Cozy in Colmar...(or Adventures in Alsace!)

Don't get confused...we are not in Annecy anymore...we have driven north to Colmar.  Surprisingly enough, the most direct route actually took us through Switzerland, which we thought would be kind of fun.  Well, that's not exactly how it turned out!  This was John's day to drive (he and Gary have both been our drivers, and Babette and I are the navigators).  The first obstacle we encountered in Switzerland was at the border.  To drive on Swiss roads you must purchase a "vignette" (basically just a sticker) that is valid for a year. Even if you are only going to be on Swiss roads for 2 hours, you must buy the stupid vignette for 40 euros.  We knew this ahead of time, so were prepared.  The border is very confusing though...not real toll gates, just lots of different lanes marked by cones.  We had heard that the fine for not having your vignette is quite stiff (400ish euros is what we had been told) so we wanted to make sure we got it.  Suddenly someone was waving frantically at us and motioning us over.  We pulled over and a young gal in a uniform came over and sold us the vignette with a hand held credit card terminal, pulling the vignette out of her pocket and sending us on our way.  So far, so good!

The Swiss countryside is pretty, with plenty of green pastures, lots of "castles", fields of yellow wildflower which we think are rapeseed (used in cooking oil and industrial processes...in the US we call it canola oil, in Europe they call it rapeseed).  

We eventually saw a sign for the town of Bern and thought it would be a fun thing to stop for lunch there.  Our GPS really let us down here...the street names were all so long, that by the time the GPS said them (and our brains comprehended the German words!), it was already time for another turn with another long German street name (no roundabouts here...it was all sharp hairpin turns coming at us so fast! ) At some points there were NO lane lines, at other points there were overlapping orange and white lane lines ... it was crazy!  We kept missing turns, then getting rerouted - it was utter chaos!  Suddenly a car came right at us blaring his horn - I think we all thought we were going to be killed at that moment!  I actually gave John a big hug as soon as I got out of the car...he got us there in 1 piece!  There we were in downtown Bern on a wide boulevard with red and black flags (flags of the city of Bern?), and German flags.  We tried to park but that was super confusing...the parking lot that we found seemed to have no entrance (!), the street parking had various colored curbs some with "X" painted on them and some without.  We parked in what we thought possibly was a legit parking space, as other cars were parked there.  We left the car (nervous because all our belongings were in it - we would have been an easy mark for a car break-in).  We walked about 1 block and I asked a gentleman if it was ok where we parked and he immediately said "NO"..."Swiss parking fines are very expensive"!  We all practically ran back to the car and hightailed it out of there as quickly as we could (well, as quickly as we could with our GPS/hairpin turns, etc.!!)  Everything in France seemed so much easier and more friendly than Bern, Switzerland was!

Still hungry, we soldiered on, planning to stop at a roadstop for lunch.  It wasn't too long before we came upon one and pulled over into the most confusing parking lot (again with lots of traffic cones) that sent us in circles, never able to get closer to it!  Finally we made it and went inside to a small selection of pre-made sandwiches, yogurts, a table with hot dishes (mostly rice and various curries).  between the 4 of us we bought 1 yogurt, 1 tiny piece of cheese, 1 sandwich, 1 half sandwich, and a curry bowl, and 3 diet cokes...I wish I had taken photo of our meager assortment food that cost 60 euros - they aren't kidding when they say Switzerland is expensive!!  I might be biased...but I firmly believe my beloved French truck stops are far superior to the Swiss ones!

None of us were enamored with Switzerland and we were happy when we crossed the border back into France.

It wasn't long before we arrived in Colmar, and all was right with our world!  Colmar is in the Alsace region.  Rick Steves describes it as a "green region of Hansel and Gretel villages". It is bounded on the east by the Rhine River (and Germany), and on the west by the Vosges Mountains.  This region has switched back and forth from German control to French control 5 times over the years...it is definitely a hybrid of the 2 cultures.  

Colmar is really a cuteness overload!  Full of half-timbered buildings, and canals and bridges, there is a perfect photo op at every turn!

How cool is this carved man on the corner of the building!?!?

And this is how the streets stay so clean...they vacuum them each morning!

Always nice to sit and have a glass of wine, right?!?  This was actually kind of cool.  We were sitting on the sidewalk in front of a bar and we noticed people taking pictures of the doorway...it was then that we realized that many of the buildings are marked with the year they were built! 

So many of the buildings here are decorated on the outside (or have cute signs hanging).  Colmar, like many of the towns in Alsace have wonderful Christmas Markets...I dream about coming back here some year for that experience!  I can only imagine how things are decorated then!!  

We have had a great lodging experience here...2 separate apartments in a small building (5 apartments total)...nothing fancy but it makes us feel like "locals" when we put our key in the door each evening when we come in from exploring (plus, there is an ice cream store right around the corner that is open late at night!). Sadly, I forgot to take any photos of the apartment.  But my advice, if you ever get a chance to visit Colmar, jump on it!  I have really loved every place we have visited, for all kinds of reasons...but I think Colmar may be my favorite!