Colmar: Between French and German

I visited the Alsace region of France on my first trip to Europe back in 2002. The Alsace, located along the German border in the Rhineland, is a special place in France that's not quite French and not quite German. The differences between this region and the rest of France are obvious. Paris and even other cities in France are so fashion forward, and G and I are so not that we never fit in while in those places.

Old Town Colmar

Old Town Colmar

However, Colmar is not a center of fashion. We fit in just fine here.  In the rest of France, women wear high heel shoes all the time, even to the weekly farmers' market. Here, socks and sandals are prevalent. Other than checking out the fashion or lack thereof, we explored Little Venice (characterized by a canal), l'Ancienne Douane (the ancient customs house), the Maison Pfister (Pfister house), and the rest of the old town area.

Pfister House

Murals painted on the Pfister House

Probably my favorite activity was eating at a restaurant with outdoor seating, Dussourd, next to the Dominican church in Place des Dominicains. Impressively, the waiter switched from English to German to French seamlessly and flawlessly. I had a pasta dish featuring a mix of tortellini and ravioli. G had a fish dish and escargot. He had never eaten snails before. I was a little disgusted, but he seemed to like them well enough. However, he had no idea how he was supposed to eat them. I am almost certain he committed a number of faux pas trying to get those things from the plate to his mouth.  I'm not in the habit of photographing my meals, but I regret not taking a photo of G's escargot.

Riquewihr

Riquewihr is another city I have previously visited. Having fond memories of the town, I scheduled a stop on this trip. G and I are suckers for a medieval city, and this one fit the bill perfectly. Riquewihr is well-preserved and looks much like it did five hundred years ago. Like Colmar, Riquewihr was not damaged in World War II. Interestingly, many of the medieval fortifications still exist including the gate and ramparts.

Eleven kilometers from Colmar, Riquewihr is popular for its architecture as well as its wine. Historically, the village was a trading hub for both Alsation and German wine. Although G and I did not try the wine there, we did wander around the medieval streets and into a couple of tourist shops including an amazing Christmas shop.

Gate to the village

A side street in Riquewihr

Main Street

Dolder Tower

Like so many other cities we've visited on this trip, Riquewihr is beautiful. I am so glad we were able to go to one of the little wine villages in the Alsace on this trip.