2026-06-09 Freiburg Germany

 Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Frieburg Germany

We have not yet taken Pat and Chuck to Germany, so that's the plan for today. OUR weather report said small chance of rain and then a high of 68. Should be perfect for visiting the open market around the Munster. (church) As we started out, the sun was shining. As usual, Dave drove right to the underground parking near the Tourist Office, with a little help from the GPS. There were sprinkles on the windshield as we parked, but it's not supposed to rain. Of course, none of us brought our raincoats. (Lesson learned.)

It was sprinkling as we left the parking garage and by a block later it was "sprinkling" hard. We ducked under doorways along the way and were quite wet by the time we got to the Tourist Office. Pat and I watched people while Dave and Chuck went in to get walking tour maps. I waited under the arcades of the tourist office while Dave, Chuck, and Pat visited St. Martin's catholic church across the road. 

ducking under overhangs to try to keep dry - but no luck

Pat sheltering under the arcade of the new Hotel de Ville

The arcaded gallery at the new Rathaus (town hall) where the Tourist Office is.

 St Martin's catholic church can be seen through the arcade across the Rathaus Platz (town hall place)      

Pat & Chuck walking under an umbrella to St Martin's church. Behind them, the beige building with the arcaded front is the new Rathaus and the red building with the clock is the old Rathaus

Inside of St Martin's Catholic church:

Looking at the organ above the entrance.

A chapel

modern stained glass

By now it was almost noon and Dave had noticed a restaurant just around the corner that opened at noon. The Rothaus restaurant was very modern and we were greeted at the door by a server whose English had an American accent and who found us just the right spot in the corner where I could easily leave my scooter. He brought us English menus and translated the daily menu for us. Of course, we were the only people in the restaurant at noon, so we were able to chat with our server. He had spent a year in Washington State and, of course, had learned English in school ever since he was in first grade. He helped Dave & Chuck find a nearby grocery store on the map. Chuck had a hankering for a German Mosel wine and, of course, Alsace does not sell German wine.

Chuck ordered the daily special - chile con carne - while the rest of us ordered flammkuchen (tarte flambée) with bacon and onions. After a leisurely lunch, the rain had stopped - in fact, the sun was trying to shine. Oops! Too hungry for a photo of our meal. But it was good. 

On our way out, Dave wanted a photo of the beer bottles behind the bar. Our server kindly took a photo of us as we left. 

Each of those colored bottles is a beer bottle - I forget which brand

Chuck, Pat, Dave, & Lynn

What rain? The sun is shining! We traced our steps back to get on the walking tour. 

Dave taking a photo of the oriel window on the new town hall

front of St. Martin's church

door of St. Martin's church

This mosaic was in Rathaus Platz. Madison Wisconsin became a twin city to Freiburg Germany in 1987. Who knew you could find a mosaic of our capitol in Germany? The stones making up this mosaic come from the Rhine River, a tradition that began in the 1800s. Pretty cool!

We made our way to the Munster square via some side streets with very interesting buildings. 

Along Franziskanerstrasse

now a bank building

Haus zum Walfisch (the Whale House) Erasmus, the Renaaissance humanist, lived here from 1529-1531

As in many German cities destroyed in WWI and WWII, Freiburg has a mix of old (and often rebuilt) buildings and new. It also has a modern tram system that keeps cars out of the city center and provides transportation around the entire city. 

This glass fronted grocery store (where Dave & Chuck bought wine) is next to the 15th century late Gothic Basler Hof, now housing the Regional Council.

Trams run frequently through Freiburg

We arrived at the Muenster Platz to find the market closing up. But the church was open with many visitors entering its huge wooden doors. Germany uses the word Muenster (pronounced minster) to designate the bishop's seat, coming from the Latin monasterium, meaning monastery. Although no longer a bishopric, the term continues to be used to designate "an important church". 

As are most churches we see, the Muenster is undergoing renovation.

A last few shoppers take advantage of the fresh produce

The only Gothic tower in Germany, the Muensterturm is 116 meters tall (That's taller than a football field is long.) Built in the 1200s, it survived intact during the 1944 bombing of Freiburg.

Pat entering the Muenster.

