a storks nest atop this steeple below
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The town is also renowned for the half-timbered houses of the Quai de la Poissonnerie, from the 16th century. "Large" seasoned wood was needed for building ships. The "smaller" trees were used to build the upper level of homes..(the bottom level being stone). They marked the wood with "numbers" to remember where they needed to be placed. The panels between the timbers are filled-in with non-structural material that is known as infill.
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This beautiful mural was hanging on the Unterlinden Museum that is currently being renovated
Tomorrow we'll continue the picture-logue of Colmar...trust me...there is so much more to see....but, the funnest thing I saw reminded me of my favorite food from home...
I'll just leave you with this one for now....LOL
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