2026-06-05 Vosges Mountains - Michelin Tour

 Friday June 5, 2026

It's supposed to be a beautiful day today so we're off on another Michelin Green Guide tour of the Vosges Mountains. Some things we've done before, but many roads and towns are new. We start in the direction of Trois Épis (Three Wheat Ears). I know. It's a funny name. It's genesis comes from a 1491 vision of Mary where she appeared with 3 wheat ears in one hand and a small ice cube in the other. She told the blacksmith who was praying at the site that the 3 wheat ears symbolized the abundant harvests of true believers. The ice cube symbolizes the hail, frost, flood, and famine that will visit the unbelievers. (more here)

It took us a lot longer than 2 hours 14 minutes to complete this loop!

From Trois Épis, the road wound up the mountains to the Le Linge battlefield from WWI. We didn't have time to explore the battlefield last time we were here, so this time, Dave, Chuck, & Pat visited the museum and Chuck & Dave explored the battlefield. (More information about the horrific battle) 

the German cemetery

The last line of this informational chart reads: "The dead in this cemetery are an exhortation to peace"

I was glad to see  school groups at this memorial. The photos and information is graphic and hard to see, but important to see. Other than Pearl Harbor, we have no battle scars in our country since the Civil War. Grandparents who lived through WWII are gone and no one is left who can teach our young about the horrors of war. 

Pat looking at one of the trenches at Le Linge. A student group is exploring the battlefield.

Besides the cemetery of white crosses marking the graves of  the French soldiers, the museum provided scenes to help the viewer understand what living in the trenches was like.

The French cemetery. The inscription on the cross in the back says: "Pax" (Peace)

Inside the museum a model of a German trench.

A French cannon

French soldiers

German soldiers

After seeing the museum, Chuck & Dave explored the battlefield - mostly trenches and earthen works to try to protect the soldiers (both French & German) who were sometimes only 10 feet away from each other. 

Looking into the trenches

Chuck near one of the trenches

Dave exploring one of the trenches. Notice the small window behind his shoulder for shooting your gun.

The trench where Dave was standing.

We continued up the mountain road where the scenery was spectacular. But the road was narrow (as in no lines and no shoulders) with lots of hairpin turns, so there weren't too many pull-offs to safely take a photo. 

We drove as far as Le Lac Noir (the Black Lake) This small glacial lake formed in a cirque (a circular hollow carved by a glacier) and then on to Le Lac Blanc (the White Lake) whose glacial cirque is 3 times larger than the Black Lake. 

Le Lac Noir

Le Lac Blanc

We continued on to Hohneck via La Route des Crêtes (Road of the Peaks). As before, we drove to the auberge on top, parked in a handicapped spot, and explored the views. You'll notice it was windy (and chilly) with no place to escape the wind. There were an impressive number of hikers ascending from various trails. Even more impressive was that many looked as old as us. And they all had fashionable hiking gear. Oh, and we still can't see the Alps from here. 

The wind was strong and cold - Pat and Chuck

This photo  doesn't do justice to the hikers arriving from the valley. Multiple groups arrived in close succession, from varying hiking trails. 

It was lunch time, but the outdoor porch was not serving (we assume because of the cold and wind). So we ate inside the very busy brasserie (a pub that serves food). Warmed by quiche lorraine (Pat & I) and bacon omelet (Dave & Chuck), we got back in the car to continue by the Route des Cretes to Munster. 

We discovered cows pasturing in the high slopes. 

Down from Hohneck, we discovered an interesting use of a ski run to earn money in the summer. Called Tricky Track, it's a luge that rides on a rail on the ground. One person per car is somehow pulled up the hill to the top on a straight rail and then makes his/her way back down on a slalom course. Looks like fun - if only we weren't so decrepit and old. 

Imagine riding down the mountain in a small sled

A beautiful ride down the mountain dropped us in Munster, in the same city center parking lot. We visited the same places and the same storks. But this time Chuck bought Munster cheese from a fromagerie (cheese store) in Munster. 

The Pharmacy has painted characters on its walls

A token stork. This is only one of the photos I took today, even though I had photographed these same storks last week. Sigh. I just can't resist.

 

The  Catholic church

We traveled new roads back to Logelheim - the D417 and the D83. We ate our lunch sandwiches for dinner along with aperos. Then we all crashed and went to bed early. But we had a gorgeous day in the Vosges.

2026-06-04 Mulhouse Musée Nationale de l'Automobile

 Thursday, June 4, 2026

Our plan for today was to go to the Éco-musée d'Alsace. Temps in the high 60's small chance of rain, increasing in the late afternoon. So, off we go, headed in the direction of the Vosges Mountains going south. We brought our raincoats just in case. Oh, and our lunches.

Just a 25 minute ride, when we got to the museum, we were told it was closed today. (But there were a half-dozen busses in the parking lot.) Disappointed, we went back to the car to reconsider our options. Dave suggested a trip to Mulhouse (apparently pronounced meh-lose in Alsace) to visit the auto museum. Chuck loves tractors, and cars, and car races. So this is right up his alley. Mulhouse is only 20 minutes south of the Éco-musée. 

