Alsace.

Well folks, we made it safe and sound into Stuttgart.  The Burts are all as cool as their mom, and we sat around last night drinking orange juice and drinking pistachios and talking and laughing until it was time for bed.  It feels really nice to be in a home again.  Theirs is a gorgeous one with beautiful design that mixes a modern feel with traditional deutsch elements in a tiny village on the outskirts of the Stuttgart metropolitan area. 

Oh man, it was a cool day.  We didn't actually end up going to the Schwarzwald, though we drove past the edge of it.  Instead we left Ramstein Air Force Base, one of the largest US bases in Germany (there is a mall there called BXPX), and headed for France.  This border region along the Rhine river is really beautiful and famous, lots of picturesque landscapes and little town.  Our first stop was at the top of a densely wooded hill, a castle called Haut-Konigsbourg, restored in the early 20th century by Kaiser Wilhelm as a symbol of German imperial power (and lost to the French after World War I).  That was really cool, but the coolest part was this other castle, further along the ridge of the hill, which had NOT been restored, it was just these overgrown medieval ruins.  We climbed around a bit, trying to avoid the stinging nettles, and felt like Aragorn and Gimli and Eowyn.  It was so awesome, guys, it was this foggy, misty day, but when the mist cleared out we could see down into the valley.  Highly, highly rad.

There must be something about that hill, because it also is the home of a park called Monkey Mountain, where there are like 300 monkeys walking around that you feed.  It sounded really cool, but it was kind of rainy so we didn't take the time for it.  I'm really happy such a place exists, though.  Le Montagne des Signes.

We also went to a little town called Riquewihr, which Debbie recommended as the home of the best macaroons in the world, and they didn't disappoint.  We got some crepes there.  Awesome.  Have you ever had salty crepes?  I mean this girl just made them like an omelette, she spread out the batter on the plate, flipped it over, then cooked an egg right on top of the pancake, then put some grated cheese on top and let it melt, then put a layer of ham on, and folded it all up.  It was so yummy.  We also got one with membrille jam and gingerbread ice cream.  And one with chestnut spread.  And one with nutella.  All delicious.

Around Riquewihr there are a ton of storks; we'd see them nesting on houses and in trees. 

Last stop was Colmar, where we ate some quiche (AHHHH!) and took a gondola ride through the canals they call Petite Venise.  Our boat driver was this dude from Mauritius named Olivier, but he only spoke French.  The other group was from Zurich, but the mom was from Spain, so between all of us we could kind of communicate.  The best was me and Nate just sitting in the back with Olivier trying to say things in pidgin span-frenglish.  Votre familia vivre France?  Ah, Mauritius?  Tres chouette.  Vous Jouer futbol?  Ah, Basketball!  Tony Parker, frances!  Oui, oui.  When we told him we were from California, he said with a big smile, "Oh, sexygirls?  I love sexygirls."  That conversation pretty much took us the whole half hour of the boat ride.  Oh, and when he found out we were from California he pointed out to us a sequoyah growing along the banks.  Way cool. 

Charles, the GPS system, has been indispensable.  Sometimes he even seemed to respond to us.  There was one point when he said, "In 200 yards, keep to the right."  Debbie, surprised, exclaimed, "Keep to the right?!" and Charles said again, reassuringly, "Keep to the right."

Baguettes and cheese.  Debbie's favorite cheese is called Franche-Comte.

-W.

-- Okay, Carmen Sandiegers:  We'll just be here in Stuttgart for the next couple days, so instead of a city I'll clue the name of the holiday being celebrated in the village today.  It's a holiday celebrating the workers.