Hello, today is the weekend, which means it's our new day for exploring. The weather outside is beautiful. Flowers are in bloom, summer is in full swing, the sun is shining with light clouds, meaning it won't be too hot today. We can stroll comfortably and explore the tourist spots of our new destination.
Yesterday we left home and headed towards a new city to visit its fortress. Neuf-Brisach is located in France quite close to the border with Germany. The fortress here was built during World War II for protection.
We entered French territory, crossed the Rhine River and headed towards the Alsace region of France. The city's welcoming gates greeted us.
The streets were very quiet. It being Saturday, everyone was sitting in cafes, enjoying wine and croissants. We parked our car near a nice restaurant and started walking towards the city center. Here we encountered a historic fountain and a market area. The fountain used to be the city's water source in ancient times and is now under restoration. As we visited the market vendors were packing up their stalls.
We reached the city center, where a historic church stands. There's an information panel about the church stating it was built between 1731-1736. Curious about the interior we went inside. Inside you can collect holy water, light a candle for one Euro and say your prayers. The organ was quite large. Interestingly what stood out was that instead of being on the second floor as usual, the organ was on the ground floor here, with likely choir lofts on the balconies.
After leaving the church we started wandering the streets, surrounded by old buildings. Castle walls and historic structures were everywhere. The defensive structures we saw here were built to repel attacks.
Wanting to see the view from higher up we climbed a bit. It was impressive to see how the castle walls and defense structures were strategically built. We saw a bridge. Apparently a river used to flow here and this bridge facilitated crossing to the other side. There was no river now.
The weather was a bit windy but nice. We started walking around the castle walls. We saw a creatively designed bench with two lizard figures on it.
These protrusions were built to protect the wall. If there were an attack they could fire from these windows and the other side. Everything was well thought out. It's a remarkable structure that has stood the test of time. There are high walls around it. We saw another passage with mazes around it.
There was an iron-made ship. It's currently used as a children's playground. Behind it was the entrance to the castle.
There was a giant dinosaur statue. It was impressive smelling of straw. We had the chance to closely examine the protective areas on the castle walls. They were very impressive and well preserved up to the present day.
The castle area was filled with interesting sculptures. They were made using natural materials like wire, glass and straw. I especially liked the owl figure. Its wingspan was larger than my arms. It was truly a gigantic bird and very realistically made, entirely from wire pieces.
We saw another main gate. The passages connected by bridges add a mysterious atmosphere to this castle. The passages extend far into the distance, perhaps overlooking the castle from the other side.
Look what we found a colossal elephant. All the animals here are crafted with such love, so realistically made that you might think they're real. Who knows how much effort it took to build such a sculpture over days.
We walked about 3 km around the walls and returned to the bridge where we started our journey. The old part of the city is beautiful and the modern part has its own charm. There's a police station in this building, a beautiful old structure.
As we walked the signs on the buildings surprised us. All the buildings were old but in good condition. For instance there was a restaurant dating back to 1664.
We examined the information panel. We wanted to see what this old building used to be. It was a Protestant church built some time after the Catholic church.
We came to the monument of the architect who designed this city. It's a fortified city under the protection of UNESCO. There's an obelisk in the middle of the square. Just beside it we saw a hotel, probably originally built for this city, constructed in 1700 but now used as a hotel. We left Neu-Breisach with this square.
We decided to have lunch by the river in a beautiful spot. Afterwards we gathered fresh St. John's wort flowers. And today we'll enjoy a lovely tea with fresh St. John's wort. It was a wonderful trip. I hope you enjoyed it. See you.
