We sailed this morning to Breisach. The chef provided Frühschoppen (a German barbeque) on the Sun Deck just before lunch. [Jazzbelle was disappointed that they were grilling hot dogs, not bratwurst – so the rest of the trip became a hunt for a bratwurst fix…]
Although the ship docked in Germany, we opted for the French sightseeing. [It is certainly more comfortable when one understands the language] We were gone the entire afternoon, leaving at 1:00 and returning after 6:00. We visited the towns of Colmar and Riquewihr.
Colmar is a good size town with beautiful old half-timbered buildings. It touts the fact that the sculptor Bartholdi was born there and has a museum with a model of his Statue de la Liberté.
Riquewihr is a one-street village, but it is very cute and that street is lined with shops offering free wine tasting plus a couple that had fresh macaroons [real coconut macaroons, not those namby-pamby Parisian macarons].
Swans were everywhere on this trip, but the mascot of Alsace is the stork. We saw a stork’s nest prominently in a park in Strasbourg, stork dolls everywhere in Strasbourg, Colmar and Riquewihr, and stork emblems on buildings in Colmar and Riquewihr. [Little girls in Alsace were traditionally told that the stork had brought them. Boys were told they came in cabbages – there must be some gender discrimination going on here!]
We talked to some passengers who had taken the other tour option to Breisach and Freiburg – they were disappointed.
Jazzbelle couldn’t let Germany slip away that easily, so that evening she enjoyed sauerbraten and red cabbage. It was our farewell dinner on the AmaCello, and we were treated to Baked Alaska – sparklers and all.
Tonight was the saddest day of all cruises: packing up. But it wasn’t so bad this time, because we still had a four-day land extension! [Sounds like a plan…]
Jazzbeaux Rhine River Cruise 2013 