2nd June, 2016

The sunny day we had in Dijon proved to be just that – the sunny day we had in Dijon, as the next morning the weather had turned again and we set off under grey skies and rain for our next destination. The aim was to end the day at the home of our great friends, Malinee and Manfred in Gottmadingen in Germany near Lake Constance and the Swiss border. However, I had noticed that with a slight detour we could visit somewhere I had wanted to see since I had seen a picture of it when a young boy and been fascinated by it. This was the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut at Ronchamp in eastern France by Le Corbusier (1887 – 1965), built in 1954. It was well worth the detour – perched high on a hill, the roof seems to float on top of the walls like two boats. The inside has one wall with a few small windows facing south (which must be great when the sun is out!) and just one main chapel with two side ones. It was difficult to photograph the inside as it was quite dark, but it was wonderfully atmospheric. I will let the photos speak for themselves (I could not resist two pics of Val in one of the side chapels!).

From Ronchamp it was a short drive to our next stop, the charming town of Colmar near the German border. It is a lovely town with lots of old Alsatian timber-framed buildings and even a canal area that is known as Little Venice. A bit chocolate box at times, but still with an irresistible charm.

A long drive from there through Freiburg and on to Gottmadingen, but nothing that Malinee’s nasi lemak and a glass or two of beer could not solve!