Colmar - a wonderful finale to a great cruise

It's hard to believe our Winter Rhine Voyage will be coming to a close tomorrow morning.  Fortunately, we still have 4 days of land travel in Switzerland after we disembark in the morning.  Last night was the Captain's Reception so we all 'spiffied up" for it.  I had threatened my rowdy group of 18 that I'd throw  them overboard if they didn't show up and behave for our group photo.  We did manage to get another 'sedate' photo, but this was a more typical shot.  Honestly, tho, this was a wonderful group and everyone really had a great time. 

This afternoon we had the choice of a shore excursion to the Black Forest or to the charming Alsation city of Colmar.  Since I had never seen Colmar, I joined that group and was immediately glad I did.  This "Capital of Alsatian Wine" is smaller than Strasbourg but shares a similar architectural style.  The area is crossed by canals and is now called "little Venice"  Renowned for its well -preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums, especially the Unterlinden Museum.

 

.I loved the quaint store signs detailing the type of business.  This one was a pharmacy

Colmar is the home town of the sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty.  A museum in the old town is dedicated to his works

As the day turned into evening, the streets were filled with families enjoying the festivities.  Santa even paid a visit via a canal boat instead of his traditional sleigh

I managed one more stop for Gluhwein before we hurried back to meet the bus for a return to the ship and our last evening.  There was just time to pack and take a photo of our "Gluhwein mug" collection before heading to the dining room for our last dinner on this wonderful cruise.It's definitely time to make that appointment with Betty Ford and Jennie Craig!

Santa and his helpers paid us a visit after dinner and brought each lady a gift.  This time I got a 'good' gift instead of the 'Devil' St. Nicholas had left me.

Tomorrow we leave the AmaCello and drive to Basel for a few hours before entering Switzerland and the next 2 nights in Lucerne.

What a wonderful way to usher in the Christmas season!

Linda