The church's stained glass windows had been removed and hidden before the allied bombings in 1944 and so were not destroyed.

High Altar

This photo from 1945 shows that despite all the houses destroyed around it, the Muenster and its tower survived intact.

Leaving the Muenster, we walked back to our car, passing by the set up for the Muensterplatz concert series - a multi-day music fest. 

Historical Merchants' Hall on Muenster Platz advertising the concert series.

A sewer grate in Muenster Platz

Getting out of the city was an hour-long challenge. We had noticed when driving into town that the opposite side of the autobahn (interstate highway) was backed up for what seemed miles. Well, now we had to go home via that same backup, created by roadwork (what else?) Trying to avoid the worst of the backup, Dave drove us on a tour of city streets which only sort of worked. Like the US, this seems to be prime roadwork season. sigh.

But we made it home. Dave grilled salmon which we ate with roasted potatoes, ratatouille, and salad. Oh, and a rosé wine. Too cold to eat outside, but c'est la vie.

2026-06-08 Groceries and Riquewihr

 Monday, June 8, 2026

Today we're slow. Some people (not me) stayed up quite late last night and didn't sleep well. So, we're really slow this morning. (Which gave me time to finish a couple of blog posts.) We have to buy groceries and we have to visit the hospital once more. They never gave us the itemized bill (rapport medical détaillé) that we'll need to submit to our US insurance. To get this itemized bill, we had to go back to the pulmonary building where I was hospitalized. But we were able to get the needed report. I even ran into one of the nurses who cared for me and she remembered me. I guess an American in a French hospital is a bit of a rarity. 

Next stop was the grocery store. We forgot my battery so I stayed in the car while the guys did the shopping. We got home at 1:30 and had a leisurely lunch. 

Meat case at the Super U grocery store

rabbits in the meat case at the Super U grocery store

That allowed us just enough time in the afternoon to drive to Riquewihr to take the Petit Train tour of this Plus Beau Village. North of Colmar we joined the Route du Vin and started driving alongside vineyards. Wine merchants lined the main streets of the towns we drove through, each advertising "Dégustation" (tasting). 

Our plan was to take the 4 pm train which takes us out into the vineyards for some panoramic views of the valley and an up-close and personal look at the vineyards. However, best laid plans and all that, the 4 PM train was fully booked, so we would have to take the 5 PM train. 

See that tour group of people coming toward the train? They filled all the cars.

Pat & Chuck pose in front of the petit train

When life gives you lemons and all  that, we found a little bistro just up the road and stopped for a drink. 

We  had an hour and that was just enough time to get a drink at a bistro.

The sky had slowly been clouding over during the afternoon, but we hoped the rain would wait until we finished our tour. Apparently that was asking a lot. Luckily the train has a roof over the cars so we got minimally damp on our ride back into town. This train has a headset system that can be set to 16 different languages, so we heard the tour in English. 

headsets on the train could be programmed to any of 16 languages

Pat with her headset (No, you don't wear these on your ears for some reason.)

Even in grey clouds, the views are spectacular from this town that sits up in the hills.

views from the vineyard

The  church in Riquewihr seen from the vineyards

On the way home, we passed these symbols of Alsace in one of the towns we passed through.

The pretzel with an A in the middle is the symbol for Alsace. Sorry for the poor focus, this was taken from a moving car at a round-about

By now, you should recognize the stork. This artsy fellow was made from shiny metal. (Again, also taken from a moving car)

2026-06-07 Marché aux Puces Dessenheim

 Sunday, June 7, 2026

We've seen signs for a Flea Market (Marché aux Puces) in a town just 8 km from us. And Neuf-Brisac is having a craft fair. So that's our plan for the day. A slow morning and something different to do. 

As in the US, flea market vendors vary from local folks selling things they no longer need to people who make their living selling old and/or new stuff. 

It's easy to see where the flea market is by the cars lining the streets and filling the parking lots around the area on the edge of town. Vendors are arranged in 4 rows facing each other with an aisle down the middle for a total of 8 rows and a few others along the sides. There's also a tent with tables and benches for getting coffee or food. 

Dave found a couple of CDs he couldn't resist for 1 Euro each, while Pat did some shopping for grandchildren and friends. 

