Little town, it’s a quiet village…
Le Petite France in Strasbourg Le Petite Venisse in Colmar Kaysersberg
Everyday was like visiting the set of Beauty & the Beast which happens to be one of my favorite Disney animated films. Walking through these little fairytale-like villages can almost make one forget about the sadness and uncertainty in the world right now. One is only reminded of the pandemic with all the masques obligatore signs (and people following this rule!) and hand sanitizer stations located everywhere. I was a tiny bit apprehensive about traveling right now but quickly learned that it does not have to be stressful at all. I realized that I could only plan so much in advance and then see for myself how these places were actually handling tourism with the pandemic. If I have learned anything in the past few months, it is that one needs to be flexible with all of the new COVID-19 adjustments as everyone is just trying to figure things out. Opening times are not always correct, restaurants are often filled due to limited seating and some things are not available because of shipping delays and problems. Ah, c’est la coronavirus vie…
BEST OF…
Best cup of coffee: Café Bretelles Petite France - Suspenders. There are two locations in Strasbourg.
Best air conditioning: Archeology wing of Musée Unterlinden in Colmar.
Best museum: Musée Unterlinden in Colmar.
Best village: Kaysersberg
Best bakery: Atelier 116 in Strasbourg. I loved everything… my breakfast, lunch AND their macarons are perfect.
RANDOM “FACTS”
Steps walked in 5 days: 80,360
Average Temperature: 34 degrees celsius — 93 degrees Fahrenheit
Number of times the Beauty & the Beast soundtrack popped into my head or escaped my mouth: 20+
Number of cities/villages visited: 6 (Strasbourg, Colmar, Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé, Neuf-Brisach, Kaysersberg)
Phrase that one can use in Alsace and not in other parts of France:
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Ja…
My “real life” French vocabulary is random. No one wants to hear me recite
Verlaine in a restaurant so it was kind of a relief to be able to speak
German when English was not an option.
Number of macarons consumed: only 3 but they were the size of my hand!
Number of door pictures captured: 206
STRASBOURG
Literally meaning, “city of streets,” Strasbourg is the ultimate crossroads. Located about 2 miles from the German border, Strasbourg has changed hands between Germany and France many times - (1262) Germany, (1681) France, (1871) Germany, (after WWI) France, (during WWII) Germany, (1944) France. It is now a progressive city with a mix of Franco-Germanic culture, architecture and ambiance. Even the street signs are bilingual, with both French and the Germanic Alsatian dialect. It is also home to the European Parliament, sharing administrative responsibilities with Brussels and Luxembourg.
MUSEUMS VISITED: Rick Steves wrote, “none of its museums is essential.” And he is right…
I visited the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Musée oeuvre Notre-Dame Museum, Musée Alsacien, Palais Rohan (Musée des beaux-arts, Musée archéologique, Musée des arts décoratifs). Out of all those, I enjoyed the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (interesting architecture, fantastic air conditioning and outdoor café with decent views of the city) and the Musée Alsacien (museum located in one of the oldest houses in Strasbourg featuring Alsatian folk art with glimpses into daily life and traditions).
MUST VISIT: Cathédrale de Notre-Dame (pay the 8 euros to climb the 332 steps to the top for the best views of the city) is an impressive gothic building that took over 200 years to build (construction began in 1176 and was completed in 1439) and has somehow survived the wars with little damage.
Le Petite France is the historic area with cobblestone streets, beautiful half-timbered homes and many Instagram worthy views.
FOOD: Eating in France is very difficult for me. I do not eat veal or foie gras, the idea of escargots is terrifying, pâté is not my favorite and I am not a fan of raw meat so I tend to focus more on carbohydrates and dessert. I managed to find two delicious (and famous) restaurants in Strasbourg. Reservations are highly recommended.
Maison Kammerzell, located right next to the Cathédrale in one of the most famous buildings in Strasbourg. Built in 1427, it has a lovely outdoor eating area perfect for people-watching and a front row seat for the local street musicians.
Brasserie les Haras, an 18th-century horse stable that was recently renovated into a modern restaurant. Designed by Jouin Manku and with a menu overseen by Michelin chef Marc Haeberlin, this restaurant came highly recommended by the NYTimes. I enjoyed a delicious tarte flambée (it’s just Flammkuchen) and tried a bit of choucroute (it’s just sauerkraut) with my lamb burger. I read somewhere that framboise (raspberries) are very popular in this region so I went with it and ordered a beautiful dessert with raspberries and raspberry sorbet.
MUSIC NERD MOMENT(s): Goethe studied law at the University from 1770-1771 and his residence is marked on the busy shopping street (address: 36 Rue du Vieux-Marché-aux-Poissons). More importantly, the French national anthem, La Marseillaise was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg.
NEXT TRIP:
Boat tour: these boats were packed with tourists (very little social-distancing) so I chose a small walking tour.
Unfortunately, the architecture student offering small group tours was not a very good tour guide.
Musée Vodou: a voodoo museum? It could be interesting and I bet it has a great gift shop.
