Colmar, France: A Fairytale Town

A happily uneventful 3 hour drive from Germany brought us to our home for the next 3 nights, Colmar, France in the heart of the Alsace region, known for it's wine. How we ended up here needs a little bit of back story. Back in NYC, Pete and I were watching an episode of House Hunters International and a young couple was moving to Strasbourg, France. It looked like a fairytale, but we had never heard of it. Looking it up on a map we saw that it straddled Germany and France and was no where near any other place we wanted to go in Europe so I didn't imagine we would make it there in the foreseeable future. Fast forward to living in Amsterdam and finding out that Strasbourg is a mere 5 1/2 hour drive away! Suddenly doable! In researching where to stay in Strasbourg, I read from Rick Steves that Colmar is a more desirable place to stay as it has a village feel. A family apartment in a recommended B&B was available so we booked it! 

View from the apartment

The B&B was also a chateaux (wine maker)- Martin Jund and it was still harvest season (late this year apparently). So one afternoon we came home to a fresh shipment of Gewurztraminer grapes in the courtyard and the owners hard at work sending them through the mechanical press into the cellar below. Pete even scored a few bunches of the grapes for his next sour beer so his trip was made! The stairwell up to our 3rd floor apartment reeked of fermenting wine the whole time. An authentic (though a little gross) experience. We did a tasting (Pete did two) in the tasting room below. 

The B&B was in a typical half timbered house, ubiquitous in this region, which at times has belonged to Germany (most recently when it was annexed during WWII and Alsatians were punished severely if they spoke, dressed or acted French :( ). We learned that the building is over 400 years old!

The upstairs apartment had so much character, but not enough walls or doors! The advertised two bedrooms plus a sleeping corner, was really one true bedroom, a loft and an open sleeping room off the living room. So our trip of sleepless nights continued as there was too much noise for all. Still, the experience of staying here will be unforgettable. 

We arrived in the late afternoon on Monday and to my disappointment, didn't have time to see the town. Instead, we headed to the Monoprix (large French grocery market chain) to stock up for the next few days. I forgot how much I love Monoprix! As we do in French grocery stores, Pete beelined to the wine/beer aisle, I made for the cheese aisle and we met in the sweet aisle where we loaded up on madelines. Dutch supermarkets are so plain in comparison!

The next morning we were rearing to go. The day started with a tourist train ride around the town to get our bearings. Colmar was spared bombings during the war so it maintains its original charm. As we rode around, I had a feeling that I knew this place. I thought and thought and then BINGO- Beauty and the Beast! I felt we were in Belle's village! I googled it later and sure enough, though unconfirmed, it is believed that Colmar is the setting for the fairytale. Colmar is also the birthplace of Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty! There is a small Statue of Liberty as you drive into town and a statue of Bartholdi. The original building colors were blue, yellow and red, but now are all different colors. To maintain UNESCO status, each building has to be a different color than the one next to it. This was a really special place.

Side note- Jude thinks he was born in the Statue of Liberty. We have told him how he was born in NYC and when we read "Good Night New York City, " it starts with a picture of the Statue and he somehow got in his mind that this was his place of birth :)

All aboard!

Our little marshmallow

Bartholdi Statue

After the little ride around town, it was time to explore the cobblestones on our own. As we were bouncing the stroller down the streets, I thought how much abuse our Uppababy has taken. We are on our second set of back wheels after 2 years of cruising European streets!

We stopped for lunch in the covered market. Tried a Pinot Gris and a Riesling (all dry). We had Jude take our picture! Not bad for his first try!

Let's explore!

Can you handle this cuteness?!

Colmar hosts a famous Christmas market and the lights were already strung in preparation!

Groovin'

Greeting the choo choo

Jude tolerated the sight seeing as we were "headed to the playground" albeit in a very roundabout fashion. We did make it finally to the playground and it was in this lovely park with beautiful trees and falling autumn leaves. Great fun until Pete rammed his head into a metal bar and nearly knocked himself out!

Great memories in Colmar with these two