Stepping into a Fairy Tale: A Weekend Getaway to Strasbourg & Colmar
This past weekend, we decided to cross borders and take our first (of probably many) trips to France. Since we were traveling with one of our friends who had to be back for work on Sunday, we opted for the border towns of Strasbourg and Colmar.
We did some basic (aka brief) research about what we might want to do in both cities, and decided to drive to Strasbourg on Friday after the boys were done with work, spend the night, and then head to Colmar for Saturday afternoon.
The drive from Stuttgart was pretty straightforward, though as soon as we crossed over the Rhine (the country line), we realized we knew nothing about driving in France! The driving tests that we took for our German licenses only focused on the signs and rules for driving in Germany (I mean, duh). Luckily, the signs were more or less the same, though we weren’t quite sure about the Autobahn rules, so we decided to err on the side of caution and drove the 130 kph or less when signs weren’t posted. Further research after the fact has confirmed we were correct in doing this — Germany is the only country in Europe with an Autobahn that doesn’t have a speed limit. The more you know!
We stayed at Hôtel Strasbourg Le Kléber right in the heart of downtown Strasbourg. Driving to the hotel was chaotic. The streets were packed with pedestrians walking every which way. We thought we were driving on a sidewalk until we saw another car turn onto the street. Honestly, I think this is just a European city thing that I’m still getting used to because I’ve had the same thought walking in downtown Stuttgart as a car zooms past.
After checking in, we decided to walk the streets a little bit. We were taking pictures galore of all the half-timbered houses and shops (there was even a freaking rainbow), when we rounded the corner on Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg. I can’t even begin to describe what it was like to see the cathedral bathed in golden hour sun.
The cathedral was built between 1015 and 1439, and is the sixth tallest church in the world at 466 feet. What makes it particularly unique is that the planned south tower was never built, giving it an iconic look and making it the landmark of the Alsace region.
During the summer, the city choreographs a 13-minute light show, known as Spectacle Estival, perfectly mapped to the cathedral. You can also tour the inside during the day. The best part about both of these activities? It’s completely FREE! I highly recommend you do both if you are in Strasbourg.
We rounded out Friday evening with dinner at L’Ancienne Douane, which has about as much history as the cathedral. In 1358, it served as Salzhof, or Salt Court, essentially a customs house along the river. Throughout the years, it was a warehouse for many different goods and burned down multiple times. It was last restored in 2001 and serves traditional Alsacian food, which is French country cooking with a German flair. The boys split a Choucroute royale (jarret entier) pour 2 personnes, aka a giant pork knuckle for two on top of a sausage platter, and I had Sandre sur choucroute, beurre blanc, perch smothered in cream sauce over a bed of sauerkraut.
The next morning, we strolled along the river to Petite France. The river was rushing due to all of the floods up in northwest Germany. We stopped for brunch and coffee at BLOOM. I had the Instagram Husband, which was basically avocado and lox on top of a bagel. If we would have stopped there in the afternoon, I would have gotten a slice of cake because it looked amazing.
After brunch, we hit the road for Colmar, which is only about 45 minutes south of Strasbourg. We were all glad we decided to stay in Strasbourg since it seemed like the bigger of the two cities, but I’m sure you wouldn’t have trouble finding somewhere to stay in Colmar if you visited there overnight.
Colmar was like stepping into a fairy tale. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a lovely town. The way the half-timbered houses and shops were decorated made me feel like I was walking through a Disney movie set. I now understand why Beauty and the Beast looks the way it does.
We really didn’t have much planned for Colmar, other than strolling La Launch and seeing St. Martin’s Church. I’m sure we would have appreciated St. Martin’s more if we hadn’t just visited the Strasbourg Cathedral. It was still cool to stop by and also had free admission.
After taking a million pictures and listening to me say, “it’s so CUTEEEE” a bazillion times, the boys decided it was time for an afternoon coffee and appetizer. We stopped at Le Bistrot and had a couple of cocktails along with tarte flambée, the most famous of all Alsacian food. It’s basically a very thin pizza with a flaky, tart-like crust, covered with crème fraîche and toppings. There’s much debate on whether this dish originated from the German side or the French side, but the reason for the dish remains the same — to test the heat of wood-fired ovens back in the day. It’s also guaranteed that you will have this at some point during your stay if you visit us because it’s amazing. Bellies full, we walked past Fontaine Roesselmann and Fontaine Schwendi on our way back to the car and home to Stuttgart.
Prior to our trip, I had never even heard of either city, but now after visiting in the summer, I can’t wait to go back for the Christmas markets in the winter. Apparently Strasbourg is the capital of Christmas, so I must see it in action!