Day 15, Sunday, July 19, 2026

Since it was Sunday, our regular breakfast boulangerie was closed, so we had to find an alternative, an outdoor café not too far from our apartment.  I loved it, better croissants and better people watching, but Joni preferred the tartine at the first place.  Where will we dine on Monday?  Stay tuned.

Kids are the same everywhere.

People watching at an outdoor café is always a treat.

Surprisingly the depot for "Le Petit Train" was just opposite our breakfast café.  So as soon as we finished eating we climbed on board.

The same company operates a green train and a white train.  No difference in their routes.

The building in white was constructed in the 13th century!

On the tourist train we learned that originally in Colmar, the  color of a home indicated the profession of the home owner.  Depending on who you ask you may get different explanations for each color, but here are the ones we heard on our tour:

white was for bakers, blue for the woodworking trades (carpenters, joiners, etc.) 

red for the iron-related trades (blacksmiths, iron workers, etc.), 

yellow for the bread trades (bakers, pastry chefs, etc.), 

green for the leather and fabric trades (tanners, saddlers, weavers, etc. 

beige for the stone trades (masons, stonemasons, roofers, plasterers, etc.)

Sculptor Bartholdi, a Colmar native, notice what is on his shoulder! 

Looking up is always a good idea.  The spires are amazing.

These are outdoor lockers for students.  The original school probably did not have room for them when it was built centuries ago.

I couldn't resist taking this photo.  I wonder if there's a café called Les Deplorables?

Once our tour on Le Petit Train was over we picked up our car from the underground garage which is only 100 yards from our apartment  and headed north to explore the wine route; first stop Kayserberg. We've watched lots videos abou this town, but it even exceeded my expectations..  

Notice the stork nest on top of this tower.

We liked the menu for this restaurant, so we went in.

Reisling for me, a Virgin raspberry version for Joni.

This was our main course, a sweet crepe, and it was fabulous!

Leaving Kayserberg, our next stop on the wine route was the village of Riquewihr, which is located up in the mountains. Riquewihr looks today more or less as it did in the 16th century, and it was one of the few towns in the area not to be badly damaged during World War II. The town is surrounded by its wall and is overlooked by a castle from the same period that is today a museum about Alsace during World War II. 

The vineyards in this area are very different than those in Provence.  They are pruned quite a bit, creating very squared off rows of vines that look much narrower than those in the south. I suspect the german influence for precision and order is at work.

Our final stop on the wine route was Equisheim, which we had previously visited.  The number of vineyards in this area is incredible.

Thiis is a list of all the vineyards and caves you can visit in this area.  Too many for me to count.

Just a sample of the various types of pretzels available. So far I've stuck with a plain one, but very good nonetheless..

Beyond its reputation for wine and gorgeous half timber buildings, this village is known for storks.

Leaving Eguisham we returned to our apartment in Colmar,  rested before dinner, and watched the Tour on TV..

We dined at Caveau Saint Jean, and easy walk from our apartment.  It features the Alsatian pizza, which they refer to as "tartes flambées."  Delicious!

And so ended another wonderful day in the Alsace.  So glad we're here.