Colmar, France

Our visit to Colmar was one afternoon and one morning with a road trip to Switzerland sandwhiched inbetween.

Highlights from Colmar:

Yep, another castle. This one is called Haut-Koenigsbourg Chateau

Looking up to the keep

The original castle well

View from the top watch tower

This castle is perched high on a hill in the Alsace region. The route up to the castle follows the "wine road", so named because of all the vineyards you drive through. You also pass through a quaint little village on the way up. There plenty of places to pull out and have a picnic if you so chose. The castle was restored in the early 20th century and furnished to represent what would have been seen during the 15th and 17th centuries. Our little history buff (Carson) thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon there.

We also enjoyed the morning we spent walking through the section of Colmar known as Petite Venice.

There is not a straight street in Colmar and it is very easy to get turned around. Fortunately, there are two churches in the center of town which have very tall steeples and you can use them to navigate by. I admit that we had to do that on more than one or two occasions.

Colmar also is the birthplace of the sculptor who created the Statue of Liberty, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. There is a museum in town in his honor, but we didn't make it to that. We did, however, get a picture of replica of the Statue of Liberty that was erected in his honor.

Other memories from Colmar:
"Cabbage or condom?" That was the question a street performer dressed in women's clothing, tiara, and blowing a horn asked me as we were strolling along the streets. He and his entourage were trying to get people to buy either a quarter of a cabbage or a condom. I opted for the cabbage.

"You go to the place where there is something that is round" were the directions we got from a McDonald's worker who was trying to give us directions. She was referring to the traffic circle we needed to get to. Those traffic circles and no straight streets caused a few "Griswold" moments and a couple of irrate drivers.

"I don't know how you pay with cash" was the answer we received when we asked the hotel clerk how to pay cash at the petrol station. We even rephrased the question and asked how to pay with euros just to make sure that phrasology wasn't the issue. The hotel clerk said everyone just pays with credit at the particular petrol station she suggested we use. The problem is we had tried the night before to fill up the rental car at that station and all of our cards were rejected. We did find another station that had an attendant so we could pay with euros.

Travelling tips:

Even though the Rick Steves' France guidebook says the Unterlinden Museum ticket also gets you into the Dominican church it is not the case. The Dominican Church still wants their 1.50 euro admission, but I'm not sure it is worth it. The Unterlinden Museum, however, is worth the 8 euro admission price. The artwork in there is phenomenal and they provide you with a free audiotour.

The food from this region is quite tasty and heavily influenced by their German roots. David had an Alsatian dish that I wish I could remember the name of, but was quite tasty. It was a pork roast baked inside bread and at some point soaked in wine--I think prior to baking. I would highly recommend the little restraunt we ate at in Colmar. It is family-owned and kitty-corner from the Unterlinden museum.