Colmar and Southern Alsace

Due to the craziness of the holidays and then exam period in Germany, I haven't had the chance to write yet about the trip I took when my dad and his girlfriend, Lisa, came to visit (or the trip that Catie, Wes-friend Gilder, and I took to Amsterdam). As I'm leaving for six weeks of travelling next week (Scotland, England, Ireland, and Istanbul), I need to catch up before I leave. So here's the first installment!

I wrote about the first part of the trip in December (see my post on German Christmas Markets), but I haven't yet described the part where we drove from Tübingen to Southern Alsace, and then up to Strasbourg, Luxembourg, and into Belgium. It was a really fun trip, full of beautiful scenery, cute little towns, and some GPS adventures. I'm going to start today with a post about the first few days, which we spent in southern Alsace.

The drive from Tübingen to Elsenheim, where we were going to spend our first two nights in France, was a beautiful one. We unexpectedly found ourselves taking the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, or the "Black Forest High Road." This meant that we were driving up along the ridges of the mountains, looking down on the forest, before descending down curving roads and little black forest towns. If you ever get the chance to drive through Germany, I recommend making this part of your trip. Absolutely beautiful.

We stopped here to take photos - this is where a lot of hang gliding takes place

Up above everything: In front of that flag you can see the tips of the trees climbing up the side of the mountain

Shortly after leaving the Black Forest we crossed the border into France. The ease of this border crossing came as quite a shock for my dad, who hadn't driven through Europe since before the Schengen Agreement came into effect. He was therefore surprised to find out we were already in France, having not gone through any sort of passport control, and knowing only because of our GPS (and the change in signs). Shortly after we crossed the border, we arrived at our bed and breakfast, A l'Ancienne Boulangerie, where we would stay for two nights. True to its name, the building had been converted from an old bakery into a bed and breakfast, something that I found particularly exciting. A married couple run this b&b, and the husband used to do the baking when it was a bakery - which meant that our delicious breakfasts each morning included unique treats that he had made. My personal favorite was a scone made in the shape of a person, sort of like a gingerbread man. He also makes jam that we enjoyed each day for breakfast, which was so delicious that I bought some to give as Christmas gifts. The rooms were wonderfully decorated and full of antiques. The room we stayed in was in the attic, and had an adorable loft that I got to sleep in. The loft was decorated with antique toys, which fit in well with the theme.

Annette and Thierry, our wonderful hosts

A blurry photo of the cozy downstairs where we had breakfast each morning

Our first night in France began with a quick trip to Ribouvillé for dinner. However, because dinner doesn't begin until at least 7:30, we took some time to wander around the town first. Like every town we encountered on our trip, Ribouvillé was decorated for Christmas. I enjoyed trying to decipher signs after two months of learning French, and we all enjoyed the adorable Alsatian town and Christmas atmosphere, as well as the delicious dinner we had at the end.

Christmas in Ribouvillé

Excited because I felt like I had found Narnia

It was great to see some snow, even if it was fake

The next day we woke up early to have an adventure-filled day. Annette had told us where we should go near Elsenheim to see the most important tourist sites, and we knew that we wanted to head up to Colmar that evening. We started by trying to find our way to Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg, which is a beautiful castle in the mountains near Sélestat. After some GPS adventures, in which we drove through innumerable dirt paths across and through vineyards, we finally found ourselves at the castle. One of the most visited castles in France since its restoration in the 20th century, it was a beautiful place to be on a sunny day in the mountains. There were signs everywhere telling us facts about Christmas. For instance, did you know that the first mention of a Christmas tree came from Sélestat in 1521? And that people used to hang hosts as ornaments, as well as the traditional candles, until replaced with spice cake and electric lights? Or that the pretzel is "based on the twisted bread of the Romans...given as a present during the Christmas celebrations, particularly between lovers, as a symbol of fertility and wealth. It was also connected to worshipping the dead and was often used as an offering at funerals."? The pretzel fact was my favorite, as I eat so many living in Germany that I feel obliged to know the history.

