Another beautiful Saturday. Way to nice for chores. So we found ourselves traveling... once again to France. 90 km or a bit short of an hour away lies Colmar, a city that Roland had visited a long time ago and wanted to re-visit.
Founded in the ninth century during the
Carolingian Empire Colmar seemed always been in high demand. It belonged once to the French, then to the Germans, and at one time to the Swedish even (not for long, though).
Now Colmar is one of the major cities in Alsace, France, but the German heritage can be found everywhere, embedded in culture, language, names and architecture, naturally enhanced by the French lifestyle and ambience.
Although third biggest city of the province of Alsace, Colmar has the charming atmosphere of a small town. There is no big city rush, and people seem to enjoy themselves (It might have helped that it wasn't a work day, though). So we did the best to adjust by having ice cream and cooling off at a fountain.
And right in the center of the old town, what else could there be... a church. Eglise Staint Martin has the dimensions of a cathedral but never hosted a bishop, so it cannot be called such.
This building is a wild architectural mix, erected on Romanesque foundations it is mainly Gothic with a touch of Renaissance after a fire, and with a hint of Jewish influence found in the gargoyles.
The church is embedded in the historic city core, and hence it is almost impossible to find an ideal vantage point for a good photo. It is an interesting piece of historic architecture nevertheless, and its sandstone bricks look make a beautiful contrast to the blue sky.
And some two-wheelers can make a very nice contrast to the medieval architecture, too.
And while Sonja could be found admiring this vintage Vespa, Roland was drooling all over this wonderful Citroen:
Colmar is definitely worth a visit, even more so since it can make a good starting point for a trip through the Vosges and the wine country. Next time... on scooters!
Beautiful pictures and I like the old Citroen as well!
ReplyDeleteI love Citroens. I remember the first time I saw one- I was just a child and for my area this was an exotic thing! I remember saying it looked like a spaceship!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place.
We went through Colmar at high GS speed last Tuesday on our return run en-route to Rheims!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely need to revisit this area at a slower pace.
We used to have a Citroen DS Safari and distribute bits of it all over Europe.
That might be Louis de Funes's citroen perhaps? ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh sure, we get Newport at the coast but you get France within an hour or so drive.
ReplyDeleteIt is just so neat that you guys live so close to so many great towns for little weekend getaways.
The Citroen is cool, but I too like the Vespa.