Storks, Biking & Wine: Colmar and Eguisheim

 In the last 48 hours, we have explored the quaint town of Eguisheim, biked about 25 kilometers round-trip to the famous cheese town of Munster, tasted some local Alsace cuisine, slept in a room without air conditioning (it's currently 98 F here), explored the picturesque town of Colmar, been guided on a flat-bottom boat through Little Venice, and splashed in some fountains. If I had three words to describe the Alsace region of France from our experience, I'd say: charming, intriguing & exhausting.

Let's start with the charming. We arrived in Eguisheim yesterday morning around 11am. We parked the car, checked in to the hotel, and took a walk along the outermost circle of the medieval city. Everything about it was out of a storybook. The houses were painted various bright colors, the flower boxes overflowed with every color and type of flower imaginable and storks, the iconic symbol of Alsace, perched atop their carefully constructed nests on the church steeple. As we walked along, a saleslady at a sausage shop offered us some samples. She had every flavor you could imagine - salami with blueberries, fig, cumin, and the list went on! Tourists and locals crowded the cafe, and wine stubes offered a glimpse into the famous wine of Alsace. We found a bakery for lunch and had a sandwich accompanied by a delicious French eclair- not the last of the trip!

Stork nest atop a house

Streets of Equisheim

Cute houses in Eguishem

Chocolate Eclair

Now to the exhausting part. After a quick visit to the tourist shop, we headed to a bike rental near our hotel. We waited about 20 minutes, since many places in France shut down between 12- 1:30pm for a long lunch. We rented some bikes from a lovely French lady and she offered us a map, a recommended route and some fresh water. We started our journey to Munster - about 14 km away from Eguisheim. Maybe it was the heat of the day and a pounding headache or that the entire path was slightly to moderately uphill the entire time, but I was struggling to make it to Munster. Every turn provided a new view of the green valley and a new little town, but never Munster. But we finally made it after about 2.5 hours of biking and a few water breaks. In Munster, we didn't even try the cheese, but we did manage to find some Advil at the pharmacy, two pastries to taste test and ice cream, along with multiple bottles of water. We took a quick rest in the park and headed back to Eguisheim, thinking the ride would take at least another 1.5 hours. After about 45 minutes of downhill cruising, we were back in Eguisheim and got ready for dinner. 

Derek-always ahead!

Water break

The endless vineyards

The road back to Eguisheim

For dinner, we scanned a few menus (most European restaurants have their menus outside) and decided on a lively weinstube with a covered outdoor dining area. We picked the cheapest liter of white wine and both ordered Flammkuchen. Flammkuchen is a local specialty, but with varieties in Germany as well. It is made of a thin flour crust with cream and toppings. Derek ordered his with Munster cheese, so at least we did try some! For dessert, we had to do it. We ordered the creme brulee that the waiter lit on fire. It was a perfect end to dinner. After dinner, we strolled around the town and appreciated the quaintness of Eguisheim at night. 

Dinner

Flammkuchen

Strange photo, but notice the burning creme brulee

This morning (Sunday morning), we opted out of the 8 euro per person buffet breakfast at our hotel - a rip-off if you ask me, and headed to Colmar. Colmar is the largest city of Alsace in the area and is known for Petit Venice (Little Venice), the creator of the Statue of Liberty, and it's old-town cuteness. Along with the rest of Alsace, Colmar has a great mix of German and French architecture and language. Last night, we had a wine menu of many Alsatian French wines, and the name of the wine company was Wolfberger. I even saw a sign for Logelbach on our way out of town (I'm not sure what it was, but this is the first mention of Logel I have seen in Europe!) Since the town lies so close to the German border, it's history includes an intriguing part of World War II. Known as the "Pocket of Colmar", the city was occupied by Germans but liberated by the French and Americans in 24 hours. Nothing of the medieval city today was destroyed- it was all spared in the war and has survived since the Middle Ages. 

We ambled the streets of this lively town and visited the beautiful Little Venice area for breakfast. After some coffee and delicious French pastries, we caught a boat ride and tour through the canal. First in French and then in English, the guide explained that merchants for the city market would bring their goods into the town via the canal and would get taxed depending on the weight, height and how low the boat sat in the water. Then, they would paddle their boats directly to the market to sell and trade. Each house in the town used to be painted a color based on the family's status- green for the butcher, blue for Catholic, etc. The canal was picture perfect, with cafes and houses right on the water. Stairs led down to the canal where women used to wash clothes. 

We had to duck under this bridge

Beautiful painting

Little Venice

Touring the canal

The rest of our visit to Colmar featured a few fountains that I stuck my feet in, many sculptures from the famous Frederic Bartholdi - creator of the Statue of Liberty, and some browsing in wine and trinket stores. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. There is plenty more to do in Colmar than what we did- museums, churches, etc, but we had a nice, relaxing time and definitely enjoyed ourselves. I'd recommend this area to anyone looking for a relaxing, cultural experience. 

Additional Photos:

Literally everyone was carrying baguettes! This man had two in his backpack!

Bakery for breakfast

Derek in front of the church

A wein stube in Colmar

Of course, Derek ordering a crepe

I really wanted to run through it!

Had to share this photo. 

Soap cakes!