We came home for lunch after which Pat, Chuck, and Dave headed for Neuf-Brisac while I headed to our bedroom for a nap. The craft fair in Neuf-Brisac was, surprise, surprise, in the moat. Pat used my mobility cart and it worked great. Lots of artisans at the fair on a beautiful day. And Pat and Chuck got to see Vauban's fortifications.

Dave made pasta with red sauce for dinner which we ate on our patio. We played cards afterward enjoying the perfect weather until after sunset around 10:00. (Sunset is  quite late here in France due to the high latitude of Europe compared to us.)

2026-06-06 Éco-Musee d'Alsace

 Saturday, June 6, 2026

Éco-Musée d'Alsace

Today we're taking a trip back in time with a promise of old tractors for Chuck. We know the museum is open today because we checked the hours. It's only a short distance from Logelheim. And the day is sunny and mild. 

The Éco-Musée is too big to take in all it offers in one day so we're glad for the opportunity to visit again. We know just where to park that is the shortest walk to the entrance. Once there, we were able to borrow a wheel chair for Pat since the éco-musée covers 240 acres and showcases 80 houses, farms, and out buildings. The theme of this open air museum is rural Alsace in the the early 20th century. The museum has collected its buildings from various locations in Alsace, taking them down carefully and reconstructing them on site. The insides of these buildings are furnished as early 20th century houses, shops, and workshops. We have decided to follow the map backwards so that Dave and I are sure to see new things. 

As we left the visitor entry, lo and behold there was a tractor parked right in front of us. We started with number 60 on the map - the sawmill.

The sawmill

Not sure what all these wheels and belts do, but they were impressive

More sawmill equipment

The next stop was a house brought from Sundhofen, the town next to ours. You could see the way it was constructed as its timbers and mud & daub walls were exposed. 

Dave checking out the mud and daub walls

The Sundhofen house

Spaces between timbers were packed with circles of mud and daub speared on sticks then inset either horizontally of vertically into the space. This then was most often plastered over with a smooth layer on the inside and outside of the building.

In the farm below, the upper level is living space, the lower level on the right is for animals and the lower left side has a display of how saddles were made. We continued past differently constructed houses and barns each from a different town and most of different ages. The oldest house had a 14th century date. Of course, the inside was changed over the centuries of different families living in it. And its current interior reflected early 20th century life.

Pat and Chuck leaving the animal quarters and walking to the saddlery under the porch

Doesn't Chuck look like he belongs here?

Lynn, Pat, and Chuck in another farmyard.

The tower seems a bit incongruous to this rural landscape as it represents medieval city dwelling. It was acquired when Mulhouse was  doing extensive renovations and removing historic houses and ramparts during the 1980s. At first thought to be a defensive tower in the ramparts, it was discovered to be a home for a family of the minor nobility.  The formal gardens are reminders of the cloister gardens of abbeys where monks grew medicinal and other herbs as well as flowers.

 

The tower's first level had no access to the floors above it and was likely used for storage. The entrance to the tower living quarters was by means of the wooden bridge. 

We passed the communal laundry with its wooden washboards ready to be used. In fact, this was how laundry was done in rural areas until the 20th century.

It's not unusual to see various farm animals on the streets or in the barns of the museum. They teach us how these animals were used for working the farms. 

We've seen these black and white cows in the fields. They're black on the sides and white down the middle of their backs. We asked the woman who was leading this cow what they were. This breed is unique to Alsace and is called Vosgienne. They not only provide milk for Munster cheese, but they were used in farming for pulling plows. This particular bull was very docile and when I asked why, the woman handling the cow told us he no longer had testoserone. 

In this barn, this billy goat was kept separate from the lady goats and had his own pen.

Besides turkeys and geese, we saw a very sassy peacock in one of the farm yards. After strutting around for awhile, he gave us a show of his plummage. Well, maybe he was actually showing off for the other peacock who was answering his calls. 

Of course there were storks. 

And of course, there was a tractor collection. Chuck seemed to know all the brands and either owns or used to own some of them. 

And so ended our trip back in time. We drove back home to a modern kitchen and a washer and dryer.