August 7 – Riquewihr, France

Our drive took us past a war cemetery…

and army barracks that were built during the time of Napoleon.  They are still in use today.  The unit stationed here are called the Red Devils...and there is a red devil in front.

There were a lot of corn fields on the drive and we drove by a large corn drying crib that is used to dry ears of corn.  They used to use dryers to dry the corn but fuel is expensive, so some are going back to the old way of air drying the corn in cribs. 

The area we are in lies between the Vosges mountains and the Alsace plains.  Some views of the countryside. 

The area is in the heart of the Alsatian wine regions…so vineyards everywhere.  We could see the Vosges Mountains in the distance.

The drive took us to Riquewihr, listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France.  It is said to be one of the villages that was the inspiration for the village in Disney’s animated version of “Beauty and the Beast”.  We kept expecting to see Bell at any moment. 

Where to start?  We stepped into a fairy tale!! This little, 16^th century medieval town oozes charm and quaintness and enchantment around every corner and in every nook and cranny.  It is really an enchanting open-air museum and everyone agreed that it was a highlight of the cruise.

The views looking down the streets were lovingly with its beautiful, old buildings and cobblestone streets.

Looking down the main street with the city hall at the end.

There were small courtyards, often with a tower in one corner. 

The Dolder gate dates from the 13^th century.

The view from outside the gate into the town gave an surreal view of the half-timbered buildings. 

The courtyard in front of city hall.

The half-timbered houses date from the 15^th to 18^th  century and are tucked very close together. 

Stone archways led into hidden gems.

And we saw several picturesque fountains.  These were used to provide the citizens of the town with water during the medieval times as there was no running water to the homes.

In the Middle Ages, most people could not read.  So, shop signs were generally some sort of picture that gave the public an idea of the services or goods provided.  

Cutlery/Knives

Wine

Translates - From the Old Press

Distillery (Beer)

Wine Tasting

There are lots of wine tasting shops and gift shops with colorful regional goods.

And lots of shops with tasty foods such as cheeses, sausages and sweets.  We bought macarons for a snack. 

We stopped in to visit St. Marguerite’s Church…

We saw a huge stork’s nest on the top of one of the chimney’s.  That's a pigeon in one of the photos, not a stork.

There was a small park just outside the city walls.

There were lots of pigeons on the roofs and lots of cats wandering the streets.

What a magical place to spend a few hours.

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More Riquewihr
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On the way back into town we saw a model of the Statue of Liberty.  The statue was made by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who was born in Colmar, France, where we were driving.  The guide also mentioned that Gustave Eiffel, the building of the Eiffel Tower, was responsible for the building the inside infrastructure of the statue.  Didn’t know that.

We drove past a field with a lot of storks.

And passed over the Rhine River locks. 

As we were returning to the ship we could see a large cathedral on a hilltop in the town of Breisach, Germany.