Page 181 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL EATING IBERIA

And then, there was Strasbourg. As we left Hei-
delberg, murmurs of an incident at the Christmas
market drifted among the passengers. Our day-long
visit to one of Europe’s most loved Christmas mar-
kets was all but certain cancelled as we learned that
two were dead and the police were searching for the
gunman.
We watched as the Viking crew transitioned
smoothly to another plan with grace and expertise.
We would still dock in Strasbourg, but we would visit
Frieberg instead. For those that wanted to go into
Strasbourg, it was still an option.
By morning, the longship had docked in Stras-
bourg. I watched as the majority of passengers
loadedbusesheadingtowardFrieberg.Ialsosawtwo
older gentlemen walk into the city of Strausbourg,
unscathed by the risk and determined that no one
would hinder their journey. I learned later that these
two friends had made it through London’s bombing
in WWII and spoke of how nothing hindered them
now.
The buses approached the heart of the Baden, Ger-
many, a wine-growing region and the entry to the
Black Forest. I immediately dreamed of snow-cov-
ered fir trees, cuckoo clocks, and the creamy cake
withshavingsofchocolateandbrightredcherries.As
buses traveled deep into the forest, snow eluded me.
However, I learned the secrets of constructing the
sponge cake, which actually does taste better here,
and purchased the ultimate souvenir, a hand-made
German cuckoo clock with tiny fir trees and a man
who twirls at his appointed time.
Our last day was rooted in history as we traveled
to the Colmar Pocket in the Alsace, France region.
From December 1944 until February 1945, the
French and Americans fought a bloody battle to hold
back the Germans. The Audie Murphy Memorial in
Holtzwihr and the hill where the 1944 Battle of Col-
mar took place where an American flag still flies re-
minded me of war’s brutality.
As I departed Alruna on the last day of the cruise
in Basel, I hailed a taxi and headed for the airport,
going back to my world of routine and daily responsi-
bilities.ButasImovedalongthenearlyemptystreets

Breathtaking Heidelberg

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