We stayed two nights in Colmar, a small town just south of Strasbrourg, full of Venetian canals and lots of Alsatian charm.
We spent our first day walking around the quaint town, admiring the old-world architecture and bustling Christmas markets, which Alsace is know for.
We ate roesti at a winstub (German wine bar) our first night, which is a typical Alsatian dish made of potatoes, cheese, onions and Strasbourg sausages.
The next morning we took a bus to Kaysersberg and walked through the very tiny villiage, admiring a bridge from the 16th century that survived the Nazi occupation and a church from the 12th century that has a somewhat foreboding altar.
We then left the town and hiked up a hill to see the ruins of a chateau and tower from the 12the century before setting out on a 2.5 hour hike to neighboring Riquewihr through hills and vineyards.
Our trail was blocked for part of the way and we had to find our way through fallen trees and land transitioning from woods to vineyard.
We made it to Riquewihr and had a little picnic after getting some coffee, hot chocolate and bretzel, a pretzel coated in cheese and ham.
We went back to Colmar and intended on going out for New Years, but most restaurants were closed and we had to eat a sub-par meal at a cheap bar. We were the last people they served, so we were kind of lucky to find anything at all.
The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and took a morning train to Strasbourg for the day.
We went to the extremely impressive red cathedral with a spire that stretched so tall into the sky, it was shielded by the low lying clouds.
We went to another area dominated by charm and canals and saw bridges dating back to the 16th century. We ate a pretty good meal at a restaurant in the canal area,
before heading back to Colmar to grab our bags and take the four hour train back to Lyon.
Next up for us is a trip to Brussels to see the Bundys, and also travel to Ghent and maybe some other cities in Belgium.
Here are our other Alsace pictures:
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| Alsace |