View from the castle

Pathway leading to the castle

In the courtyard

Giant wine cask

Medieval recipe for spice cake, aka gingerbread

pretzels!

The German eagle on the ceiling of a French castle served as an example of the essence of Alsace: Germany + France

Model of the castle

View of the castle from one of our winding roads through a vineyard

After leaving the château, we headed towards the town of Bergheim, because we had heard about a trail of crèches there. It appears that any citizen of Bergheim can make a crèche, out of whatever materials they wish, and it gets marked with a white star along the route of crèches. We saw an incredible variety of crèches, my favorites of which are shown below.

Elf Nativity!

Are the donkeys eating Jesus?

A street in Bergheim

At the medieval city walls

Our next step that day was in Riquewihr, where Annette had told us about a giant Christmas store that was open all year round and brought tourists from across the country. The store was full of overpriced ornaments, some of which were also too tacky for my taste, and most of which could be purchased at any one of the million of Christmas markets we had seen. Customers were herded through narrow aisles, where you had to make sure not to accidentally knock over any item. However as a cultural experience I was glad to have gone.

We also ran into yet another Christmas Market in Riquewihr. At this one, to celebrate now being in france, I purchased a croissant-shaped piece of marzipan, hot cider (the alcoholic kind), and some macarons. The market was slightly outside the city center, right next to an expansive vineyard and many wooden barrels and wheelbarrows. These wine-making accouterments were all over every town we stopped in in Alsace, and certainly added ambience.

Macarons at the market

A unique Christmas decoration after my own heart

Downtown Riquewihr

Wine barrels hanging out on the edge of town

The last place we stopped this day was Colmar, a small city in southern Alsace. Colmar had five Christmas markets, and I'm proud to say we made it to all of them (this was still somewhat near the beginning of our Christmas market adventure, before they all started to feel the same). These markets reminded me of the ones we had seen in Germany, and seemed to be more focused on traditional Christmas gifts and sweets than local specialties of alcohol and food, as we saw later in our trip. We enjoyed wandering around Colmar, as it felt particularly Christmassy, but after a long day we didn't have energy for much besides Christmas markets and more delicious food.
Here are some images from our evening in Colmar:

That's it for the first installment! Coming soon: Strasbourg and a drive up the rue des vins!

German Christmas Markets

All in all, I must say that Germany really knows how to celebrate Christmas. Although I was a little shocked at the fact that Christmas came to the Supermarket while I was still wearing sandals and dresses without tights, the snow arrived this week and with it the true feeling of Christmas. I feel as though I've been preparing for this moment for about a month now, however, by exploring many of the Christmas markets that appear at the end of November all over Germany.

My first Weihnachtsmarkt just happened to be in a castle. Burg Hohenzollern, which I have written about in a previous post, hosts a Christmas Market the last weekend in November to kick off advent. You pay a small entrance fee, and are able to enjoy stalls set up in the beautiful courtyard of the castle, as well as in some of the rooms. The market had typical Christmas fare, with ornaments and hand-made goods, as well as some delicious things to eat. Along with almonds roasted in cinnamon and sugar, which I can barely stop myself from purchasing whenever I see them, I began my Glühwein tasting spectacular. Glühwein directly translates into "Glow Wine," which makes sense, seeing as it is hot and spiced with delicious Christmassy flavors, which truly make you warm and "glowy" inside. At the Market at Hohenzollern I tasted Glühwein made with white wine for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised. It was a little sweeter than the Glühwein I was used to, but not in a cloying way or anything. I really enjoyed it actually, and true to its form as white wine, it felt a little lighter than the red wine variety. After wandering through the stalls we saw a crowd gathering by one of the entrances to listen to carols as the sun went down behind the mountains. And there to introduce the carols was the Prince of Prussia himself! Not a bad way to spend an evening, I must say.

