Mon banc dominical/My Sunday Benches - another from our Alsace visit.

Long, in Colmar, but not the longest.

 

 

Spotted in a pharmacy window in Chatellerault yesterday...

Wednesday for windows...captured on our visit to Riquewihr in Alsace

Mon banc dominical/My Sunday Benches - Alsace

 

So many beautiful spots to rest ones weary legs in Alsace, like above in Eguisheim  and below in Bergheim.

Mulhouse and another train trip from Colmar.

We did another train trip from Colmar south to Mulhouse on Monday.Probably not the first idea of ​​a city to visit in Alsace but for us the fact that it was a simple train journey from our base made it an obvious choice. Above was a rather appropriate photo opportunity in the marriage room of the former townhall where the caretaker snapped us on the eve of our anniversary, interesting building which also houses the city's history museum.

It sits in the Place de la Réunion which is the main square of the city where you will find  most of Mulhouse’s other interesting buildings: the Saint-Etienne Protestant Temple,  the Mieg house and the Lys Pharmarcy.

 

We had a lovely lunch in the square after walking the pedestrian streets of the 'old town' before visiting the Musée des Beaux Arts.

Dijon didn't quite cut the mustard with us...

After discovering the surprises of Auxerre on our stop-over on our way across to beautiful Colmar the choice of the return one proved less enjoyable. Maybe because we were on our way home or the fact that our afternoon of exploration did not throw up much, meant that we resigned ourselves to an evening meal (which proved to be very good) and an early start in the morning for home.

A lovely way to celebrate 47 years together...visiting the pretty little towns of the Alsace wine trail

Riquewihr 

Ribeauvillé

Bergheim

Eguisheim 

Kaysersberg

We ended an excellent day out with a lovely dinner back in Colmar.

Strasbourg by train(s) - Part II

After our walk around Strasbourg's 'Petit France' on Sunday we joined the long queue to have a look inside of the cathedral which is impressive, especially its the astronomical clock. 

As we left the Cathedral we noticed the 'Petit Train' almost full with a diverse range of passengers. We  had always seen this mode of transport as a way for old folk to get around but there was always gong to be a time where age and fatigue would catch up with us,this was rhe moment,so on we went!

What we didn't realise was that Strasbourg has in fact two 'Petit Trains' one that takes you around 'Le Petit France' and one that takes you around the German imperial district of Neustadt and yes you've guessed it we were about to revisit our earlier walk! As we were glad to have the seat we stayed on and found it somewhat reassuring that we had,without any map or prior knowledge, pretty much followed the well worn route of the tourist. The commentary from our headsets answered some of the questions we had so that and the rest made it worthwhile.

On realising what we had been missing up until now we immediately jumped on the second train and took in a very different part of the city.

We were so well rested after our train rides that we left our comfortable seats and did a bit more exploring of this fine city!

Strasbourg by train(s) - Part I

Yesterday we headed down to the train station here in Colmar and navigated our way around the ticket machine (no staff on Sundays) to get return tickets for a visit to Strasbourg. We even managed to take advantage of our 'senior rail cards', I know, you are probably thinking we are surely not old enough!  

On arrival we got help from a fellow traveler to buy a tram ticket into the city and at what stop to get off to make our way to the district we wanted to visit first - 'La Petite France'.

We managed to find our way down to 'Ponts Couverts' and 'Barrage Vauban' which is the gateway into 'La Petite France' before finding a restaurant for lunch.

Lunch proved easy enough as there was one by the bridge in a similar situation to yesterday's in Colmar and very nice it was too! 

The origin of the name 'La Petite France' apparently dates from the 15th century when there was a hospital here for treating syphilis, a disease contracted by French soldiers during the wars in Italy and one the Germans christened the 'French disease'.

In the past the area was home to tanners, fishermen and millers who made use of the water source. Today the area is reserved for pedestrians and cyclists so you can admire the numerous half-timbered houses that line the water's edge and alleyways in a fairly tranquil atmosphere.

After lunch we continued the well worn tourist walk back into the old town and the city's remarkable cathedral 'Notre Dame'.

 Part II tomorrow.