So on it goes~
I returned to Colmar in a fit of excitement, while also
anticipating disaster. Writing postcards to my family on the train journey I
realized how impossibly impossible that is to do in real life. Jolt, jiggle,
jolt. The movies and the books have lied! Several cross-outs later though I did
manage to get through a few & enjoyed looking at the scenery out the window
(beautiful mountains & quaint towns).
After arriving in Colmar Station I hopped right on another train
to Sélestat, and then on a bus to ascend a mountain. Sound like quite the adventurer
there. The views as we climbed upward were absolutely incredible. It seemed
that a thousand villages lay below us, all rendered in miniature. Little church
spires here and there, little bakeries, little schools. It’s strange, but if
aliens came to our planet I think they would only be able to think we were
adorable (and barbaric… and technologically illiterate). Thus begins humanity’s
descent to being teacup poodles, I guess.
I stumbled upon Château
du Haut-Kœnigsbourg almost by accident, and wandering through the gates
discovered I’d seen it before in an old film I’d seen in French film class (La
Grande Illusion—highly recommend it by the way). It was strange seeing the
famous staircase from the film, but the place was so incredible! It had been
ruin that was reconstructed in pain staking detail during the 1800s. The
architects sifted through hundreds of documents, researching the tiniest
things, to reconstruct the chateau as accurately as possible. The end result
is, well, amazing. And nothing can beat the views from its many windows. I
snapped picture after picture, & then ate lunch overlooking the valley
below (and wrote more postcards). Incredible.
On the way down the mountain I
stopped off by a nature reserve dedicated to Macaques, which was definitely the
cutest experience of my study abroad. They’re such incredible creatures, seeing
them prance here and there, seeing them quibble over tree branches (and try and
push one another in the water) was such an oddly humbling experience. They’re
such elegant creatures, really.
After touring Sélestat I headed back
to Colmar, where I wandered for ages and ages. It’s such a beautiful town, It’s
impossible not to be completely blown away by every little thing.
Unfortunately, my phone died. So no photos (again)! I guess that just means I’ll
have to go back a third time (& I honestly can’t wait).
Bye for now! Ashleigh
PS: school! So I’m running out of
things to say on this note. Hm. We gave presentations in pharmacology, and mine
was over Oncolytic Viruses (which are amazingly cool). It’s kind of uncanny
because I just saw a documentary back here in Texas about them, apparently
Poliovirus is being used to treat brain tumors and has been accelerated through
Phase I trials. Pretty exciting.
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