Euro Vaca--Day 2: France

Hello folks - We made it to France. It has been another beautiful day, with temperatures in the mid- to high-80s and clear skies. We left Stuttgart this morning and made it to the first of four cities along the Rue de Vins (wine route) - Ribeauvillé. Ribeauvillé is known for its three castles on the same hill that overlook the town. For some reason storks enjoy making their nests at the top of all the towers in these towns. 

I also find it interesting that these tiny towns have such huge churches, and often more than one. The streets and shops are all really neat. Restaurant seating and shop wares, spill out onto the cobblestone streets. The buildings are all half-timbered architecture with those exposed wooden beams. Everything is really picturesque. Nearly all of the buildings, at about 10 ft off the ground, jut outwards, enlarging the second floor's living space by a foot or two on all but two sides.

Across the street from one of the churches here was a neat 15th-century cemetery, which was the former resting place of four sandstone statues that date back to 1494 and now reside inside the church. The statues depict Christ praying on the Mt. of Olives and Peter, James (Jack on the translated welcome sheet), and John (see pic). Peter (far left) is actually holding a knife with which he will "de-ear" some poor centurion.

Next, we made the 2-km jaunt over to Riquewihr, another spot on the wine route and Disney's inspiration for Belle's village in Beauty and the Beast. There's even a fountain after which the animators modeled Belle's fountain. No statue of Gaston though - what a disappointment!

All through this area are vineyards, vineyards, and more vineyards. Here's a pic of the view over the vineyards between Riquewihr and Kayserburg. There's a river running through it and an awesome, huge Christmas shop. These streets are all pretty great, with neat shops and cafés and museums all along the road.

We made it to Strasbourg, Fr to stay the night. The church here is incredible. Anna said, it took her breath away as she rounded the corner and witnessed the spectacular sight for the first time. She also noted that city centers that are basically pedestrian squares with open spaces and outdoor cafes spewing from the buildings onto the cobblestones is completely wonderful. We ate at a nice little restaurant literally at the foot of the cathedral so Anna and Jacob could draw while we waited for our food... Chicken cordon bleu, duck with spaetzel - good stuff. And interesting to note that that is a very combined menu of French and German food. These cities are heavily influenced by both countries seeing that the border is close and hasn't always been so defined as right now. We found an apartment right by the giant cathedral on the website Airbnb to rent for the night. Our "host" had some really spectacular shoes. Wish I had taken a picture. He also had some interesting art work in the bedrooms.

More from Strasbourg tomorrow!