We explored through the old town of Strasbourg for about an hour and a half before we had to catch our 11:15 am train for a thirty minute ride to Colmar.
Sometimes traveling with my girls is rather amusing. At one tourist shop, the girls spotted a gingerbread man key ring. They then launched in to a scene from Shrek while other tourists who understood smirked.
Amy: Do you know the Muffin Man?
Misha: The Muffin Man?
Kristen: THE MUFFIN MAN!!
The scenery was beautiful as we zoomed through the countryside. Chris had done extensive research to determine that though we couldn't leave our luggage at the Colmar train station, we could leave it at the Velo Doctors bike store adjacent to the train station for a small fee. We had thought we might rent bikes later in the day, so this was a perfect option.
The timing here was perfect. The bike shop closed at noon and we arrived at 11:45 am to drop off our luggage. We then quickly found the bus to Riquewihr for the noon departure. Our family was the only riders on the bus as we passed through the French countryside dotted with vineyards and farms. We stepped off the bus in to a fairy tale. Apparently, the animators and creators of Beauty and the Beast came to Riquewihr when looking for inspiration in creating that old provincial town. And you could see it once you stepped under the arch in to Riquewihr. It was quaint and picturesque. And not too overrun with tourists. At least not yet.
We found this cute little sidewalk cafe for lunch--Pizzeria du Vignoble. While waiting, I took pictures of the girls and the buildings.
I took some nice photos of Grandma as she posed:
We spent the afternoon happily wandering the streets. It did get busier later in the afternoon and rainier. We stood under an awning waiting out the rain while also waiting for a taxi to come and pick us up.
We shared the awning with a British couple who were happy to chat. They were so much fun. The new word that Chris taught the lady--hangry: to be hungry and angry all at once. She said it fit her son's personality perfectly. "Oh, I'll remember that one."
Our taxi driver dropped us off in the Old Town of Colmar and we wandered around the cobbled streets, stopping at some of the quaint shops, and drooling over the patisserie windows. In fact, Chris and I walked in to a shop and found some cool things to buy for the house. Chris commented as we entered, "Oh, this is your kind of place." He and I both picked out a few things to take home with me wishing I could take home more. The shop had three floors and each level was full of more fun decorative items.
We had to be back at the bike shop by 7 pm when it closed to pick up our luggage. Our next train to Freiburg im Breisgau didn't leave until 7:50. We sat on the fountain outside the train station to wait while munching on our dwindling snack supply.
Our first train to Mulhouse was a double decker train. We transferred after about an hour to a second train for Freiburg im Breisgau, arriving shortly before a rainstorm hit. We waited and waited for the #1 Lillewasser metro to arrive, but it seemed to be stuck at a stop and was stuck at the 9 minute arrival time for 30 minutes. It was now raining in earnest as we donned rain jackets and ponchos.
Chris texted with Daniella our next AirBNB host. She recommended that we get a taxi since she was also waiting for us outside the apartment. We took the three flights of stairs back down to the terminal and the line of waiting taxis. We needed two taxis to get us all to Nagelseestrasse #5, but finally arrived a little wetter for the wear.
Daniella met us at our taxis and grabbed a couple of our bags to carry up the FIVE flights of stairs, well, really only 4 1/2 she said. Five. Chris told Daniella that we needed to leave the apartment at 7 am on Wednesday morning. She wasn't very thrilled. She lived on a farm 20 minutes outside of town and would have to be up early to get there on time. We already had train tickets however, so there wasn't much we could do. We got settled in, having two bedrooms and a living room with two additional beds. One bathroom though. That took a little planning to work around with six people.
The windows levered open and we made sure to crack them all as we settled in. The breeze was nice and cool. Shortly after I fell asleep, I woke again to a huge thunderstorm clap; Chris rushed to close the windows.