Crossing the Rhine near Marckolsheim

On our way to Europa Park (see earlier post) in Germany, we went up the Rhine on the French side so that we could see Colmar (see earlier post). We used D424 near Marckolsheim to cross the Rhine which is the border between France and Germany.

On the map, we saw a little island where the road winds its way across the river.  But we did not expect a lock (for those interested in how a lock works, see wikipedia entry), let alone an elevated viewing platform.  So we parked and watched one half of a cycle of its operation which took about 15 minutes – starting with two container carriers traveling downstream from Basel towards Strasbourg.

The boat stopped just before the front gate and the back gate was closed. Notice the falling water level inside the lock.

Water was allowed to flow out through the front gate as the boats slowly sunk.

The water must be let out slowly, otherwise, I imagine waves and vortex can form inside. Just like a bathtub or kitchen sink.

The front gate next to the road bridge was then lifted. Imagine the pressure on this gate when the lock is filled.

 The other side of the front gate downstream.

The boats passed underneath the front gate and the road bridge.

In a movie chase scene, this is when the one being chased looks down, sees a passing boat and jumps onto it to make an escape.  In this particular scenario, the container barges were so slow and lengthy that the chaser can easy jump onto the same boat or one behind, and the sequence can erupt into a fight scene on the containers …

Another boat from the other direction was approaching the lock to go upstream.

On the French side, there was a hydroelectric power plant next to the lock. I would like to see the inside of it too but it did not appear to be opened for visitors.

I have seen the canals in Venice and the Camden Lock in London.  But none were working.  This is an unexpected detour but it was worth it.

Here is a map of the area:

Lunch at Colmar in Alsace

On our way to Europa Park (see earlier post), we stopped by Colmar in Alsace for lunch.  We exited Switzerland via Basel and chose to drive on the French side of the Rhine – Colmar was a little less than three hours drive from Lausanne.  It is the Alsatian wine capital and with the Vosges mountains nearby, a top tourist destination. Apparently, it was the site of a hugh battle when the French and US armies pushed the Germans back across the Rhine (which is nearby) towards the end of WWII.

Colmar has an area known as the Petit Venice because of a series of canals that run through its medieval city center.

Many styles of architecture can be seen here, but one of the most eye-catching element is the timber frames that are exposed on the facade which is painted in various shades of pastels.

This one has modernized windows – a cool combination.

Quaint city center.

This is the Koïfhus (the old Customs House) which was built in 1400’s with the Maison des têtes in the background.

This is a market/warehouse on the canal which was used for transportation of goods.

The inside has been renovated – any one for foie gras ?

Saint Peter Church

We had lunch at one of the many outdoor restaurants in the city center.

My lunch was 6 escargots house style …

and Coquelet au Riesling, spätzle.

We are planning to visit Strasbourg in the near future, which is located further north after another hour or so driving.  Definitely, we will stop by Colmar again.

Europa Park

Summer was almost over. J and Sue decided to drag their respective spouses to an amusement park – Europa Park. I am not a fan of Six Flags or Disney’s because of the long lines and short thrills.  While the rides are fun, it is never worth the time standing in the sun surrounded by screaming kids.  So I went with curiosity to see how the Germans manage the whole experience.

Europa Park is located in the Black Forest area of Germany, next to a town called Rust, near the Rhine and the French border – very centrally located in Europe.  It was about 3-4 hours drive from Lausanne. We traveled  a day earlier, stayed overnight in Lahr (about 20 minutes away from the park), and entered the park at around 10 – not as early as we liked.

The park is organized by themes based on the countries of Europe.  The swinging pirate ship ride is in the Scandinavian/Viking-themed area of the park.

The two star attractions of the park are both rollercoasters.  The one shown below is the Silver Star – the biggest in Europe.  As Mercedes Benz is the sponsor of this ride, we waited in line first outside and then inside a hall surrounded by Mercedes Benz Formula 1 and Rally races photos and exhibits, and even a couple of race cars – somewhat entertaining.  The ride as described by the park: a height of 73 metres, a high speed of up to 130 km/h and enormous centrifugal forces of up to 4 g, –  but the duration of the ride was only 3 minutes in total.  We waited for almost 45 minutes.

