Alsace Lorraine: Little Germany in France

As a final chapter to our France expedition, the we spent two night in Alsace, a Germanic region in Northern France. We stayed in Colmar, the Rickey Stevey recommended home base from which to explore the tiny towns that dot the country side. The actual town of Colmar is gorgeous, housing a "little Venice," hatched and colorful Germanesque half-timbered houses, and world-renowned art.

Day 1:

We departed from our room, which sat atop to Martn Jund winery, to explore the town of Colmar. We walked through platz after platz, eventually arriving at the world famous Unterlinden Museum. On the whole, the Unterlinden was an really impressive museum, displaying everything from Renaissance era furnishings to Midieval weaponry. The real draw however was the Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece, a series of paintings whose beauty and importance were obvious, even if their ultimate meaning was not.

Day 2:

As in Provence and Burgundy, we took to the roads to explore vineyards and small towns. Of particular note, we drove through Eguisheim and Kaiserberg, towns which, despite their falling prey to tourist driven commercialism, still retain their original charm. We continue to picnic, and surprisingly the wine and bread were really superior (except of course when compared to Burgundy ...). Even though we eventually will move east to Germany, we were schnitzeled-out upon arrival and ate pizza .... Go figure.