Wednesday, July 30: Colmar, Alsace-Lorraine, France

Yesterday we woke to a light steady rain. We filled with fresh water and drove ¼ mile away to an Aire where we could dump both our black and gray tanks and then stopped yet another Wal-Mart type store called E.LeClercs for a few groceries. We were going to continue on the wine trail south to Colmar, but the mist rain and fog in the foothills made us rethink that and we headed down the expressway directly to Colmar. 

The sculptor of the State of Liberty was born here in Colmar and they have this mini statue at the entrance of the city

 We got a campsite right on the canal in the city's marina where we stayed the rest of the day while it rained steadily all day. We enjoyed watching the duck-like birds cruise the canal and then we were treated to a playful river otter feeding.

This "New Jersey" camper showed up in the campground, but I never got to talk with the owner..

This morning, we decided to go into town regardless of the threatening weather to see the old section of the city. We walked about 1 mile into town and found the visitor center when it began to rain pretty hard. We decided to take a mini train ride around the city with English taped commentary. It was not very good – it did describe a few of the old buildings we passed, but gave no real history of the city and played a lot of music.

Our lunch cafe

We walked back to a couple of the buildings to get some photos and stopped for lunch at a river-side cafe in the section called Petite Venice. It didn't look anything like Venice, but it was pretty with colorful half-timbered homes along the canal and bridges festooned with flowers.

Brussels presented this mini Mannekin Pis to Colmar as a friendship gesture

Now this is a great stylized water tower!

We spent most of the day ambling about the city (that's what you call it when you are lost most of the time due to the winding streets and inability to read 'you are here' maps.... We got back to the RV late afternoon for a nap and when we awoke, the dark heavy skies were getting higher, promising better weather tomorrow when will cross the river back into Germany to explore the Black Forest.