à chartres- off to Chartres

After a leisurely start, we headed off to Chartres and the beautiful Cathedral for one last adventure.

Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres /Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic Church inChartres, France, about 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Paris. Mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220, it stands at the site of at least five cathedrals that have occupied the site since Chartres became a bishopric in the 4th century. It is in the Gothic & Romanesque styles.

In 1979, the Gothic Chartres Cathedral made UNESCO's very first World Heritage list. It is the largest cathedral in France.which calls it "the high point of French Gothic Art" and a "masterpiece".

The cathedral has been well preserved. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. The building's exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses which allowed the architects to increase the window size significantly, while the west end is dominated by two contrasting spires – a 105-metre (349 ft) plain pyramid completed around 1160 and a 113-metre (377 ft) early 16th-century flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three great façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives.

Since at least the 12th century the cathedral has been an important destination for travelers. It remains so to the present, attracting large numbers of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous relic, the Sancta Camisa, said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth, as well as large numbers of secular tourists who come to admire the cathedral's architecture & history.

Mom is in the lower right corner with her pink jacket

Impressive carved choir stalls

Clerestory and flying buttresses

Marché du dimanche 2 & Dîner au Le Train bleu à la Gare de Lyon/ Sunday Market 2 & Dinner at Le Train Bleu at Gare de Lyon Train station

We went out again to the beautiful Sunday market for the usual produce, bread and cheese, but were also looking for a few French grocery goodies for our families back home as well as a few souvenir items. Today was French Mother's Day so the crowds were out. I just love the open air market!

belles pivoines/ Gorgeous peonies 

Stocks parfumés/ Fragrant stocks

Happy Mother's Day 

 We went in to Paris for a late evening dinner at Le Train Bleu, a legendary restaurant steeped in history located at the Gare de Lyon train station.. It was in 1900 at the time of the Universal Exhibition that the station buffet, which later became Le Train Bleu, was built. Marius Toudoire, the famous architect behind the Gare de Lyon clock tower and façade, was entrusted with carrying out these works. The management of the railway company hoped to create an unmissable gourmet experience in a luxurious, modern and legendary setting.

The station buffet was unveiled in 1901 by the French President Emile Loubet and quickly attracted people from high society and artists.

In 1963, the buffet became “Le Train Bleu” as a tribute to the “Paris-Vintimille” line dating from 1868, the legendary train that served towns in the French Riviera along the Mediterranean coast.

It is an exquisitely beautiful setting. 

 

 

 

 

We then took Mom home on the RER train back to Saint Germain en-Laye. What had been an hour plus car ride was 35 minutes by train. Part of the complete Parisian experience. Only one more day in France. 

Ruing the fact that this visit has to end, but looking forward to one more day of discovery and adventure spent with loved ones.

Colmar musée de Unterlinden , Château de Kaysersberg/ Colmar Unterlinden museum & Kayserberg village & castle

We began this morning by visiting the Unterlinden museum before departing Colmar. Expanded and renovated in 2015, the Unterlinden Museum is the second most-visited fine-arts museum in France (outside of Paris). People come from all over the world to see its treasures, including the famous piece by Grünewald, the Isenheim altarpiece. Located in a former 13th Century sisters' convent in the city centre of Colmar, the Unterlinden Museum displays a remarkable collection of paintings and sculptures from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance period.

Schongauer : orlier-altarpiece the Annunciation

                   Isenheim altarpiece by Mathias Grünewald  

The chapel at Musée Unterlinden

La Vierge de Niedermorschwihr

After our museum exploration we drove to Kayserberg, the birthplace of Albert Schweitzer who was one of Dad's heroes. Kaysersberg is a former commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in Northeastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Kaysersberg-Vignoble. The inhabitants are called Kaysersbergeois. The name is German for Emperor's Mountain.

Even with a population of less than 3,000 people, this charming town on the Alsace Wine Route is bustling with colorful buildings and quaint architecture. Having grown wine grapes for over 400 years – and still being one of the main economic sources for this town – Kaysersberg is not to be missed by any wine lover (or photography lover or really anyone that loves quaint villages)! Due to its size and compactness, it is easily doable to see the town in an afternoon.The first wine vines were actually brought to this region from Hungary in the 1600s. 

This medieval town was originally mentioned in 1227 when Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire acquired a castle in present-day Kaysersberg. Initially named “Kaisersberg” (in German) or “Emperor’s Mountain,” the town quickly rose in prominence and the castle became a strategic fortress in region against the Duchy of Lorraine. By 1293, the city was declared a Free Imperial City (just as Colmar was) and in 1354, Kaysersberg entered into the Décapole alliance – a pact between ten Alsatian towns and cities that advocated maintaining their own rights as Imperial cities while providing assistance and protection to each other.

The Décapole alliance was disbanded in 1679 following the annexation of the entire region by King Louis XIV of France following the Thirty Years’ War. By this point, the town was almost completely abandoned due to destruction and it wouldn’t repopulate until the French Revolution almost 100 years later. Similar to Colmar, Kaysersberg was annexed by Germany in 1871 and returned to France after WWI. Even though the town has technically been French for the past 100 years, the architecture, name, and local cuisine pay homage to the town’s German roots.

In 2017, Kaysersberg was named France’s favorite village, beating out 12 other finalists. It won due to its friendly locals, walkable streets, and adorable architecture (look at all the half-timbered houses!). To be honest, due to the German influence, it felt like I was in a German village most of the time.

Église Saint Croix de Kayserberg

La Cigogne- stork

Adorable wire-haired dachshund