I saw France, not underpants--and I have yet to make my way to London (nursery rhyme reference)

 After the fabulous day of cow festival in Lenk, Helen had another thrill up her sleeve for my enjoyment.  Natasha, her daughter, came along for the adventure as well.  We went to Colmar, France.  
 
On a Sunday morning, we headed to the land of the French because Helen said it was so pretty I just had to see it--even though most of the shops and open air markets would be closed for the day.  She was right.

Colmar is a most beautiful city and it is called Little Venice since it has a canal that runs through it.  I exerted my tourist influence on Helen and Natasha to take a gondola ride on the canal.  They have been to Colmar dozens of times before but had never taken the touristy boat. 
No, it took an amateur American to talk them into that.  The day was overcast and did sprinkle a little on us, but it was delightful nevertheless.


Just as we began our boat ride down the canal, the sun peeked out from the clouds and provided a most beautiful version of sunlight beaming through the vegetation along the canal.  Truly stunning. We were all very pleased that we had chosen this event.
The autumn turning of the color of leaves was spectacular on the canal.  There were even little fishies visible in the water. 

Notice the vine has leaves of all colors as they are changing.

Unfortunately, our gondola driver did not sing to us, nor did he even talk to us and tell us things about the area.  


 

We noticed other gondolas we passed were luckier and passengers were listening raptly to their guides.

A good time was had by all in Colmar.  Truly a beautiful city.  The city symbol is the stork.  In the summer it is quite common to look up on many buildings and see a nest of stork babies and a parent stork. Unfortunately, in the fall they have moved on.
 
Notice the brown wood piece design in the yellow building.  After asking, I understand that the wood and pattern came from what I call the European version of adobe bricks.  The wood was the form and they would stuff the space in between with mud and grasses until it created this wood pattern look.  Nowadays, locals can purchase a facade that replicates the old time creation.

We chose a delightful place to have a sumptuous lunch of Flammekuchen.  The highlight of this place is the hundreds of puppets hanging above the heads throughout the restaurant.  

Many of them were witches, friendly ones mostly.  The Alsace region of France, where Germany, Switzerland, and France meet, is where the Germans came in and settled long ago and there is a German feel to the French area.  Up to the 1700s there were still witch trials and executions in the Alsatian region.  

Our Alsatian witch dining companion.

This grinning witch overlooked our table as we ate Flammekuchen--a very thin crust with a creamy herb bottom layer (sour cream, creme fraiche), usually having onions and bacon, and sprinkled cheese melted on top. The crust is analogous to a very dry tortilla so that it breaks and crumbles.  The thinness is that thin.  It is a very light item and you can eat half easily before you know it.  It is quite large, about the size of a cookie sheet.

We did some shopping at the few shops which were open and I did manage to spend the Euros I pulled out of the bank for just that purpose.

My one lasting impression of France was in the form of an appreciation of CH. Shortly after we arrived in France and set out to tour the town, Natasha warned us to watch our step--AFTER I had managed to find a small pile of dog poop to tread in.  I stomped around in some puddles of water until my shoes were visibly clean again, but it underscored something about CH I've been meaning to mention.

Happy dog & master in poop-free CH.

People in CH take their dogs EVERYWHERE.  They are on the buses, the trains, in the stations, in the stores (not grocery stores unless they are working guide dogs), and outside in some sidewalk cafes.  I have walked and walked and walked all over CH and for two months have never stepped in any dog mess.

In France, 10 minutes on the street and I found some.  I spent the rest of the day not being able to look up and see the great buildings and picturesque views because I had to keep my eyes looking down to make sure I did not tread in some foul pile.  There were many.  I don't know how that is OK.  Your dog leaves a mess and you walk away without picking up after your animal.  It mars the experience for every other person coming that way.

Thank you CH and the "norm" of the place that causes people to pick up after their dogs. Just another plus on the Swiss scoreboard.

The last cruise of the year and I was on it

There is a cruise line in Basel that runs up and down the Rhein.  It opens the season in the early summer and closes Oct. 14.  The exciting thing about this cruise is that it goes through a series of locks.  And the last cruise of the last day was one I had a reservation on.  So Helen and Natasha hurried us back from France and dropped me off on the wharf where the boat departed from.

That's the boat. Check out the lack of extra space between boat and bridge.

It was iffy whether the cruise was going.  It had been cancelled due to the three straight days of rain previously causing the Rhein to rise so high the boat was not able to travel under the bridge.  On this rainy day, you can see the lack of excess clearance.  Luckily, the Rhein was down and my cruise went as scheduled.

It was a most fascinating experience.  When the boat is being raised to a new level, it is OK, sorta interesting.  But when the boat is being lowered its entire height into a new level that much lower on the river, it is freaking cool!

Notice the ceiling of boat is lower than the previous waterline.

Before I had witnessed the lowering, we were in the lock and I saw that the sidewalk going across the river was right there in front of the boat.  I looked and looked for a way that the bridge would open up and let the boat through. I wondered...do they stop the people from walking across the sidewalk?  Is there a pedestrian warning arm that descends like at a train crossing?  The answer to both was nope.

The boat gets lowered completely down--the level of its own height--and it travels UNDER that sidewalk.  I couldn't believe my eyes.

The lock we just left is on the right. Look at the sidewalk we went under.

That miracle witnessed, I was free now to leave the ship and head to the Baldomaros' house for a festive gathering of friends and my first ever experience of a major Swiss food item--Raclette.
Bubbly + cheesy=Raclette
Raclette originated in the alps area on the farms where they would have a big wheel of cheese.  Half of the wheel would sit before the fire and the top layer would melt.  Bubbling, sometimes browning, it would become a gooey melted mess for some.  Not for the Swiss.

They take a scraper thingy and scrape off that melted layer onto small potatoes (usually) or bread or a combination of other items like salty pearl onions from a jar mixed with salty sweet gherkins.  Sounds odd, but don't knock it until you've tried it.

While the Baldomaros did not have an open fire and a giant wheel of cheese to scrape, they had the modern equivalent found in most Swiss homes, the Raclette maker.  It is a series of small trays that a thick slice of cheese is placed upon and then it sits on a burner type thing which heats the individual tray and the cheese begins to bubble and is all melty and sometimes even browned.  Then you take a scraper thingy and scrape it off the tray onto the item of your choice.

Thinking that I had had Raclette many times within the two months I've been in CH (that's how ubiquitous it is), my hosts had planned some other yummy meal.  They quickly changed to Raclette so I would have the experience.  I cannot thank them enough.  It was the most yummy and exquisitely delicious thing I've had.  

Oscar and Helen maintain that their version is a distorted version of the Swiss original since they provided bowls filled with yummy topping choices to place on the slice of cheese while it is melting.  Items included:  Bacon, mushrooms, chopped spicy chilis from their garden, gherkins, salty pearl onions from a jar, purple onions, black pepper, and spices to sprinkle on top.

Once again,I have to thank Oscar and Helen for their outstanding 5-star Raclette meal.  The fun guests to share the experience added much to the evening.  I have met the nicest and most welcoming people in CH. They all are issued invitations to come to AZ and I insist on being their resource person if anyone needs something mailed to them from the good ol' USA once I get home.







A naughty confession--shhhh!

Pssst!  Come closer....I have a confession to make.  In this land of heavenly Swiss chocolate, I have had Snickers and Twixt this past week.  They satisfy me.  Shhh!  Don't tell. I did buy them here, so that must mean they are approved.  It just seems a bit sacrilegious in the land of legendary Swiss chocolate....

Let's just let that be our little secret.