Day seven of our Rhine River Cruise began in Breisach, Germany. While the final destination of the day was The Black Forest, a couple of members of my family set off for the optional “Medieval Village of Colmar” tour to start the day. For this we loaded onto a bus and drove into France.
Colmar
Colmar is medieval in that it dates back to the 9th century, but is a quaint French village in the Alsace region. Seriously, the entire day “Little Town,” the song from Beauty and The Beast was playing through my head. With the tiny cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses and wonderful signs hung above the shop doors, I could imagine Disney visiting to gain inspiration for the movie. They didn’t, but they did base the village off two neighboring Alsatian towns.
Our walking tour through the town showed us the cathedral, a museum dedicated to French sculptor august Bartholdi (creator of the Statue of Liberty), many patisseries, and a grocery store. Small shops selling sweets, dried fruits, wines, and baked goods line the streets. When our walking tour was finished we opted to do some souvenir shopping. The sweet shop proved a good stop, as they handed out lots of samples!
I thoroughly enjoy our morning in Colmar. The town is so quaint and picturesque. I really enjoyed photographing it .
After our shopping we hopped back on the bus, which took us to our boat. Back aboard the Kara, it was time for lunch. Following lunch, the buses were waiting to take us on our next excursion – the Black Forest.
The Black Forest
We were warned that the drive to the Black Forest was a windy one, so many opted not to take this trip. As one who often suffers from motion sickness, I decided that the bus ride was the perfect time and place for an afternoon nap. My plan worked well. I can’t tell you much about the drive to get to the Black Forest, other than we made a photo stop on the way. From this short stop, the Black Forest seemed poorly named to me.
Upon arrival at Hofgut Sternen, better known as The Black Forest Village, options for the afternoon were presented: take a walk through the forest, see how cuckoo clocks are made, watch glassblowers at work, and discover the secret ingredient in Black Forest Cake. I started in the glass shop, watching the glassblowers create and sculpt great works of art. Next, I went to the cuckoo clock shop, but the demonstration on how they work had ended. However, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the various clocks available for purchase.
After that it was downstairs to try the famous Black Forest cake. Layers of chocolate sponge cake separated by whipped cream, with sour cherries and cherry brandy make up the tasty, but filling, cake. One slice was suitable for many to share.
Before getting back on the bus, it was time to see the life-size cuckoo clock in action. The clock takes up a whole wall on the outside of the building, and is complete with dancing couples that move when the hour strikes. Once the clock chimed 5, it was time to head back to our boat.
Farewell Dinner
This was the last night of our cruise, so a toast with the captain to celebrate our journey was in order. After the toast, we headed to the dining room for dinner, where the chef had many treats in store for us. Surf and Turf was the featured entrée. Next came dessert – a chocolate peanut butter torte, which was amazing! And then to top off the evening, melt-in-your-mouth white chocolate truffles were presented to each table.
It was a bit of a wobble back to our rooms to begin packing up our belongings!
Taking a Rhine River cruise, and are wondering about which excursions to sign up for? Check out summaries and rankings of the Rhine River excursions offered during my Viking Cruise.
