As the legend has it the city of Colmar was founded in the 9th century and
was chosen as a place where Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat held a diet in
884.
Well, he certainly wouldn’t be able to do that today as the
city among other things, including admirable medieval architecture and
intricate layout, is a culinary delight in and out , one of the gastronomic
centers of France and no doubt a gourmands paradise and an Alsatian delicious
treasure along with Strasbourg.
I can only imagine how heavenly beautiful it might be there around Christmas time when this velvety cute city is lavishly decorated and sparkles in myriads of festive lights and smells deliciously of hot savory specialties and freshly baked pastry. here
Entre nous the city is very charming in summer time too, blooming with flowers.
Not to mention irresistible light and delicious Alsatian wines.
Colmar is the town of a very human scale. You can easily walk through every nook and cranny in one day and it would be a perfect day trip from Strasbourg.
Lushly green, calm and relaxing and charming in every inch.
Big contemporary cities are demanding, rough on texture, have sharp edges and spiky skylines. They possess their own beauty and attractive in their own way enticing with events and happenings , ever changing cultural life and interactions. They also can make you feel anonymous and small either you are a participant or just a passing by spectator.
Small European towns are so much down to earth and so much friendlier and softer. Speaking of Colmar –it is velvety and cozy as a huggable fluffy Teddy bear. Sheer pleasure. It’s neat and composed, welcoming and warm and honey sweet as a beautiful pastry masterpiece.
Many well preserved ancient towns are sleepy hallows today ,
quiet and a bit alienated, unremarkable otherwise, enveloped in time blanket.
Just aging with dignity minding their daily business and keeping their stories
to themselves.
Colmar is flooded with tourists and bursting to the brim with attractions. Bright and lively, very outgoing and as happy and proud as a pretty girl in a new dress at the first ball. And incredibly postcard photogenic. You can’t make two steps without Oh! and Ah!
Like those fairy tale fold-and-pop-up children books: you
turn and some pretty vignette pops-up begging to be admired: timber houses
freshly colored in bright hues, steep roofs and turrets, antique shops, patisseries
and restaurants signs centuries old, modern world brands boutiques and
everywhere les cigognes – the storks. Presented as toys, posters or made of metal
or wood and fixed on doors and garage gates. Stork is a symbol, coat of arms
and a patron/guardian of the home and of this city. There’s a believe that
their nests on the roofs insure happiness and prosperity and many children in that home and considered
a luck and get all protection they might need. That’s why quite often you can
see a carriage wheel on the rooftop – it’s the invitation, the base for the
nest to be build. If the storks, very loyal and family oriented creatures, like
the place they will settle down and return
for years to come which is a very good sign. A sacred bird for Alsatians especially
in Colmar.
Little Venice, teeny-tiny Venice is a picturesque part of
Colmar filled with calm canals and hunchback bridges. 10-passangers boats with
absolutely noiseless electric motors glide over the mirror surface of dreamy
waters amongst lush green enchanted banks. Absolutely fantastic little journey!
So quiet, serene and so romantic.
The historical core of the town is live architectural museum
of the half timber houses dated back as far as early 16th century
and are typical German Fachwerkhous . Can you imagine they’ve seen Louis XIV
annexing the Free City (since 13th
century!) and proclaiming it French? It was shortly reclaimed by Germany
between 1871-1918 and again in 1940-1945 under name Kolmar.
Speaking of music. Since 1980 Colmar was triumphantly put back on a cultural map of Europe with the famous annual Music Festival.
“In 2013, Colmar International Festival will celebrate its 25th
year under the artistic direction of Vladimir Spivakov. This is a unique
occasion to look back on this quarter-century of shared emotions and success.
Over the years, Colmar Festival has established itself as a major musical event
in the cultural landscape of Alsace, France, Europe and abroad…
25 years of passion and musical enchantment is worth
celebrating! From Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven …to Tchaikovsky,
Rachmaninov …, Chopin, Paganini, …Ravel…and Verdi …Vladimir Spivakov and his
friends will give a dazzling demonstration at Colmar, where the general public
can discover musical excellence!” here
More about Colmar here
So if you plan a trip to France, Strasbourg is only 2
hours East of Paris and Colmar is half
an hour South from Strasbourg. You'll fall in love with Alsace.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
All images © Natalie Rapoport
