Alsace: Underwhelming Colmar

We used Colmar, even more provincial than I pegged it to be, as a base for visiting the La Route des Vins d'Alsace (Alsace Wine Route). A smaller, paler version of Strasbourg, lacking the charm of the smaller towns on the wine route, it is otherwise skippable. I could have used more time exploring La Route des Vins d'Alsace, paralleling the Rhine River, except the bus schedule didn't agree between the tourist office, websites, and bus stop.

For the train from Strasbourg to Colmar we plotted to secure facing window seats by hopping into the first car behind the engine. The south side of the Strasbourg train station has been fitted with a plastic skin/bubble which stores thermal energy yet still reveals the old exterior. Neat. Our plan is successful. We roll down the Rhine River Valley immersed in the scenery.










Colmar has a beautiful Art Nouveau train station, and we passed a striking water tower while walking to our hotel.






Colmar is the birth place of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, designer of the Statue of Liberty. There is a museum.


The Marche Couvert (Covered Market).


The Colmar Old Town has an area called Petite Venice, filled with tourists, two geese, and one night heron.








The evening walk to the "closed" cathedral and Petite Venice was uneventful.

France: Strasbourg

Many years ago John had a coworker who declared Strasbourg to be the most beautiful city in all of Europe. Having been to hundreds of cities in Europe, we were not exactly holding our breath. The unexpected highlight was the stained glass rose window in the cathedral; not blue and red!

The history of the area is interesting, having gone back and forth between France and Germany multiple times. Considering the Alasatian language is Germanic, I can only imagine the official history is the story of the victor whichever one happens to be at the given time.

We arrived in Strasbourg in the evening and it was raining, but we made a brief excursion to the grocery store and the city center; that is, to the cathedral with its famous pipe organ, stained glass windows, pillar of angels, mechanical clock, and so much more.












When the weather cleared we went out for a walk. How 'bout this Art Nouveau McDonald's?


And the fabulous Art Deco Vox Cinema.


We wandered through the Petite France Quartier with its canals, sluices, and half-timbered buildings.










The outdoor market was busy. Some stands. like this one, had long queues.


River cruises had business too.


And the outdoor cafes in the small squares near the cathedral were full.


Back into the cathedral for a daylight look.






The mechanical clock springs into action every quarter hour. The two times we watched, it was pretty ho-hum.


The cathedral seems jammed into its space, surrounded on all sides by other buildings.


SL found this Art Nouveau School online. Very cool.




The University Botanic Garden had a huge bee hotel.


There was a protest in swing when we walked by the City Hall, but not at the opera house.




Unexpectedly, the Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune Protestant Church with its front-and-center pipe organ, chandeliers, colorful baptismal font, Art Nouveau pews, and 11th-century cloister was beautuful and interesting.














And a few parting shots.