For some reason, the bakeries near our hotel were all closed on this Monday morning.
We had our hearts set on pastries before our drive to Alsace and delayed our departure
with the hope that at least one of the bakeries would open. By 10:30, it was clear that
this wasn't going to happen and we settled for a convenience-store breakfast from the
Dole-Audelange Aire about 50 km from Beaune.
Driving down the A36 we were reminded how small Europe is when we saw a sign indicating
that the next exit was for Geneva. Switzerland, not to mention Germany, was just a few
miles away.
Despite a slight rain and seemingly endless highway construction, we soon saw a sign that
declared "Vous etes en Alsace" — "You are in Alsace." It is no coincidence that
the towns and houses of Alsace have a distinct German appearance. This region of France has
been forcefully transferred between the two countries on several occasions. Traditionally,
Germany has regarded the natural border between the countries as the Vosges Mountains and
France regards this boundary as the Rhine River. Alsace has the unfortunate distinction of
being located between these geographic markers. The previous year, we crossed the Rhine and
visited Alsace while touring Germany. Now we were passing through the area on a tour of France.
Colmar
We arrived in Colmar about 2:00 pm and I had only a vague idea of where our hotel
was located. I left Carolyn and the Saxo in the Mairie Place parking garage and
found our hotel on foot. It was hidden amidst a confusing convergence of interthreaded
streets. I checked into our room and moved the car to a free parking lot across the
street from the hotel. Even though we now knew where the hotel was located, we still
had trouble finding it again each time we returned to Colmar the next few nights.
This was not our first visit to Colmar. A hurried daytrip from Strasbourg the previous
year left an indelible impression.
Packed with well-preserved medieval and early Renaissance buildings, Colmar is one of
the most popular tourist destinations in eastern France. Although many of the tourists
are from nearby Germany, if you listen carefully you will likely hear every major
language of Europe spoken here. Very few visitors to Alsace overlook Colmar. Crooked
pastel-colored half-timbered houses line crooked canals and crooked streets. It seems
that nothing in Colmar is straight. It's easy to become disoriented, but difficult to
become lost, since the historic center of Colmar is fairly compact.
Unfortunately, our hotel (Primo 1) was easily the worst of the trip. In fact, it was
probably the worst of any that we have encountered in Europe. The bed frames were
literally constructed from painted welded pipes. I wouldn't be surprised if they were
prison surplus. The mattress was uncomfortably firm, the shower leaked onto the
bathroom floor, and the hotel sign brightly glared through our window all night. The
doorknob was set so close to the door frame that I smashed my fingers the first time
I closed the door. The only positive aspect of the hotel is that it was located near
a Monoprix, which is France's version of a Super Wal-Mart.
Our hotel was located along the northern edge of the historic core of Colmar. Across
the street, where our car was parked, was modern France. On our side was a glimpse into
medieval Europe.
Actually, the "medieval Europe" illusion only goes so far. Ancient France did not have
FNAC departments stores where I bought some Velvia film and a couple of Compact Flash
cards for my digital camera. Still, the historic section of Colmar is remarkably well
preserved and unblemished by modern architectural tastes.
Colmar is the birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty,
and the town features many of his statues. It is also the home of one of the best small
museums in France, if not Europe — the Musée d'Unterlinden. Colmar dates to at
least the reign of Charlemagne, who visited on numerous occasions. The rebellious populace
of this prosperous medieval center of commerce precipitated violent confrontations with
regional rulers every century or two. The Thirty Years War was a particularly difficult
period. Colmar was, at various times, a possesion of the Roman Empire, Charlemagne, the
Catholic Church, the Hapsburg Empire, Burgundy, France and Germany.
As we walked toward the town center from our hotel, one of the first significant historic
buildings we passed was the Renaissance-style Maison de Têtes, or "House of Heads,"
completed in 1609 and named for the many faces carved into the stone facade. Formerly a
hotel, the Maison is now one of the most upscale restaurants in town.
The heart and soul of old Colmar is the Church of Saint Martin, an outstanding example of
Alsatian Gothic architecture. Built in the 13th and 14th centuries,
the spire was damaged in the 16th century and replaced with the 232 ft structure
that exists today. The church is constructed from sandstone of various shades of brown,
red and pink, and crowned with a multi-colored tiled roof. It can be difficult to get a
good view (or picture) of the church because it is located in a very cramped neighborhood.
The most picturesque section of Colmar is, without question, the canal-dominated corner
known as Petit Venise, or "Little Venice." Pastel-colored half-timbered houses,
most of which have been converted into restaurants or hotels, compete with flower-lined
stone bridges for the attention of visitors. Everything in Little Venice occurs in pairs—
the real thing and its reflection in the quiet water of the canals. Motorized flatboats,
ladened with tourists, break the stillness of the water. Many of the restaurants offer
small dining platforms that extend over the water. The Quai de Poissonnerie and the Quai
des Tanneurs are postcard-perfect streets.
The Grand Rue, the main street that runs through the southern end of old Colmar, is a
tourist magnet. Just off this busy street is one of Colmar's most significant secular
buildings— the Ancienne Douane. This 15th customs house was the
center of economic activity during the most prosperous period of Colmar's history. This
building, actually a complex of several structures, was used to store goods subject to
taxation and was the site of regional trade negotiations.
A small square behind behind the Ancienne Douane has an interesting centerpiece—
the Schwendi Fountain, which is crowned by a century-old Bartholdi statue of Lazarus von
Schwendi, the 16th century crusader that introduced the first wine-bearing grapes
to Alsace. He is dressed in armor, sword at his side and helmet at his feet, and raising a
handful of vines.
For the rest of the afternoon and a good part of the evening, we wandered down the
cobblestone lanes and along the quiet canals of Colmar. We had dinner at New Delhi,
an Indian restaurant with a very friendly staff. The owners spoke French with a distinct
Indian accent. We both had the vegetable samosa (samoza aux legumes), chicken
korma (poulet shahi korma), and cheese bread (fromage nan).
We returned to the hotel and hung towels over the window to keep out the bright from
the hotel sign.
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