Colmar is near the border of Germany and Switzerland. It has a population of about 67,000 people.
Half of them are at a party downstairs from where I am staying.
It is cold in Colmar. It is cold outside, (surprise!! it is winter!!) and it is cold inside.
A building built in the 1700s does not have a great heating system.
So, it's 8:30 and I am thinking of going to bed and hiding under some warm blankets. The party seems to be moving out.....but who knows.
Jackie and I were in Colmar years ago. It is famous for it's buildings created with wood cross pieces. It is also the home of a sculpture named Frederic Bartholdi. We Americans received a gift of his from the nation of France. We put her on an island, named her Liberty, and inscribed on her base "give us your tired, your poor, your downtrodden and oppressed." Plus it has a canal running through it.
And it has a Christmas market. Well, it actually has 5 Christmas markets scattered throughout the old center of town, an area off limits to vehicles except for service and safety operations.
I spent about 5 hours wandering the streets and looking at the booths. Yes, I did buy stuff. Not to give away any upcoming gifts, but I bought warmed wine, hot chocolate and a vanilla coated pretzel.
It was all a fraction of the price of the same items in Switzerland. 2.50 for the wine here, 4.50 in Swiss.
Not the point.
It is a beautiful city.
Two funny stories. The Swiss train system, which prides itself on being on time, was 30 minutes late getting to Basel, where I caught the French train for Colmar, so I missed my connection. There was no one at the station who could tell me when the next train to Colmar left. In fact, there was no one at the station! All ticket machines.
I finally found a conductor on a train leaving and he told me the Colmar train leaves every hour. So I got here a little later than planned. But all is well.
After I checked in my rented apartment, which has two bedrooms and sleeps four in case the crowd
downstairs is looking for extra bedding, I ventured out and explored.
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| Yellowish building is mine...but to be honest, my apartment is not in the picture! It is the very top, like in the two buildings next to it. It's a healthy climb! |
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| Father Christmas was here |
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| A little hard to see.....this part of Colmar is called Little Venice. Jackie, you probably remember when we rode the boats here! Tonight the boats wire filled with singers and the crowd was about 5 people deep. Hard to get a picture
One last story. The hot wine was clearly marked 2.50 E. So I gave her a 5 and she gave me back 1.50. I felt cheated! Turns out, the cup has a 1 E fee, and you get the Euro back when you turn in your cup at any of the sellers! Cuts down on litter and increases the recycling rate. The man who sold me hot chocolate explained that to me.
Oops....I think they have a DJ downstairs.....gonna be a long night.
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