24/08/2022
Somewhere around the 15th century, some farmers, winemakers, merchant, and some other hard-working folk settled themselves around a canal of the Lauch river. They built colourful houses (some exquisitely lining the canals), beautiful churches, and other impressive buildings. It was the city of Colmar’s golden age. To make life a little easier, houses were painted different colours. So if you were a baker, your house was white. If you made cheese, it was yellow, and for gardeners, the house would be green. Blue houses were for fishmongers.
Today we decided that this thing with trains is probably not quite what we feel like, so we rented a car in stead, and cautiously (with the odd irregular jerking) set off to explore Colmar, one of the places that was definitely on our list to see.
Colmar is situated in the Alsace wine region, and is clearly an excessively popular tourist destination. And not surprisingly so. The historical center of Colmar is just absolutely beautiful. Even the excessive number of fellow tourist could not spoil the beauty of the many narrow cobblestone streets and allies lined with these very old houses.
Of course, seeing that we are in a wine region, we popped into one of the wine producers in Colmar. Domaine Karcher started making wine in 1602. Their cellar is in the historic center of Colmar, and they produce around 50 000 bottles of wine from around 11ha vineyards per harvest. The actual vineyards is around 5 km from Colmar. Niel was very impressed with their Pinot Gras and Pinot Noir.
Back in Mulhouse, we took a stroll back to the town’s main square for a drink. I would not rate Mulhouse as a major touristy town. But the historic center is just so beautiful, and you get a sense that you are in the true, unpretentious France.
Today, both our navigational systems presented some challenges. It usually happens when we are in a strange country. In time, we will have some good laughs at our silly mistakes. It’s what makes the adventure that much more memorable, after all.
Die reisbeskrywings en persoonlike ervarings is pragtig gedoen. Ek volg graag!😃