France: Colmar
As much as we have always wanted to visit Freiburg and the Black Forest region, I have to admit there was also another motive a mere thirty miles, across the Rhine, one country and one language away: the medieval town of Colmar in Alsace, France. Our mission was to visit one of the most unique Middle European cities...and score a few cases of fine Burgundy wine.
For beginners, we need to do the trip. For somebody who still remembers the European Union when it was anything but that (translated: dozens of territories with borders), it still feels weird crossing the Rhine and not being checked for a passport and any suspect cargo. Crossing the Rhein in the year 2019 almost feels as weird as crossing the Deleware, except that the Hessian (or French) forces are not shooting at us from the other shore.
We park north of the Parc du Champ, where there are a dozen French generals who are memorialized for whatever riches they brought to France when it was an empire. Although small, the park is simple but stylish and is a great place to hit most parts of the city. We don't fool around and head straight for La Petite Venise, also known as Little Venice to the east of the park. Here you find rows and rows of old Tudor houses, their uneven sides and sagging roofs screaming Middle Ages, all tastefully located along a small canal (a river actually, La Lauch) flowing past them. here we walk at the rate of a yard a minute, or one photo per house. Each house is unique with its own gorgeous features.
We reach a roofed market where a group of Chinese tourists is smoking outside after admiring the cheeses, meats and other assorted French delicacies inside. As you would expect, the cheese shops alone are worth the (free) price of admission. They have so many delicious blue cheeses alone, it's hard to choose. That's France for you.
After lunch, we walk through town until we reach the Unterlinden Museum, the museum with an interesting layout in that it connects two buildings, an old church and a former indoor pool, by an underground pathway. The church now enjoys a second life as one half of a museum which features religious art - remarkable, considering that the church otherwise would have been begging for a wrecking ball. There is art from almost every epoch, including modern art with heavyweights like Picasso and also more abstract artists like Nicolas de Staël, but also late medieval art from Colmar native Martin Schongauer. You'll also be surprised at how kids enjoy art museums, which seem to appeal to their more basic instincts.
Finally, it's time for the wine. We pick one (I won't say which one; after all, I had to pay for my wine) and make off with six cases of wine, including a rose bubbly, dry Burgundy and Pinot Noir. There must be a dozen wine merchants in town, and I doubt there's a bad winemaker among the lot. Another welcome sign of the times: French entrepreneurs who speak English!
That's Comar in a page. I can sum up Colmar much shorter than that, in two words: just visit. Take Freiburg as a base, hit Colmar from there, and Switzerland if you have the time.
For beginners, we need to do the trip. For somebody who still remembers the European Union when it was anything but that (translated: dozens of territories with borders), it still feels weird crossing the Rhine and not being checked for a passport and any suspect cargo. Crossing the Rhein in the year 2019 almost feels as weird as crossing the Deleware, except that the Hessian (or French) forces are not shooting at us from the other shore.
We park north of the Parc du Champ, where there are a dozen French generals who are memorialized for whatever riches they brought to France when it was an empire. Although small, the park is simple but stylish and is a great place to hit most parts of the city. We don't fool around and head straight for La Petite Venise, also known as Little Venice to the east of the park. Here you find rows and rows of old Tudor houses, their uneven sides and sagging roofs screaming Middle Ages, all tastefully located along a small canal (a river actually, La Lauch) flowing past them. here we walk at the rate of a yard a minute, or one photo per house. Each house is unique with its own gorgeous features.
We reach a roofed market where a group of Chinese tourists is smoking outside after admiring the cheeses, meats and other assorted French delicacies inside. As you would expect, the cheese shops alone are worth the (free) price of admission. They have so many delicious blue cheeses alone, it's hard to choose. That's France for you.
After lunch, we walk through town until we reach the Unterlinden Museum, the museum with an interesting layout in that it connects two buildings, an old church and a former indoor pool, by an underground pathway. The church now enjoys a second life as one half of a museum which features religious art - remarkable, considering that the church otherwise would have been begging for a wrecking ball. There is art from almost every epoch, including modern art with heavyweights like Picasso and also more abstract artists like Nicolas de Staël, but also late medieval art from Colmar native Martin Schongauer. You'll also be surprised at how kids enjoy art museums, which seem to appeal to their more basic instincts.
Finally, it's time for the wine. We pick one (I won't say which one; after all, I had to pay for my wine) and make off with six cases of wine, including a rose bubbly, dry Burgundy and Pinot Noir. There must be a dozen wine merchants in town, and I doubt there's a bad winemaker among the lot. Another welcome sign of the times: French entrepreneurs who speak English!
That's Comar in a page. I can sum up Colmar much shorter than that, in two words: just visit. Take Freiburg as a base, hit Colmar from there, and Switzerland if you have the time.
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