The market in the courtyard

Enjoying the evening

The next stop on my massive Chritmas market tour was Regensburg, the town where I studied abroad for a semester in 2009. My father and his girlfriend, Lisa, came to visit, and as part of that trip we wanted to see as many Christmas markets as possible. My friends in Regensburg had told me that the market there, or markets I should say, as there were three, was not to be missed. The first of the three markets was in the courtyard of the palace Thurn and Taxis (are you sensing a theme?), and showcased specialty crafts. There were wooden ornaments and jewelry, scarves and tin decorations. I also had schnupfnudeln, a thick noodle similar to gnocci but shaped sort of like a finger. These are traditionally served with sauerkraut and bacon, or with cinnamon sugar as a sweet dish, but mine had many vegetables and a delicious herb sauce. I also tried another sort of Glühwein, this time made with apple wine, which was absolutely delicious.

The second market was in Neupfarrplatz, one of the main squares in Regensburg, where a lot of the annual festivals take place. This market was very traditional, with lots of tin and wooden ornaments, glass candle holders, and lots of food. We went at night, and it was clear that the lively town of Regensburg came to this market at night to enjoy food and wine. We bought ourselves some Glühwein, and enjoyed the atmosphere and, for me, being back in a place I have such fond memories of. The last market was in Heidplatz, and it featured wooden handcrafts. Unfortunately we did not have time to go to that market at night, but I stopped by the next morning before it had opened to see what the square looked like decked out for Christmas.

Enjoying apple glühwein at Schloss Thurn & Taxis

My dad and Lisa with St. Nikolaus

Nikolaus handing out chocolate to kids

Schnupfnudeln!

The market in the palace courtyard

An incredible roasted dough concoction with cinnamon and sugar

Glühwein

At the market in Neupfarrplatz

Excited to be back in Regensburg, in Heidplatz

The next day we headed to Nürnberg to explore the most famous Christmas market in Germany. I must say that this title seems to be well-deserved. A lot of the markets that I went to were very winter-y, but this one was pure Christmas. So many stalls selling all sorts of ornaments, wooden and hand-painted tin, Christmas pyramids (the multi-level carousels with blades on top that spin when candles are lit underneath), decorated gingerbread figures, christmas stollen, and every type of treat imaginable. I tried the traditional blueberry Glühwein, which I'm happy to report is also delicious. It luckily in no way tastes like blueberry flavoring, but is pretty much just hot, alcoholic, blueberry juice. Delicious. I also tried something called Feuerzangen, which is a hot red wine punch. After making the punch, a cone of sugar is soaked with rum an placed over the wine, and then lit on fire. The caramelized sugar drips into the wine, making a delicious, sweet, rummy concoction. Unfortunately I do not like rum that much, a detail that I forgot when I decided to try this. And as Glühwein/Mead/Feuerzangen cools it becomes much stronger to the taste, which is good to note when trying it. I would guess, however, that if you like rum this is a delicious Christmas treat.
The stalls at the Nürnberg market often seemed to repeat themselves, but I would say they were definitely worth repeating. I bought myself a small wooden nutcracker figure and a decoration that has hanging snowflakes that spin when a candle is lit beneath them. These joined the decorated ornament and wooden ornaments I bought in Regensburg. Here are some images from the Nürnberg market. Prepare for Christmas-y happiness.