Rock-star handicapped parking gave us only a short walk to the museum via its impressive entrance. (See this blogpost ) While Pat and I were ho-hum about looking at cars, we had to admit that the museum was gigantic and well laid out. A special exhibit on Formula 1 cars was an extra bonus for Chuck, who knew most of the models in the museum, old or new. Not counting the Formula 1 exhibition, the museum has more than 450 cars on display, mostly old cars. 

The Schlumpf brothers (Fritz & Hans) developed careers as wool brokers. A car and race enthusiast, Fritz began collecting cars in his middle age. The cars were restored and kept in his HKC Mulhouse wool factory (no longer being used). This factory continues to be the site of the museum. In the end, Fritz would own 30 bugattis.

quote from: https://newsroom.bugatti.com/en/press-releases/history-schlumpf-how-the-biggest-bugatti-collection-was-returned-to-france

These are some of what we saw in the museum.

1933 Bugatti electric "car"

1930 Maserati

1942 Arzens - designed to save on fuel due to WWII shortages

Chuck and a Bugatti

1930 Bugatti Royale Coupe de Ville (ask Chuck why this is special)

Formula 1 race car

Having arrived late morning, we had postponed lunch to do the museum first. Of course, by the time we left it was after 3:00. Any hopes of a picnic lunch were dashed by the wet sidewalks (and picnic tables) and the misty sprinkles still coming down. It was a lucky thing we weren't able to go to the éco-musée, we would have had to leave early and/or get wet. So we ate lunch in the car, then headed for home.

Pat avoiding raindrops; Lynn & Dave breaking down the scooter

Oh, and by the way, had we found the schedule for the éco-musée, we'd have seen that in June, the museum is closed Monday-Thursday. Sheesh. 

2026-06-03 Colmar - Petit Train

 Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Today we've pretty much recovered, although Pat is still having trouble with her leg. We decided to go into Colmar to take the little green train around the city. Le Petit Train Vert starts its 40 minute tour of the city center from near the Unterlinden Museum. Headsets let you choose any of 16 languages, so we could hear the narration in English. Getting in and out of the train was a bit of a challenge for Pat and I, but the driver had a stool ready for us to use. 

Our arrival in Colmar

Chuck, Pat, Lynn on Le Petit Train Vert - only the sides were open, so we were protected from any sprinkles.

It's hard to get good photos from the train.

We passed by many of the landmarks of Colmar's old town as we criss crossed small roads and occasional pedestrian zones. This ride is a good introduction to Colmar at 8 Euros per person and gives ideas for places to return to. However, it's hard to take good photos out of a moving train, even if it is going slow.

Crossing the bridge in Little Venice

Little Venice

After the ride, we decided to explore the Unterlinden museum to see the famous triptych of Issenheim. This museum lends wheel chairs to visitors and because we're handicapped, our entry for us and our caregiver is free. France is really working hard on making places handicapped accessible and I see a large increase in accessibility even just since 2 years ago. We also see some people with mobility scooters like mine, or in wheel chairs. Walkers and canes are common. Our generation is aging, but still active. 

This museum is housed in a former Dominican Sisters Convent. I like how the convent's structure is still preserved in its modern use. As usual, I can't resist taking photos in the well-preserved cloister. 

One of the statues that used to be atop the fountain in the center of the cloister.

Back into the museum, we spent time learning about Martin Schongauer, a famous 15th century painter and engraver. He was born in Colmar, studied under his father, who was a goldsmith, then apprenticed as a painter, attended Leipzig University and later lived in Nuremburg where he learned about contemporary Flemish artists. He was considered a master and many imitated or copied his work. 

Two of his altar pieces are in this museum.This one is made up of at least 24 panels.

One of the pieces which includes 4 paintings of the passion of Christ.

I didn't read the info, so I'm only guessing that this is a painting of Jesus in the temple, but I could be completely wrong.

In another room, we saw intricately carved choir stalls from the church at Issenheim as well as a tombstone from the same church. Hans Ulrich vom Hus was a knight who died about 1342. His tombstone is quite elaborately carved, so I'm wondering who this knight might be. Someone important, no doubt. And rich.

choir stalls from Issenheim church

Tombstone of Hans Ulrich vom Hus

We have finally come to the Issenheim triptych. (I wrote about it here: Unterlinden Museum  )

This is a model of how the triptych is put together. The left and right panels can be folded in to cover the central motif and present another in its place. This can be done multiple times.

The final altar piece is sculptured. St Anthony is in the middle. St Augustin is on the left and St Jerome is on the right. 

Our last stop in Colmar was a nearby cafe where Pat & Chuck ordered Orangina, Dave ordered a beer, and I ordered ice cream with meringue. 

I won't need dessert tonight! The pink pieces are meringue (my favorite), the white is cream (I can leave that) and under the cream was vanilla ice cream. SO GOOD!

Pat and Chuck at the cafe

Home again, Chuck took some pictures of the house that  he said I could share. 

Our patio where we had dinner tonight

Looking at our patio from the road