Alsace Wine Road

First, a response to a question re: Cluny/Taize: As far as I know, there is no train service. There may be some local bus service...not sure as I had a rented car to make the trip.
Yesterday we thoroughly explored the fascinating town of Colmar, population ~43,000. We learned a lot of its history and local characters... including the sculptor Bertoli (Statue of Liberty, a large copy of which greets people on the way into town).
The Alsatians have their own dialect of ancient German, close to what is spoken in Austria. (Of course they also speak French.) The Alsatian dialect is dying out among the younger generation.
Today we signed up for a tour of three other "wine road" towns plus an enormous castle first built in 1144. I am posting a couple of pictures from our tour... this is simply a beautiful, clean, flower-filled area. We also stopped for some wine tasting, and learned quite a bit about the white wines featured here and the various varietals.
PILGRIM CONNECTION: The Alsace region was a haven for Protestants, Huguenots, Walloons, and Amish. A sizable group wound up in Holland, and encountered the English Separatists there. A few were among the Mayflower travelers.
Tomorrow we travel by TGV (bullet train) to Paris... about 2.5 hours. We received the good news last night that Liz' cousin Mary may join us for a few days in Paris. Onward.