Time for a Treat.

Eguisheim, Near Colmar.

You probably thought we had fallen off the the edge of Europe.  We were, of course, having a well earned rest.  Wednesday and Thursday nights were spent at a motorhome site in Freiberg where we met my brother David and his wife Wendy.  They are touring in their motorhome and came across to see us.  It was great to see them both.  David and I are like big children when we get together...

Here we are taking the ‘fresh air’ after one or two drinks!  Just putting the world to rights.....and watering the grass!

We had a great sunny day in Freiberg on Thursday.  It was a public holiday in Germany to celebrate Unification.  We walked into the city, it was pretty quiet with only cafes and restaurants open.  So, we had a leisurely day seeing the lovely buildings of the old town.  David and I took our chance to stuff out faces with Frankfurters in a bun and...more importantly.....a schwartzwaldtorte.  That’s a Black Forest Gateau to you and me and it was probably the best I have every had....good portion too.

The forecast again isn’t too great around here.  We have made a strategic decision to go south to look for warmer weather.  David and Wendy set off for Vichy as a stopping off point but we still wanted to see the Colmar area before we go south.  Colmar is back over the Rhein in France and we have heard of its beauty for many years.   First of all we revisited the Vauban fortified town of Neuf-Brisach where we stopped for lunch one day on the cycle ride.  This time we walked around the walls and the town centre.  It is quite a grand construction now so it certainly would have been when it was first built at the beginning of the 1800’s.

We then took the van to a Vinery at Eguisheim, a village just south of Colmar.  There is space for 4 vans with no price to pay, other than the hope that we would buy some wine.  In the afternoon we cycled to Colmar and were impressed by the pretty old city centre.  It is the home town of a man called Auguste Bartholdi who was the French Sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty, which was presented to the USA as a gift from France.  We took loads of photos, here’s a small selection.....

We cycled back and had a look around Eguisheim itself.  It is so old and original.  It is in a circular shape so that you can circle the village by walking on the same street.  It is very much a wine growing area and the harvesting and pressing is in full swing.  You can smell the wine as you walk around.  Back at our Vinery we had a tasting....very nice too.  The owner was very busy with the pressing machine but came in to talk to us.  We couldn’t resist buying a few bottles.

We have definitely been treating ourselves with cake and drinks.  It will have to get back to normal though.  It’s funny that our legs are aching from the slow strolling around the towns we have visited.   We much prefer to cycle 50km + instead.

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