Colmar and the Fete nationale

Today's break is in ... Colmar!!! This is southern Alsace now, and by the end of today I should be approaching the Swiss border. I'm going to make a quick trip into the mountainous nation just to prove what a masochist I am. I did my first really hard core mountainous biking yesterday, travelling to the top of the local mountain to see the castle of Haut Koenigsburg. HK was rebuilt in the very early 20th century by Kaiser Wilhelm II when this part of the world was still German. The reconstruction is apparently quite accurat to the state of a 17th century castle, except for a fez megalomaniacal touches on the part of Guillaume, as they call him in France. Other than that I spent the day travelling down the wine route stopping in various picturesque villages, full to the brims with Danes. The campground I was at last night could easily have been in Jutland for all the Danes. (other than the surly receptionist) I was also exceptionally tired after waking at 6.00 and then biking up mountains, but unfortunately it was the fete nationale, and there was a long and vigorous fireworks show followed by a concert. o well.