Europe is not one of those places that I have spent a lot of time. It is a place that I want to return to again and again, because there is so much to see. Part of the appeal to me is that everything is really old. Since we live in a country that is a bit over 200 years old, we don't have things that even remotely compare to the age of Europe's cathedrals, castles and cobblestone streets. This trip was very different from most vacations we take due to the fact that the destination was a place we knew would be cold. But here's the deal. It was colder at home than it was where we were at any point during our trip. It didn't freeze once at any place we went. The air was moist and cold, but bundling up kept us comfortable, never miserable.
The Rhine River cruise we were on made stops in ports every day, and excursions were planned for us. One of the first ports we docked at was near a German city called Breisach. Our tour took us through the Black Forest, which is not at all black, it's a dense forest of evergreen trees. This particular day was somewhat foggy, so we didn't get a great glimpse of the mountainous area. We paused at a local factory that produced authentic Cuckoo clocks. They were very cool, but a Cuckoo clock from Germany was not on my shopping list for this trip. Maybe next time. Shopping is less fun when you have to be realistic about what you can pack and/or carry home. Besides, I was still on the lookout for a watch. Since we left Switzerland, I had broadened my horizons to consider a German made watch.
The boys thought I was completely unreasonable for not bringing home a stein or two. I guess they are kinda funky, and I am sure they would be a great conversation piece, but I was fine to leave them there.
With a little extra time this afternoon, we created our own excursion. France was very close. We quizzed the concierge, knew how much time we had, and we had not ever set foot in France. So I gave Mike the old, "Bonjour, follow me," and we hailed a cab. As we left the ship, 'Alec Baldwin', the equivalent of Julie on the Love Boat, looked at us worriedly, and said, "Hey, we sail at 6:30, don't get lost!" I'm just waving over my shoulder saying, "We got this, au revoir!" Apparently, passengers don't take off on their own very often. (*Reminder* - our age vs. everyone else's age.) The concierge told us about Colmar, a quaint, medieval village close by with a nice Christmas market.
Isn't it picturesque? We uneventfully cabbed over, polished up on our French on the way, and enjoyed our afternoon. I say we enjoyed our day... Mike cracked me up the first time a French lady yelled at me because I wasn't speaking en Francais to her liking. I thought he knew, but I had to explain to him that the French are not known for their warm and fuzzy personalities. He couldn't believe that I would proceed with my purchase of pastries from this woman that just bit my head off. Well, we were in France, and chocolate croissant pastries are my favorite, so I took the abuse and laughed about it.
Proud of myself for leaving all these treats in the window. I just didn't want to mess up their display or anything.
Every place we went had a city center that was simple to find. They all had huge Christmas trees, and the crowds weren't crazy. It was a great time. We jumped in a pub to "have a sit" as my local kids would later call it, and I made it my mission to try every French red wine I had a shot at.
Exhibit A -
I always double fist it with either water or iced tea, and iced tea is virtually non-existent in Europe. The ample pour was a pleasant surprise. The wine (it was a house wine, and I never saw the bottle) didn't disappoint.
Exhibit B -
Mike's mission was to try local beers everywhere we went. Language barriers sometimes proved to be tricky, but he was generally happy with his choices. He two fists it, too. We are such safe drinkers.
Colmar, France, was such a sweet treat, and we were just getting started. We were already looking forward to tomorrow and our next French stop in Strasbourg.
