Our first full day on the Sigyn was a Breisach, German, the “gateway to the Black Foreset.” Breisach is built on a basalt rock outcropping in the Rhine plain. It is located in one of the warmest parts of German, across the river from French Alsace, which is famous for its wine growing. Breisach, too, can boast about its winter; it is home of Europes largest cellars, which a storage capacity of more than 160 million liters. The most prominent landmark of Breisach is the Romanesque-Gothic St. Stephen’s Cathedral , built between the 13th and 13th centuries.
We took the included excursion into the Black Forest, which is actually a mountain range. Due to weather, we were not allowed to hike the Black Forest trails, so we instead viewed a glass blowing a cuckoo clock demonstration in a tourist area in the Black Forest.
A view of the Black Forest from our bus window.Sheep seen from our bus.The Black Forest Village tourist trap where we saw the glass blowing and cuckoo clock demos.The “newlyweds.”The not-so-newly weds.The people danced around the clock on the half hours.
In the afternoon, Candy and Nicole went on the tour of Medieval Colmar tour, but Greg and I took the WWII Colmar excursion.
The site of Audie Murphys one-man stand against the Germans.Our guide, Malcolm.A plaque at the Audie Murphy site.One of the many dioramas at the WWII, Colmar museum. This was an interesting chapter of WWII history that I didn’t know much about until this trip.Another diorama.Greg and me in one of the Alsacians towns we passed through during our travels.A French Sherman that was knocked out by the Germans and was on display in a French town.A church in Medieval Colman where Candy and Nicole toured.A woman Medieval Colmar passing out coconut macaroons.The town was beginning to decorate for Christmas.Another view of Christmas decorations.The tour guide herds cats.One of the early versions of the Statue of Liberty. This was the town in which the sculptor lived.Nicole and Candy in the lounge back on board.Candy disproving new alcoholic treats under the expert tutelage of Nicole.The evening’s entertainment consisted of a glass blowing demonstration in the lounge.
It was a good, but long, first full day aboard ship.
Our last day in Lucern we checked out of our hotel and then walked round the old town (altstaedt) to do some shopping. By 1500 we boarded busses for the 90-minute drive to Basel, where we boarded out boat, the Viking Sigyn, unpacked, received the introductory briefing by Andrew our program director, and had dinner.
A view of downtown Lucern.A view of the shopping area in the old town.The lion statue carved into rock to honor the Swiss soldiers who served the French during the Thirty Years War.At one point we stopped to get a small bag of roasted chestnuts. The weather was cold, and the nuts were welcome.One of the many churches in downtown Lucern.Candy and Nicole with their loot.We had a nice lunch in a restaurant that specialized in local Swiss beers.A humorous store window.Boarding our home for the next week.Our state room.
