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I confess it's been several years since I've visited Berlin but after spending a week in Munich I'm sold on the South.
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Riquewihr, is it French or is it German? I'll be honest, I don't know much about this town, due to the fact only 4 hours were spent there. None the less, this village in the Alsace region of France is straight out of a story book. For real, I have the storybook, My Village, illustrated and written by Hansi. I have yet to finish reading the storybook, although it is a picture book, there are 35 pages, all with lots of words. Too much for bedtime.
What I do know is the Alsace region was occupied by the germans during WWI. Hansi, is an artist local to Alsace and is famous for his political cartoons and drawings of traditional dressed children for that time period. Although is drawings are colorful and playful, they are politically loaded and with the small bit of Alsace history one can pick up on where Hansi stood.
In Riquewihr there is a musuem that houses an impressive body of his work. For 2 euro, it is a must see. His styles and medium varies but his skill remains flawless.
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People who go on trips are categorized into two groups: tourists and travelers. When you find yourself looking for a supermarket or a drugstore because you ran out of shampoo, or you are elated that your hotel/hostel has a clothes line, that's when you have moved into group 2. You are a traveler. One group isn't better than the other although some may disagree, they are just different modes for seeing the world.
I recently came to the reality that I am no longer traveling. My toothbrush I purchased in France has officially expired. My pink Donto Dent is totaled, it's through. Maybe it's silly but each brush took me back to the simplicity of traveling where my biggest concerns were, "Will I find a bed?" or, "Is it acceptable to have gelato again today?" My self-consciousness of having gelato twice in one day was short lived.
At the beginning of a trip most people are tourists. I was. I had packed everything for all types of weather, occasions, and all precautions taken so nothing could hinge on my health. This was for for the first week but I ended up leaving half of my belongings in Bath. The TravelLodge maid had an early Christmas.
Once you have reached the point of your trip where you run out of life's neccesities that's when the adventure has truly begun. Other than trying different gelato combinations, I thoroughly enjoyed European drugstores. Everything is so cool! Laundry detergent, toothpaste, soap, lotion; I saw it in a whole new light and in this light it was much more desireable than back at home. One reason was the hunt and feeling that sense of victory, "Yes, I found it! I overcame the language barrier and I will have clean clothes tonight!"(And yes I am the person who was the most excited about the clothesline out the window of the hostel in the Cinque Terre...what about it.)
Although my Donto Dent has been replace by a snazzy green Colgate, I still have the Balea body cream from Bern. So this traveler's bliss is not over yet.
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this is what I saw...
someone's perfectly constructed woodpile
cows snacking on grass
...spring bringing new life
fields of dandelions...
and then I saw Kandern.
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If you google "Kandern" the tourist website pops up, some paintings by August Macke, and then mostly information on the Black Forest Academy. My reason for making a stop in this small German village was to visit friends. My friends live in an old factory on the edge of town and are in the process of transforming it into appartments, art studios, gallery space, and a cafè. It is the Art Factory and it's an exciting project in the works. A cute village with an open market on Saturdays, a few restaraunts, and a stop at the Eis Cafè is a must. I just hiked, caught up with my friends, hunted through french flea markets, and french side trips. It was the perfect few days to rest up for adventures ahead.
If you are curious and want to stay off the beaten track there is a hostel outside of town and a handful of hotels in town. See here for a few accomodation options.
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School Field Trip in front of Munster Cathedral
Ahead is Zytglogge Zeitglockentrum...or the Clock Tower
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Bern, a laid back capitol city worth a day or two...at least!
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Avignon – Day 2
Today I rented a bike from my youth hostel. I rode along the Island, around farms, and then crossed the bridge heading away from Avignon to Villeneuve lez Avignon. It was beautiful, peaceful, quiet, and not many people. There was a big tower and then a sort of fortified city or castel. I went way up on a hill that had commanding views of Avignon and the Rhone. Olive groves and houses covered in ivy dressed with green shutters made up this lovely place.
