A weekend in Alsace

Since we were staying in Trier on Thursday night, we decided to spend the weekend in France seeing it was only two hours away. We left Trier after visiting some wine shops Friday evening and arrived in Colmar around 11pm. We checked into the hotel, and were told nothing was open for dinner. So, we decided to try for the McDonald's we saw near the hotel on the drive in. Thankfully, it was open-we were both starving! It was comical to try to order a cheesebuger and fries in French. Paul and I were so happy to hear the French language spoken after hearing mostly German for a few weeks. It is a more soothing sound to our ears. :) Our hotel, the Roi Soleil Prestige, was located near the Colmar airport, outside of the old town. It turned out to be a really great value and the breakfasts were amazing. Lovely cinnamon-raisin pastries and one of our favorites, chocolate croissants! It was decorated with a neo-Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV theme, kinda funky but the rooms were brand new, modern, and even contained a Nespresso machine, for the necessary morning jolt. Oh, yes, we found an incredible little patisserie the next day to satisfy our macaron obsession! We enjoyed eating them with our hotel room espresso the next morning.

We had originally planned to visit Strasbourg and the more research I did, mostly courtesy of Rick Steves, the more I was interested in visiting Colmar. This region has changed hands between France and Germany many times over the years. It has a marked German influence but with a French finesse. Apparently, the people of this region don't consider themselves French or German but Alsatian. Alsace is one of the official wine regions in France. So, not only were we excited to see the cute medieval village of Colmar and neighboring villages but also to tour "La Route du Vin" and sample some of the white wine for which the region is very famous. The weather was less than ideal; cold, and alternating between rain and snow but we still managed to visit the villages surrounding Colmar and tasted the wines from a few merchants that were actually open. Unfortunately, just in time for our mini-trip, I was battling yet another cold. Thankfully, I am married to the most gracious, kind, and patient man who put up with me as I battled to have a good time all while feeling miserable. ;)

Many of these villages were bombed during the war, but Riquewihr remained completely intact and is known to be one of the most charming in Alsace.

a view of the yineyards

looking up the narrow streets
in Riquewihr

"Hugel"-where I most wanted to go for wine tasting-
alas, it was closed.

city gate

the outside of the "city wall"

the cutest little cat was following us after I petted her

reminded me of a friendlier version of my cat, Tigris :)  

a cute courtyard with Christmas trees and a little well

whimsical window display at a wine store we were hoping
would open for tasting-but never did. :(

Colmar's "little Venice"

the "winstub" where we ate dinner
in Colmar. Note: the stork.

"onion tarte" is an Alsatian
specialty-I think we had a lower-end
version that was more like a pizza
with creme as the base. Small,
green-stemmed glasses
are a trademark in Alsace 

a beautifully colored church in Colmar

lit at night, we walked in as a service
was in progress-beautiful and moving
music was playing

snow-covered vineyards

this day, Sunday, we did a driving tour since
it was so cold and snowing

la route du vin between villages

view of cemetery in Ribeauville'

a picture taken for Paul's brother, Ben, since we
were leaving "Ben"nwihr

So, the "mascot" of Alsace is the stork. You see it everywhere. We passed this cluster of trees with huge nests in them driving along the road. There were stork-themed signs and stork figurines near this area. I thought the nests were fake, with fake birds made to resemble a stork-park of sorts. Paul said, "no, they are real!". I asked him to pull over so we could see them better. We drove down a road behind this area and found an entrance to a ghetto-looking stork park area. As we got closer, I kept denying that they were real. I thought they were plastic storks put there to represent the real thing. Then, they moved! I was freaking out! Ha ha. I couldn't believe that there were real storks up in those nests! Fascinating.

they were huge!

beautiful old church