A wonderful post about a beautiful destination!
when I was there I did not feel like I was in Switzerland
Seriously? That's heresy! Just for unbelievers like you the Bürgermeister had put out those giant Swiss flags so there would be no doubt and you talk of fluffy-eared cows? VISA REVOKED!
All joking aside, you are not entirely wrong. As things are in Europe, political borders aren't necessarily historic or ethnic borders, and these borders have moved often enough during the course of history. And you're not the only one getting confused about it: in 1945 the USAAF bombed Stein am Rhein accidently, killing 20 people. This town feels as Swiss as Alsace feels French.
🤣 the copious amounts of Swiss flags does help clarify things lol.
I guess it's to be expected from any border city that the two countries will influence each other to the point where it feels like the city could belong to either of them. I've only been to Strasbourg in the Alsace but from what I've seen from pictures online of places like Colmar, Riquewihr, Ribbeauville...etc it definitely has a strong Germany vibe to it.