The thrill of the climb and the expectation was something to experience – beyond words.

It was fun.  We went back on one more time as the line got shorter.

One of the rollercoaster we rode – the Eurosat – was inside a geodesic dome in complete darkness.

We went on a wild river ride – also in the Scandinavian theme area next to the pirate ship.

Didn’t get wet despite the white water surrounding us.

The other big rollercoaster is the Blue Fire – sponsored by Gazprom – the Russian oil company.  This ride is probably the newest and the  wait was long too.  The line threaded through an indoor area where a 360-degrees presentation of a helicopter landing on an oil platform in a stormy sea was shown.  The quality of the video is very good – I cannot tell if it was all or partly computer generated, but the wraparound screen made it special.

This ride started with a sudden acceleration along a straight line which pressed our backs against the seat (apparently 2.5 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h or 62 mph).  That was fun. Not as high as the Silver Star, the Blue Fire had more tight twists and had an upside down segment.  We returned and rode it a second time. The duration is a bit longer than 3 minutes.

This ride below is in the Swiss region.  Each car with 4 riders rises in an elevator with lots of shaking for effects to the top of the castle and then roll down.

This is the ride that got us a little bit wet.

Called the Poseidon, it is in the Greek area.  We did not get soaked during the plunge but some spectators standing by the pool shot water canons at us.  No escape.

A Trojan Horse in the Greek area.

Well, the weather was nice.  We had a great time.

Given the fact that we did not see the entire park, and we missed quite a few rides, maybe we will go back again.

Mine de Sel, Bex

Never thought I will visit a salt mine – let alone one that started in 1600’s and is still producing the product – sodium chloride.  This mine is located in the Swiss vallée du Rhône about 75 minutes drive from Lausanne.  Apparently, they have been welcoming tourists for many years – hence, this very informative website. You can even book underground trekking tours in the mine !  On display is a visitor book, in which Alexander Dumas signed when he visited – the guy had nice handwriting.

First, you walk in through this narrow entrance with wooden support beams, just what you expect a mine to look like.

Looking down one of the shafts, there is water at the bottom that you can barely see but can hear it.

To reach the center of the mine, we rode in these tiny train carriages, each carrying 4 passengers inside and two outside at either end. Since J and J came with us, we had our own carriage.

The train ran for about 10-15 minutes – so we did travel quite far into the mountain but without much change in elevation.

It can be quite claustrophobic as the ceiling is rather low.  The bench seats four with all facing one side of the carriage.

The guide spent lots of time explaining all aspects of salt mining, both the history and the technology, in French !  I only thing I learnt is that they pump water underground to dissolve the salt and pump the saline back up to the surface for evaporation.

There was a bit of walking after we got out of the train. The place is immense and there are tunnels in every direction.

I have no idea how they manage ventilation and humidity down here. Temperature does not change much at all.  

They have many exhibits explaining how mining was carried out and the equipment that was used, e.g., the history of lighting in tunnel.

Minerals exhibits too, some glow in the dark. In reality, the place was much darker than what these photos are showing.

They have an underground tavern that can cater up to 150 people !  It must be a prime middle-earth convention space.

And also a modern looking bar.

The mine is still producing salt and you can buy it at the shop.  But on foot, we never saw any of the working machines and there was no hint that there is a mine underneath it.  Google map shows a lot more above ground.

Fête Désalpe at Saint-Cergue

We had a thorough appreciation of the saying  “Until the cows come home” at the annual Fête Désalpe.  Désalpe is a unique tradition of Switzerland (and parts of France) when the herds of cows that spent summer on the alpine pasture return to the valley for winter.  The word Désalpe is a contraction of “Déscente d’un Alpage.”

The event typically takes place between mid-September to mid-October, the weekend we went was October 1. There were at least three other similar festivals in different locations on that weekend.  We went to see the event at Saint-Cergue, a mountain village located between Geneva and Lausanne in the Jura mountain range (strictly speaking not part of the Alps).

