Day Three and Four...Colmar and the Alsace Wine Region
After our visit to Verdun we departed for the adorable village of Colmar - one of our favorites! The German influence is evident here with the half-timbered buildings. The town, itself, is so picturesque that we could have spent all day just wandering through it's streets. But then there's the market, the Unterlinden Museum - one of Rick's favorites, the Alsace Route du Vin, and the wonderful restaurants. In 2013 this tour has been modified to stay three nights here, which was a wise itinerary change. You really need it!
Hôtel St. MartinOur accommodations in Colmar were at the Hôtel St. Martin. This was one of our favorite hotels. It was centrally-located, rustic-appearing from the exterior, but our room was surprisingly modern inside. The breakfast room had a wall of street-side windows that allowed us to enjoy a leisurely breakfast while watching the town wake up and the school children head off to their classes.
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A traditional Alsatian dinner at Restaurant le Rapp...
Before or after dinner, be sure to stop by the L'un des Sens wine bar for a glass of wine and a cheese pairing. They serve an amazing Alsace Grand Cru Gewurztraminer and Reisling from Kuentz-Bas.
And now, about "le Vin"...
The wines from Alsace are predominantly white. The seven Alsace Grape varieties are as follows:
reisling, muscat, pinot blanc, sylvaner, pinot gris, Gewurtztraminer, and pinot noir (the only rosé or red wine of Alsace). While you may wrinkle your nose at the sweeter versions of these wines that commonly are found in the U.S. or even in Germany, these wines are surprisingly dry, light and crisp. They also have a "bubbly" version of their wine here which is called "Cremant d'alsace." After a delightful stroll through the Alsace vineyards led by our talented guide, Jean Claude, we were able to taste the vast majority of these wines at the Jean Geiler Winery (follow the link below to their website and more about their wines). What wasn't poured at our tasting table was generously offered at their tasting counter. The vast majority of our group made purchases here - which we were able to enjoy throughout the remainder of our trip!
reisling, muscat, pinot blanc, sylvaner, pinot gris, Gewurtztraminer, and pinot noir (the only rosé or red wine of Alsace). While you may wrinkle your nose at the sweeter versions of these wines that commonly are found in the U.S. or even in Germany, these wines are surprisingly dry, light and crisp. They also have a "bubbly" version of their wine here which is called "Cremant d'alsace." After a delightful stroll through the Alsace vineyards led by our talented guide, Jean Claude, we were able to taste the vast majority of these wines at the Jean Geiler Winery (follow the link below to their website and more about their wines). What wasn't poured at our tasting table was generously offered at their tasting counter. The vast majority of our group made purchases here - which we were able to enjoy throughout the remainder of our trip!
While a large reason why we selected this tour, it was not all about the wine. We got to experience the remarkable Unterlinden museum, the highlight of which was the Isenheim Altarpiece. Be sure to leave your big bag at the hotel when you go here - they even confiscated some umbrellas from our group and held them hostage until exit!
It was market day in Colmar, so we got some shopping in. Look for linens here and sample some of the region's cheeses. Equally enjoyable was the "little Venice" area. Take time for lunch along the canal. We sampled another Alsace specialty - a tarte flambé - at Winstub La Krutenau. This specialty (as seen on the right) is like a thin-crust pizza. We ordered one with cheese, onion and bacon bits (actually we ordered one for each of us, which was a bit much!) For dinner, try the roesti. I ordered the roesti vegetarian (a potato dish - 12,50 Euros and shown bottom right) and thought it was fabulous! |
Other Regional Specialties |
Interesting Tidbit: Children in Colmar study German for their first five years of school, then study English.
Traveler's Tip:
Photography ideas: Over the past two tours we have had the good fortune of generous photographers in our group who have been willing to share their photos. We all know to take photos of the scenery and ourselves. But some of these photo ideas bring back great memories:
- Your tour guide will post an itinerary each day - snap a picture of it and it will help you to organize your shots later (and also help you to remember where you were)
- Take photos of your food - most of the time it is just indescribable!
- Photograph the restaurant store front - comes in handy when you get home and can't remember the name of that fabulous restaurant where you ate
- Some restaurants create a special "Rick Steves" menu - make sure you get a shot!
- On this tour, take a shot of your wine bottles - you will never remember what you sampled while you were here
- Photograph store fronts, signs, and the smallest aspects of those big buildings
- Take a picture of your hotel - outside as well as a photo of your room
- Capture the faces of the local tour guides - they are hand-selected, talented, and unique individuals