Alsace: Fairytale Villages on the river

 I’ve spent the last several days in the Alsace region of France. This area has flipped between French and German control several times in its history. Because of this, this area is equal parts French and German. All of the street signs are in French and German. You’re just as likely to find a Bretzel (pretzel) as you are a crepe. 

I stayed in Strasbourg, at the Boma hotel. I chose the hotel because of its price and easy walking distance to the sights. When I entered my room, I knew I had made the right decision. The room was painted TEAL! My favorite color! The walls were teal, the ceiling was teal, even the phone was teal! I could have bought the phone for only 60€, but I don’t have a landline, and that’s a bit steep. 

My first stop was Le Petit France. This area of town is what all the tourists come for. Centered around the river are fairytale, half-timbered houses. I felt like any minute, Belle was going to start singing about how her neighbors are always doing the same thing. The area is known as Le Petit France (the little France), not because it’s particularly French, but because way back when the area was still controlled by Germany, they built a hospital in the area for the people with “the French disease” (syphils). So that’s a fun little piece of history. 

For dinner I had a Tarte Flambee. It’s a kind of crispy flatbread, usually served with bacon and onions, and some sort of cream sauce. It was delicious!

Tuesday was supposed to be my day to explore Strasbourg, and it was…kind of. Well, most of the things I wanted to see were closed! The cathedral was closed when I tried to visit (only for 2 hours) so I had to go back later. The Rohan Palace is closed on Tuesdays. But I did manage to do a boat tour on the river. The boat has to do 2 locks in order to do the tour. That was interesting. Overall, I enjoyed Strasbourg, but I didn’t fall in love with it.

Wednesday, I took a day trip from Strasbourg to Colmar. It’s another fairytale town about a half hour away. This was the village that was the inspiration for Belle’s village, in Beauty and the Beast. 

The touristy area of Colmar is called Le Petit Venise (little Venice), because of the small series of canals. The artist who designed the Statue of Liberty was from Colmar, so they have a museum dedicated to him, and their own replica of the statue. The replica is about 3 KM outside of the city center, so I didn’t manage to see it. 

One thing that I know for certain, I DO need to return to this area, but at Christmas time. They christmas markets in both Strasbourg and Colmar are apparently spectacular. Even in July, there are several stores that sell only christmas decorations. I found SO MANY that I wanted to buy, but could only ask myself, “how do I get it home without it breaking into a kajillion pieces?”. 

Which brings us to Thursday. If you know me (and why are you reading my blog if you don’t know me), you know I’m a planner. I plan, and pre-plan my trips. It’s how I manage to afford my trips, and save some money.  Well, one of the things that I had researched, but for some reason, never actually purchased was my train ticket from Strasbourg to Paris. Luckily, I did manage to get a ticket, though it was about 3 hours later than I wanted to be leaving/getting into Paris. And it was about 45€ more than when I was researching. But that’s what happens when you forget to plan. 

Anywho, I’m on my train to Paris, and tonight I have a reservation to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I’m going to be on the tower when it sparkles! 

Until next time, au reviour!