A few weeks ago, after this trip with my family, I headed to Stuttgart with two of my good friends from Wesleyan, one of whom was visiting from the United States. The Stuttgart market was nice, very big, winding through some streets and then coming to squares with more tents, before winding on again. There was a life-sized train set that you could ride around on and a skating rink, as well as delicious food, once again. There was a stall advertising potatoes with "DER Knoblauchsauce," which means "THE garlic sauce." I'm glad to report that it lived up to its name. I bought a few more decorations for my room, including a hanging decoration with wooden rocking horses and pinecones, and a double-decker Christmas pyramid (that goes with the single-decker one I bought at a Christmas market in France - my room is incredibly decked out for Christmas now). Unfortunately I did not have my camera at this market, so there are no photos. But I do have photos from the Tübingen market, which took place over the second weekend in December. Catie, Gilder, and I came back a day early from Amsterdam to explore this market, but because that meant going on Sunday night it was insanely crowded. So crowded that you could barely move. If there had been fewer people it would have been a fantastic atmosphere, as there were adorable children playing Christmas music everywhere. The hardest thing in the world is not giving money to children brave enough to play music by themselves in public, but unfortunately there were at least fifty different groups and I couldn't give money to them all. I did support one young boy who was playing a wooden alto recorder (more legit than those plastic sopranos you play in grade school), because I felt obligated as a former recorder player. I also tasted something called Holunderwunder, which was hot elderberry/elderflower syrup with an optional shot of alcohol. Germans really like elderflower flavor, and it is something I have really enjoyed being here in Tübingen. Most of the stalls were filled with hand crafts, and once again it was very winter-y rather than christmas-y. But I believe if it had been less crowded I would have enjoyed it more.

The Tübingen Market:

The last episode in my Christmas market spectacular was a trip with four friends to Esslingen and Ludwigsburg for the markets in those two towns. Esslingen has one traditional market, and then a medieval one, which was particularly great. People were dressed up in medieval clothing, selling mead, wild boar, and bread that you could eat off a stick. They had both sweet and savory varieties of this stick-bread, and I tried a sweet, thinking the savory could contain meat. It tasted sort of like a cinnamon-raisin bagel, but without raisins. It was delicious, and I would definitely recommend one if you ever come across them, if nothing else, for the novelty of eating it off a stick. The best food item was definitely apples that were sliced in rings, battered, and then fried. It was like a very light coating of fried dough around a melty, baked apple, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Heaven. There were also all sorts of fun things to buy, and when I went back a few days later in the snow that suddenly enveloped Baden-Württemberg, it was particularly beautiful. I also tried cherry Glühwein in the normal market, which was once again delicious. I've decided I have so far not had a form of Glühwein I did not like.
We went to Ludwigsburg because my friend Ivor told us that you have to go at night, when the lights all around the square light up. There is a circle of angels (made of lights), which make a ring around the stalls, the churches on either side of the square are lit up, and everything is covered with pine needles. It was an absolutely perfect picture of a Christmas market, and if what had been for sale had been as traditional as in Nürnberg it would have been perfect. There were some traditional wares, such as the aforementioned Christmas pyramids, however theses are made specially in this area, and so the ones we saw in Esslingen and Ludwigsburg were incredibly expensive. We settled for some more Schnupfnudeln (which they made vegetarian with only sauerkraut and no bacon), and Glühwein (this time with a shot of amaretto). This tasted essentially like hot amaretto, and was fantastic. And it came in a mug shaped like a boot, so what could be better? We also tried something called Eierlikör, or "egg liquor," which tastes sort of like alcoholic custard. I've been wondering what it tastes like for a long time, and this sample confirmed that it is delicious, and something I would purchase in the future. I believe it would be delicious in eggnog, and as I don't like rum much I might use it as a substitute.

Entrance to the medieval market

Stockbrot at the medieval market

The most delicious apples I have ever eaten

Sampling the mead

 Esslingen Christmas market in the snow:

The market in Ludwigsburg:

Ultimately, I had an advent in Germany to rival what I had always imagined. My grandmother had often said that she wanted to take us to Germany for advent, and so I felt like I was in some way fulfilling her dream this past month. The markets were amazing, and I truly feel like I've welcomed in Christmas. I've also learned about Advent Wreaths, which are wreaths with four candles, and each Sunday of advent you light one more and let the candles burn all day, until all more are burning on the last Sunday. In terms of markets, I actually went to many more in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Amsterdam, but those will be described in future posts that focus on specific cities. Sadly I have to go pack up my Christmas-y room, but that means that I get to go home on Thursday! I'm incredibly excited to be home for the holidays, and now I'll have memories of Europe to bring back with me. Merry Christmas!