A month ago, Julie's parents visited us in Germany and later vacationed the Alsace wine region of France. Their trip through Alsace spanned from Colmar to Strasbourg - periodically stopping in small towns with family owned vineyards. Before their return flight departed from Frankfurt, we spent an afternoon with them and recounted the highlights of their French vacation. Aside from the two cities previously mentioned, we were introduced to the Barbary Macaque Refuge.
...wait, France has monkeys and gecko's...?
Monkeys!!!
Touché France....Touché.
We haven't seen any primates since our interactive experience at the
Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica - which seems like forever ago, but has only been four months. I digress... Having seen all the wonderful scenery and pictures shared by Julie's parents, we decided to take another trip to France. Our day totaled 12 hours of travel and sight-seeing - a tiresome day, but we got to hand-feed monkeys (don't like monkeys...what's wrong with you?).
The plan, recreate Julie's parent's three day tour of France in a single day. We would drive to Colmar, then drive north towards Strasbourg, with a stop in Cháteau-Gontier. Affirming the self-proclaimed status of living in the geographical oddity of Homburg -
Colmar was another two-hour drive away. We spent the morning and early afternoon walking the town and visiting many of the attractions; Collégiale Saint-Martin, Old Custom House (Koifhus), Little Venice (La Petite Venise), and Old Town.
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| Entering Colmar, the birthplace of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi |
While it seems like a lot to visit in Colmar with a few short hours, it is a relatively small city and can be enjoyed over a weekend or in a day - depending on personal preference. We started our tour by walking towards
Collégiale Saint-Martin, a Roman Catholic church with Gothic architecture. A few blocks away from the cathedral we arrived at our next stop, the
Koifhus (Old Custom House) and Schwendi Fountain. These two sites are across from each other and is a great place to relax, grab a bite to eat, enjoy a glass of Alsatian wine, or listen to traditional French music of the accordion. Saving the best for last, we made our way towards Little Venice and Old Town.
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| Collégiale Saint-Martin |
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| Altar and organ |
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| Stained Glass and vaulted ceiling |
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| Old well outside cafe |
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| Koifhus |
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| Schwendi Fountain across from Koifhus |
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| Old Town homes with little hearts on shutters |
Petite Venice of Colmar is a diametrically reviewed attraction on
TripAdvisor, however, the subjective interpretation of "petite," either charms or spurns visitors. The "Little Venice" is indeed very small, but Colmar isn't a large city to begin with, thus; criticism of the area "being really small" or "not extraordinary and cannot compare to the real Venice," are unjust drivel. Petite Venice and Old Town have the most picturesque scenery in Colmar; quaint canals and colorful half-timbered homes - everywhere you look, the image of a quintessential postcard. The Alsatian city was a wonderful place to visit and left a lasting imprint in our memories.
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| Gondola line as seen from bridge in Petite Venice |
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| Other side of bridge |
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| Rogue duck on gondola surf |
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| Petite and adorable |
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| Can a gondola even fit under this bridge...? |
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| well....I'm impressed, and no decapitations |
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