Here are videos of two herds arriving at the village  – “passage des troupeaux”. This herd had 140 animals. As you will hear it, the cowbells were deafening. As Christopher Walken said, “Gotta have more cowbell”.

There were 10 herds in total.  The event started at 0830.

More cowbell !

Some of the leading animals wore a head-dress of flowers which fluttered wildly as they walked. I believe they do not wear the big cowbells normally.

“What are you staring at ?”

The herd was up close and personal – we could feel their body warmth as they marched past us. Yes, that was shit on the ground, plenty of it and all over the place. The smell was strong, we could not understand how people could buy sandwiches and soup, and ate their lunch in the middle of all this.

In fact, we believe there is one advantage of getting there early. Before the first herd arrived, everything must have been green and pristine, the air fresh and crispy.  But after the passage of a few herds,  the route was covered with it and there was no escape from the stench.

Herdsmen wearing traditional black short-sleeved outfit.

This herd had 2 newborn calves that were carted around on a tractor at the front of the herd.One of the herds ran through the town briskly.  The MC was warning people about their kids being knocked over by the moving animals.

They also had a couple of donkeys at St-Cergue.  I heard that at other locations, pigs and sheep are also herded along with cows.

Beside displaying farm animals, the festival also provided traditional music and dances.

A short stay at Lucerne

Lucerne (or Luzern in German) is located in the middle of Switzerland and acted as a transport gateway between the Swiss plateau on the north and the Alps in the south.  

When I told people I was moving to Lausanne, many were confusing Lausanne with this city – as it is better known outside of Europe. Indeed, for a city on the shore of a lake, it has the prettiest lakefront – comparing with those I had visited, it beats Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Lugano and Neuchatel. The covered wooden bridge (Kappellbrucke) and octagonal tower (Wasserturm) certainly made the River Reuss more interesting.

The Asian tourists loved the swans.  There were busloads of them here. Many years ago, I came here as a teenager with my mom on a tour bus.  The swans were there.

I wondered if the city manages the water level.  The water was moving at a rate that did not cause any turbulence until it plunged through the opening.  On the lake side, the surface was smooth and calm in contrast to the splashing downstream.  A small spectacle, indeed.

Notice the small ripples on the smooth fast flowing surface (lower left hand corner).  There were lots of mosquitoes here.

I stayed 2 nights for a business meeting and only had one hour to walk around the city centre. Hotel rooms are expensive here and apparently many tourists just pass through and stop only for a few hours to snap photos and do a bit of shopping.

For dinners, we walked from our meeting venue to restaurants located on the other side of the lake.  We passed this Ferris wheel which is located next to the city’s train station and art museum, but it was not operational.

One night we had dinner at the Art Deco Hotel Montana which is located on a hillside by the lake.  The view must be great during the day.

From the balcony of the restaurant.  The mountains are in the background which are just visible – see the lights at the top ?

The hotel has its own funicular which takes guests from the lakefront up to its lobby.  A jazz singer statue greets the guests at the top.  

Have to come back to properly and leisurely explore this beautiful city.

Satsuki at Chamonix

Satsuki is a Japanese eatery located just outside the pedestrian precinct of Chamonix. Brightly lit and packed at dinner time, it was.

I was expecting a disappointment when I first saw the restaurant.  But it turned out to be an authentic Japanese restaurant.

The menu was fairly simple but the food tasted right.  The patrons were a mix of locals and visitors including tourists from Japan.

We had come across sushi joints in Switzerland run by non-Japanese asians (mostly Chinese) and many were subpar in quality and execution.  We were quite pleased with Satsuki, even its offerings are basic. An inexpensive Japanese restaurant with an authentic taste is hard to find in Switzerland.  There might be some in Geneva but we have not yet discovered them.

We went back a second time for lunch and the food was consistently good.

They have a branch in Megeve too, a ski resort in a neighboring valley.  We will revisit the restaurant when we return to Chamonix.

