RED RIDING HOOD

In the northeastern France lays Alsace, the region so much popular in Europe as it used to be German, French, German and then again French. No wonder people of Alsace speak German-French dialect and share French-German type of food. Oh, and wine! There is nothing better than sitting on a terrace of a bar with the view on collombage (timber-houses) and having a taste of vin d’Alsace. 🙂

Colmar’s old quarter is as complete as it is lovely, with street after street of corbelled wooden houses and sophisticated renaissance palaces decorated with flowers. We were so lucky to have an accommodation in the city center in one of the old wooden houses from 15th century. This was total experience!

Colmar was first mentioned by Charlemagne in his chronicle about Saxon wars. This was the location where the Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat held a diet in 884. Colmar was granted the status of a free imperial city by Emperor Frederick II in 13th century and became the part of Holy Roman Empire of Germans. Check my story about Nurnberg visit and you will understand more.

Alsace is famous for storks so on many places there were these birds, reminding about the fertility and family times. There were less in the city but once outside of the city, you can see many of them flying around building the nests.

Fooooooood 🙂 Boy I enjoyed 🙂 Although the bars were not opened yet, the Marche couvert offered us variety of alsacian specialties. In the end, we bought 2 beautiful Flammekueche (Alsatian), or tarte flambée (French) and ate them back in the hotel, with a glass of fine vin d’Alsace. Little things in life…

To follow the rules of my Grandfather, we are missing now only the church. The museums we could have not visit due to the chinese virus performance.

Église Saint-Martin – 13th century is the largest church of Colmar and one of the largest in Haut-Rhin. Displays some early stained glass windows, several Gothic and Renaissance sculptures and altars, a grand Baroque organ case. The choir is surrounded by an ambulatory opening on a series of Gothic chapels, a unique feature in Alsatian churches.

Definitely worth to visit for a nice weekend getaway. Next stop> many at the Route des Vins d’Alsace 🙂

I had the privilege to come for the second time to Colmar and visit for its full glory – when there is no more COVID-19 thread. Picture cobbled streets and pastel-hued, half-timbered houses lining small canals. Add a smattering of lively cafes, historic churches and museums and I realised how much I have been missing it since the last time I visited!

Following the Rue Turenne and then turning into Quai de la Poissonnerie, we arrived to this is the old Fishmongers’ Quarter. As the name suggests, it was where the town’s fisherman and boatman lived and worked. The kaleidoscope (yes Morgan it is an english word too) of pastel-coloured buildings we see lining Colmar’s canals.

The considerable number of old buildings, their façades and wooden shutters painted in a pleasing variety of pastels, is all the more impressive considering the battles that took place in the vicinity.

La Maison Pfister is built in 1537 from soft sandstone. This Colmar landmark is known for its delicate mural paintings representing biblical and secular scenes. Look out also for the wooden oriel window adorned with medallions depicting emperors of the Roman Empire.

Talking about battles, here is the presentation of our battles: nowhere embodies Alsatian beer more than Meteor, the last of Alsace’s traditional family breweries, located on the Zorn river.

From here, we made our way to the Tanners’ Quarter, named after the tanners who used to live and work in this district. Half-timbered houses mostly date from the 17^th and 18^th Century line Rue des Tanneurs at its epicentre. What a beauty is this city. It just lifts me up every time. it’s a mood booster 🙂

This time, I paid a visit to The Unterlinden Museum. The museum is housed in a 13th-century Dominican religious sisters’ convent and a 1906 former public bath building. You can walk inside its massive bedems as it offers calm garden views and shadow.

It features a large collection of local and international artworks and manufactured artifacts from prehistorical to contemporary times. From the ones that caught my eye, I present the following:

The museum is home to the Isenheim Altarpiece by the German Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald. The image of the crucified Christ is pitted with plague-type sores, showing patients that Jesus understood and shared their afflictions. The veracity of the work’s depictions of medical conditions was unusual in the history of European art.