We are still finding plenty to occupy ourselves with, traveling to both Germany and Switzerland, but also still discovering lots of lovely villages in the Alsace region.

We visited the village of Neuf-Brisach , a fortified town close to the Rhine River. It is UNESCO listed due to it’s octagonal fortification designed by the architect Vauban under the orders of Louis XIV.

 

We took the train to Basel , Switzerland for a days outing and loved it.

 

The Tinguely Fountain was pretty cute.

 

 

We wandered along the Rhine River and some of the houses were quite spectacular.

We also gave Greg’s knees a rest and took advantage of Basel’s ferries which cross the Rhine River without motorised assistance, using only the natural current of the river.

The main square , Marktplatz, is dominated by the 16th Century red sandstone Rathaus or Town hall with it’s magnificently decorated facade and courtyard.

 

 

 

The 12th Century Gothic “Basel Munster” or cathedral was quite impressive with it’s red sandstone and coloured roof tiles.

 

 

We did find time to do lunch, in a Basel Beer Hall and it was great! A few beers and two plates of Zurcher Gesehnetzeltes, (veal and mushrooms in cream sauce) and of course some rosti (swiss hash browns). Yum.

 

Of course Basel is the home of Greg’s favourite sweet indulgence, Basler Leckerli , the Swiss gingerbread. We found the shop , bought some , however we are not sure how much will make it home much to the distress of the kids!

After all this eating and drinking we decided we needed to walk off the extra calories, well some of the extra calories!

 

We had a great day in Basel!

As we have previously mentioned , the area where we are staying was heavily bombed during WW11 so consequently there are many war cemeteries in the area, French, American and German. They are all beautifully kept and are all high on hillsides where you are able to have wonderful views over the countryside.

Each morning….well nearly each morning…….we go for a walk through the vineyards and as well as seeing the odd deer we get great views of our village and our house.

In the above picture you can just see our house, the fourth from the left, it’s the apricot A frame with 3 windows!

Fabien and Lofti took us for a walk one morning to the village of Kayserberg. It was great walking through the vineyards and when we arrived, we walked up to the ruins of the Chateau where you had a lovely view of the village.

 

They also very kindly took us into Colmar one evening to see the lights of the village and it was fantastic!

 

It was very pretty wandering around and seeing all the glorious buildings lit up! Great photo ops for Greg!

 

We took a drive up through the Vosges Mountains , known as The Ballons de Vosges , due to it’s rounded summits. We went to the top of the highest peak, The Grand Ballon at 1424 metres. It was a lovely drive , although the variation in temperature was quite a lot! At the bottom it was 25 degrees, and at the top 13 degrees….we were glad we threw our jumpers in Louis!

 

Another very pretty and “touristy” village close by to us is Ribeauville. It is one of the oldest Medieval towns in Alsace with some of it’s  walls and towers remaining.

 

The Butchers Tower, so named because it had a slaughter house installed, was originally built in 1290 and raised in 1536.

 

The pretty Place de Republique has a fountain dating back to 1576. There are 3 castles high on the hill which dominate the town, however the thought of a 2 hour hike up sent Greg’s knees into “shock mode” , so no we did not visit them!

 

We have 3 weeks to go now before we head home, but still have lots planned to do here!

That includes aperitif time, so yes it is that time again!

lots of love

Greg and Rhonda

xxx