TUESDAY, 9/5:
You can breathe easy, everyone.
Loraine did NOT get attacked by an animal today.
You'd be surprised by the number of
people who have sent us notes about Loraine's little contretemps with
that peacock yesterday. Even our friend Oliver, when we met him this
afternoon, brought up Loraine's run-ins with the birds the past two
days. But there's no need to fear. I do believe Loraine and the
animal kingdom have made peace--
Greetings today from Colmar, France,
where this is the view as I write this (8:30 local time, 2:30 back in
Marquette)--
Those are the Vosges Mountains in the
background, a mountain range we had a blast driving through today.
And when I say blast, I really mean it. I rarely drive when at home,
and these 10 days provide me with 90% of my driving time for the
year, something that's made even better when you're winding up &
down hills, trying not to let centrifugal force throw you off a
switchback, and holding your breath as you're trying to pass a truck
going up the mountainside at 10 kilometers per hours.
It was a blast. A slightly stressful
blast at times, but a blast nonetheless.
We made a few stops today, the first in
Domfaing, where Marquette's Donald Young was killed on his birthday,
October 22nd, 1944, as his unit was attacking north
through this area. The other stop was in Le Chene, where Republic's
George Ritola, already wounded in action, was killed during German
artillery shelling. When we were here three years ago, our friend
Oliver put up a little memorial to George. We were amazed when we
found it still attached to the tree.
After a quick stop for lunch and a hike
around Bergheim, a lovely little medieval town where lovers stroll...
Chickens have an attitude--
And the architecture is kind of on the
wild side...
We made our way to tonight's stop in
Colmar. Colmar's a cool place, with a huge old pedestrian historical
center--
And some pretty weird architecture of
its own--
The old town is one reason we wanted to
spend a night here, the other was to spend a little time with our
friend Oliver Pernot. Say “hey” to Oliver, everyone--
We met Oliver through Loraine's
research; his mother used to tend the grave of an American soldier
(after whom Oliver is named) and he helped us with a little ceremony
put together to honor two Marquette County war casualties back in
2008. Since then, Oliver's also helped the family of Republic's
George Ritola learn more about how their brother and uncle was
killed, and has been just an all around fun guy to know.
So it was great to see you again,
Oliver. Thanks for the chocolate and the desserts!
Speaking of which, here's Loraine's
Gateaux de Grand Marnier--
And my Tartelette Framboise--
See Mom? We're still eating as well as
we have been this trip.
One more story about Colmar you may
find interesting. All along the cobblestone pedestrian streets you
see little markers set in the stone, markers that look like these--
You also see a huge replica of the
Statue of Liberty as you drive into town. Why, you ask? Well, I
answer, the guy who designed the statue, Auguste Bertholdi, lived in
Colmar, and even did some of the preliminary casting work on Lady
Liberty right here. The people of Colmar are rightly proud of him,
and on behalf of all Americans, we paid our thanks. He gave us one
wicked statue.
Before we leave you, we can't forget
today's animal picture--
Or today's edition of “They Decorate
Their Houses in Bergheim HOW?”--
No, I'm not quite sure what to make of
the front of that house. I just hope it doesn't keep me awake
tonight.
Tomorrow, we leave French-speaking
territory and spend the rest of the trip in Germany. And since
neither of us speak a lick of German (although Loraine's doing her
gosh-darned best to pick up a few phrases), that should be a treat.
So unless we somehow end up in jail,
we'll be back tomorrow night from Freiburg.
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