The weather really turned today, it got super windy and cold with even some rain! I tried to have a picnic but it was too cold. Later I went back to the Palace d'Papas and went to the top and looked down on the square. So many different ages of people playing and enjoying the day. Teens and university students playing football, breakdancing, and what not. Climbing back up to the park, I viewed rowers on the Rhone. A Slow day. I am ready to head to Nice although I checked the forecast and it's rain! I hope that weather.com is wrong because I had ambitious plans of getting a tan!
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With the Tour de France underway, I felt it quite fitting to recall my far too brief Tour de-I want to go back-France. I wish and probably should have done the route and stages that the cyclist do but I had other places to see and people to visit.
I started my relationship with France in Paris, sometimes considered Europe's capitol. I think this is a bit of an overstatement but much deserved. One will never run out of cafes, museums, bridges, and awe in Paris. I stayed near Rue Cler in the Hotel Emperuer I believe my mom and I managed to stay there under 100 euros a night over Easter weekend. The room was small but had a nice view, convenient metros close at hand, and walking distance(somewhat ambitious) to the Eiffel Tower. Rue Cler is a delightful street with markets and picturesque cafes. I had the most incredible meal at Cafè Central. The service was friendly to my surprise and had 'spend your whole sunday afternoon people watching' atmosphere. I ordered brunch and my mom had the eggs benedict, both stunning presentation and almost too much for my novice & american palette. My overall experience of Paris was too quick and a definite return in the future. So only a bite for you readers!
After Paris I took the train to Arles. I was so fortunate to actually go to one of the bi-annual Spanish Bullfights! The ticket was 30 euros, which hurt since i am pretty cheap, but well worth it. I probably wont ever go to another bull fight in my life. I've seen and have mixed feelings about the whole experience even today...I'm not sure what was more disturbing, the 6 bulls being slaughtered for "entertainment" or the fact that the ampitheatre was packed with all of France cheering and jeering...I need to return to Arles as well because the town was in rare form. I felt like I was at a tacky Mexican carnival, it did not seem french let alone Van Gogh's temporary home one bit! I spent under 24 hours there unfortunately.
I went to Avignon and fell in love! What a beautiful town and tres francios, or might I say tres provencal (I don't know how to do that broken c symbol...somebody??)! I stayed at a hostel slash campground somewhat on the outskirts of town but not too bad. There wasn't anything negative I can say about Avignon, GO! I was surprised to find out that the Pope lived there for 70 years making it the "Vatican," I had no idea. The crumbling bridge (Pont Saint Benèzèt) with its famous nursery rhymes adds character to this already charming town. I spent three days here and it's a great location to visit provencal villages nearby. I rented a bike and road around the countryside the whole time thinking, "I'm riding a bike...IN FRANCE!!!" It was all perfect. I had a delightful petit dejouner in the Place Crillon. One of my favorite parts of France is le petit dejouner, it's fun to say, tastey, and tres chic...just a side note.
After Avignon I headed to the Cote d'Azure and stayed in Nice. Nice was nice but the weather was a bit wet and cold in mid April. I was determined to rent a chase lounge on the "beach" and drink Rose and pretend I was a young, rich, famous, big deal. I did....and was next to a large leathery man with a much too small euro speedo. I was freezing. I did day trips to Cannes, Antibes, and Monaco. Monaco was unreal and I was too beached to pretend I that I was remotely well off. I stayed at a "hotel" near the train station. I say "hotel" because I would actually consider it a hostel in fact I called it a hostel and the receptionist corrected me with an abrupt, "It's Hotel Belle Meuniere." My thoughts being,"Well I'm sharing a bathroom and bedroom with four people I've never met...it's a hostel." My mistake. Breakfast was included and kept me going till mid afternoon, when I needed Rosè anyway! I would stay their again, it's warm and charming as you enter through their bright yellow doors. If you need a break from the sun Nice has some incredible museums, the free and underrated Contemporary Art Museum is a gem! If you don't go for contemporary art at least go for the incredible panoramic view of Nice on the roof garden. There is also the Matisse and Chagall Museums which are next to each other and worthy of a peruse.
So only a brief slice of France, just enough to make me want to go back.
For more pictures visit my flickr
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