Strasbourg, France Day 3
While Colmar has already been around in Roman times, it was the 13th century its status became more visible as an imperial town by the Holy Roman emperor, Frederick II. The old town is well-preserved and still presents the medieval scenery with colorful half-timbered houses and endless cobbled streets. I couldn't stop taking a photo while we were walking there. The beautiful weather certainly encouraged me to do so.
The River Lauch runs cross the south end of the old town and the area is called La Petite Venise. Well, it didn't really look like Venice but the water played a nice role to enhance the town's fairy tale atmosphere. There was a large noticeable building in the area. It was a 19th century indoor market. We quickly checked it out although there weren't many merchants at that time and we didn't buy anything.
We walked toward the middle of the old town to find a cafe or bakery for breakfast and ran into St. Martin Church that exactly stood in the center of Colmar. The lantern bulb shaped tower is one of the best features of the 13th century Gothic church. Unfortunately it was a service time and we only saw the inside from the entrance door briefly.
Various mannala, too!
We walked more in the town after we charged our energy. There was a building near the church that is said to be a model of a castle in the Japanese animated fantasy film called "The Howl's Moving Castle." I haven't seen the movie but it seems that anyone who watched it could recognize the building. In fact some say that the town of Colmar was the main inspiration for the background of the film. I'm not a big fan of animated films but it may be interesting to watch the movie with J sometime.
How could we leave the shop with empty hands? We bought a little chocolate chip mannala to share for a little break and also a penguin shaped gingerbread to take back home with us.
Like Strasbourg, the town was getting ready for Christmas. The town is already so adorable and like a page of a children's picture book. Is that possible that they could be more adorable? Apparently, yes!
The residential area (we guessed so) in the old town was relatively quiet and as picturesque as the commercial area. The old town was actually much larger than we had expected. It was amusing to find a new street to stroll.
We walked to another building that I was interested to see. It was La Maison des Têtes, or House of Heads. It has the name because of the 106 heads or masks attached on its exterior including the large bay window. The house was originally built in 1609 for Anton Burger who was a Colmar merchant at that time and became a city councilor in 1612 and also the town's mayor (Stettmeister) in 1626. Today it's a hotel/restaurant.
Those masks didn't really look happy but unique. After a lot of walk in the morning, we got hungry. J found a lovely seafood restaurant, Restaurant Aux 3 Poissons. The bright-yellow, 16th century half-timber house was located on the street named "Quai de la Poissonnerie (the fishmonger's wharf)" along the River Lauch. Actually we were on the street and took some photos of the restaurant earlier without knowing it would be our lunch place.
We were lucky to get a table without reservations. The atmosphere was a mix of woody rustic country and white tablecloth elegance.
Amuse-bouche... what was it? I don't remember...
J's starter was Marbré de foie gras Canard et Oie (duck and goose), confit de Choucroute et gelée au Gewurztraminer. It looked nice and rich!
My starter was Salade du pêcheur, or fisherman's salad. It was refreshing and I was happy to see seaweeds on the plate.
For a main, J chose Qusi de Veau, mousseline de Céleri et sauce aux arômes de Truffes. While he picked up a seafood restaurant, somehow he wasn't in a mood of seafood. Anyway the veal fillets looked lovely.
My main dish was Baeckaoffe aux Trois Poissons. Baeckaoffe is a Alsatian casserole dish, meaning a baker's oven. It's commonly made with meat and potatoes but this was a fish version. Three kinds of large fish fillets (zander, salmon and haddock) tightly snuggled with potatoes in a cute oven dish with a lid. We saw the type of pottery to be sold in the town. I understood how to use it. One of the fish was seasoned with too much salt, but otherwise I liked the dish. Simple and tasty.
Honestly my dessert, Soupe de Quetsches et glace Cannelle (plum soup and cinnamon ice cream) was the best part of the lunch. The warm spiced plums were served warm. Paired with cinnamon ice cream, it tasted delightful, almost like mulled wine.
After the pleasant lunch, we took a walk in the town again.
Colmar was the hometown of the 19th century sculptor, Auguste Batholdi, who is well known for the Statue of Liberty. The house that he was born at was in the middle of the old town. It has been a museum to present his work since 1922. We didn't enter the museum but were able to see some his arts in the courtyard and through the windows.
It was time to go back to Strasbourg. We headed to the station by passing though Parc du Champ de Mars, the largest park in the town center. Fontaine Bruat, a fountain built in tribute to Admiral Armand-Joseph Bruat (1796-1855) was another Batholdi’s work. Although it was destroyed during WWII, the bronze statue was restored and placed on a newly built fountain later.
What a wonderful day trip! I would totally recommend adding Colmar to a trip to Strasbourg.
To be continued...