Barrage Vauban: a good photo-op.
Au Fond du Jardin: tea house with madeleines that look like works of art. They were on holiday during my trip.
COLMAR
This village was apparently spared by the Americans and British during World War II because of its historic beauty. These colorful houses — German half-timber (Fachwerkhaus) with charming French shutters — gives Colmar this fairytale-like atmosphere that inspired the villages in Beauty & the Beast. I might have mentioned this before… Smaller than urban Strasbourg, this romantic town is labeled as Alsace’s most beautiful city.
MUST VISIT: Le Petite Venisse, Musée Unterlinden (read below)
MUSEUMS VISITED: Musée Unterlinden, Musée Bartholdi, Eglise des Dominicains - Dominican Church.
Isenheim Altarpiece
Musée Unterlinden is one of the most visited in France because of the Isenheim Altarpiece. The museum is a huge labyrinth of artwork, gothic sculptures and rare artifacts built around a peaceful cloister from the 13th century. The cloister was eerily peaceful and has chairs available for people to sit, relax and read a book. Walking into the archeology wing was like walking into a refrigerator — I spent a good chunk of time looking at cracked pottery and learned about the Age de Feu. The majority of the information is in French so I highly recommend the audio guide. I was actually surprised that a few museums were still offering audio guides.
Musée Bartholdi is a 3-story house honoring local boy Frédéric-Auguste, the man who sculpted America’s Statue of Liberty. I opted for the audio guide as well which was somewhat helpful in an otherwise boring museum. I enjoyed looking at his Erard piano in his living room but that’s about it.
Eglise des Dominicans — Dominican Church. It is worth the 2 euros to enter this simple church which houses Martin Schongauer’s brilliant altarpiece from 1473, Virgin in the Rosebush.
MUSIC NERD MOMENT: While trying to find Restaurant La Soï (read below), I accidentally came across this. It was the birthplace of Marie Bigot (1786-1820). “Beethoven & Haydn were the fervent admirers of this incomparable musician who lavished her advice on Schubert as a child and taught Mendelssohn.” You can read more about her on her Wikipedia page and listen to some of her music here.
NEXT TRIP: Restaurant La Soï, completely booked as it is very small and cozy. Schwendi Fountain, it apparently inspired the fountain in the new Beauty & the Beast movie.
RIQUEWIHR, RIBEAUVILLÉ, NEUF-BRISACH, KAYSERSBERG
Riquewihr
I’m still trying to figure out how to pronounce the name of this little village. Apparently this place is the most touristed on the Route du Vin. It’s hard to tell these days — I think I might have been the only Asian there. When you enter the main gate, you can find the fountain that inspired the original Beauty & the Beast film. I might have broken out into song (the opening Belle number) and had a mini photoshoot. Although I was not appropriately dressed for a photoshoot, I did have a book with me which is Belle’s most important accessory. As it was early in the morning, very few shops were opened so it was just nice to walk around and admire the charming houses and surrounding vineyards.
Ribeauvillé
Another charming little village where I enjoyed a tasty Coq au Riesling and spätzle at the #2 of “Best Restaurants” on Trip Advisor, Au Passage de la Tour.
Neuf-Brisach
A fortified (sleepy) town built in 1697 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a walking path (saw a few runners braving the heat!) around the entire city that takes approximately 1,5 - 2 hours to walk. There is an excellent and very helpful tourist office in the middle of town that also provides maps in different languages. The actual walking path is not that interesting but they have added art installations along the way which provided some entertainment for some of the younger tourists.
Kaysersberg
My favorite of the four villages. I found it to be the perfect size —a bit larger than the 3 other villages but with more charm. When you enter the village, one of the first buildings you see is Le Chambard, the ** Michelin Restaurant and ***** hotel where Anthony Bourdain died in 2018. There are plenty of souvenir shops, craft shops and beautiful half-timbered houses.
NEXT TRIP: A lot of these little villages have walking/bike paths that lead to neighboring villages that I would love to explore. Traveling with an adorable 22 month old (Auntie Lola loves you very much, Anthony!) meant being more flexible and taking things slowly which was a nice contrast to how I usually travel.
*****
My journey back to Düsseldorf was an eventful one. The 4,5 hour train ride turned into a 12 hour adventure which is somewhat typical with the Deutsche Bahn. I don’t know if it was because I was tired or just happy but the delay did not even bother me at all. Since I physically could not move the train myself, there was no point in stressing out about it. I ended up befriending a young woman who was sitting near me. We chatted about our vacations and shared our food souvenirs (Swiss chocolate and French gingerbread) as children ran up and down the aisles and a man improvised on the bongos.
After 4 hours of standing still “due to a fallen tree on the tracks,” she offered me a car ride back to Düsseldorf. I got off the train and ended up in a car with 3 very kind strangers from all around the world. I made it home safely around 2 am so I had enough time to eat, shower and get a few hours of sleep in before my first day of the 2020-2021 season. Schöne neue Spielzeit!