L’Atmosphère at Chamonix

Atmosphère is mentioned under Bib Gourmand in the 2011 Michelin Guide. It is located in the “basement” of a building which faces the main city square.  The “basement” has on the other side a waterfront view of the river Arve.

We arrived without a reservation and were glad they seated us.  I heard English spoken somewhere in the dining room and there was a Japanese couple.  Then, a party of at least 20 French people (not local) came to celebrate a birthday.  I believe it is not a foreign tourist trap.

We really enjoyed our evening meal there and recommend it. Agreeably priced. Not fancy but solid continental fare.

Carpaccio of tomato with “Burrata” and Basil  (heirloom tomato)

Preserved rabbit terrine with tomato jam and spices

Braised veal brisket

Roast breast of duck, pepper sauce

Three cheeses and salad (Beaufort, Reblochon, but I cannot remember the third) at the end.

The restaurant is located next to the River Arve, just above the surface of the water. Must be nice during the day.

La Nuit des Musées at L’Usine-Tridel

Once a year, Lausanne hosts the night of the museums (La Nuit des Musées) – an event that involves 24 museums in the area.  This year’s event took place this past weekend Sep 24.

The admission was CHF10 and the ticket allowed access to all the participating museums, discount at restaurants, and free transportation, all between the hours of 2pm on Saturday to 2am on Sunday.

We saw the Musée Olympique, the one and only in the world, since the Olympic Committee is located here in town.  This is one of the main reasons why tourists come to Lausanne. It certainly is worth a visit.  We saw an exhibit about “Peau” (skin) with sections on dermatologic diseases as well as tattoo, at the Fondation Verdan’s Musée de la Main – which incidentally is located across from the city’s main hospital.  We also saw a very nice collection of paintings at the Foundation of the Hermitage with works by Van Gogh, Bonnard, Vallotton and others. Félix Vallotton is new to me and apparently he was an artist from Lausanne – I like his work more than the others.

The last event of the night was Musée FMR which was really a concert/party. This event was to close the night at 4:30am.

The event was held at L’ Usine-Tridel – a railway terminal completed in 2007 where garbage from Lausanne is transported and transferred to an adjacent incinerator.  What a venue to throw a party!

As the terminal is located underground, a massive spiral ramp leads down to its entrance.

One might imagine the terminal to be dirty and smelly.  Au contraire, it has to be the best looking garbage train terminal in the world.   Smooth concrete walls and clean floors with neat train tracks – there is nothing to suggest the nature of the cargo. The entire space has been re-purposed for the evening’s event. Honestly, nobody would have guessed the actual purpose of the space.

Entrance: Red gate half pulled down for good effects – Chesterfield was sponsoring the smoking area.

Since this year’s theme is “Museums as gardens of culture”, all the promotion materials had a green theme.  Here, the lounge space had christmas trees suspended overhead and leaf motif lighting effects.  The red and green almost had a chrismas-y feel. The railroad tunnel was just visible in the picture below.

Here is a quick video lookaround :

The vast space included several train carriages that served as makeshift spaces for displaying art (e.g., ceramic turntable and mixer) and VIP seating areas.

The railroad tunnel was obviously blocked off. The stage was at one end of the tunnel with three wide screens. This is the other end – can’t help thinking about Batman’s cave.

The event was opened by MC Ardle from the UK – I arrived at 1030pm and the place was pretty empty. The video materials were provided by Supermafia – a collective from Neuchatel.  The music and the video artwork spread out on three screens worked really well in the cavernous space.

Here is a sample of the DJ/VJ’s work:

The first live act came on just after midnight and it was “The National Fanfare of Kadebostany” – not bad but a bit underwhelming for me – but evidently very exciting for some at the front. Their music was a mix of electronic beats with clarinet/saxophone, trombone, and electric guitar.

Do you want to hear the fanfare ? Click below:

I missed the other two acts. When I was leaving, busloads of people were arriving. By the time I got home, I had 11 hours of art and music – not bad for one day and only CHF10.