Strasbourg and Colmar!
As the final installment in my adventures in Nice, Monaco, and Barcelona, I took a day trip to Eastern France.
I flew from Barcelona to Basel, Switzerland in the early morning, followed by a train to Strasbourg, France. 3 countries before 3 PM! Once in Strasbourg, I walked through the bustling city streets to meet up with my group (Harry, Christian, Martin) and also to see the huge Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg. It was a gorgeous cathedral, complete with ornate buttresses and spires. But first, I had to see the main attraction: Palais Rohan! I’m flattered that they named their palace after me, but honestly, not too surprised. The palace had a cool courtyard, but I couldn’t figure out how to get inside. Instead, I decided to check out the cathedral (note: no large backpacks allowed, so I had to drop my stuff with Harry). The interior of the cathedral was just as beautiful as the outside and it blew me away. The coolest part was that someone was blowing bubbles right outside, which fit the vibe of a fun-filled, sunny Saturday perfectly.
My friends had been in Strasbourg since morning, so it was time to leave. Walking back to the train station, I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful Germanic architecture of the stores and houses. Given the region was part of both the French and German empires at some point, the cultural mixing makes a lot of sense. We passed Place Kleber, the central square of the city, which had the finish line of a race that had long ended. After exploring for a bit too long, we ran to the Gare (train station in French) to catch the train to Colmar. Even though I only spent 2 hours in Strasbourg, it was gorgeous and was definitely worth it.
We arrived in Colmar in the early evening. The Gare was a bit disconnected from this smaller city, so we walked through some suburbs to get to Parc du Champ de Mars. The park was complete with live music, blossoming trees, and gorgeous fountains. As we continued into the city, the familiar architecture started to come back. The wood patterning on the walls was a bit too familiar, and Martin pointed out that this was the city where Howl’s Moving Castle was based. We even saw the Maison Pfister, a house built in a German Renaissance style that plays a major role in the famous Studio Ghibli film. Waves of nostalgia crashed down, and even though I hadn’t seen that movie in years, it felt like I was in the scenes.
Colmar is a pretty small city, which also means that everything is clustered together. A 2-minute walk away was Musee Bartholdi, a museum for the sculptor Auguste Bartholdi who was from Colmar. I bet you know of his most famous work: the Statue of Liberty! At first, we were just thinking of exploring the outside, but a flyer in the window caught our eye. It was museum night tonight, which meant free entry after 7 PM!
Considering it was 6:50, it seemed like it was meant to be. So, we spent an hour looking around the museum at his other influential works. The city of Colmar seemed to be very proud of him and commissioned him for a lot of local works. I also remember the staff being very nice and letting me put my backpack near the reception so that I don’t have to lug it around. The main attraction of the museum was the top floor which was devoted to discussing the Statue of Liberty. After visiting the actual Statue of Liberty, parts of this exhibit seemed a bit repetitive. I did learn that the French government didn’t pay for the statue at all; it was just a really rich guy who loved America!
Once we exited the museum and realized that this wasn’t Zürich with its abundance of water fountains, we set off on a hunt to find some water. Strava had told us there were fountains in a nearby park but turns out they were placed at ankle height, likely for dogs. To be honest, I would have taken some water if we didn’t have a dog slobber all over the faucet just a couple minutes prior. On the way out, we got nutmegged by this adorable French kid who we’re convinced is going to be the next Mbappe.
The pangs of hunger were starting to hit, so we walked to La Petite Venise to catch the sunset. This part of town had a beautiful canal running through it with lots of waterside restaurants (hence the reference to Venice). It was absolutely beautiful, complete with soft lighting from the restaurants and swans swimming in the water. What better place to eat dinner than at one of these restaurants, Les Bateliers.
Christian saved us by speaking in fluent French and told the staff that we had a train to catch in about an hour. They brought our food really quick and their Flammkuchen, or French-German thin-crust pizza, was a unique experience. It wasn’t nearly as good as a real pizza (maybe in real Venice!) but it was really crispy and had completely different sauces and toppings.
It was time to head back to the station, and on the way we passed some buildings lit in deep hues of purple and blue. There was a lights festival in Colmar that evening, and while we didn’t have time to check out the whole thing, we were glad to get a glimpse of it. Even the train station was colored in brilliant blues. The backdrop of dusk made the station eerie and gave me a sense of foreboding. Luckily, the scary-looking Gare had no bearing on our train back, and we had a quick ride back to Zürich.
On the way, Christian and I were doing our snow and avalanches homework (such a unique class, I know), and we were speaking in English the whole time. When part of our code randomly started working, we both said “Genau!” in sync, and the stern-faced lady sitting across from us burst out laughing. Genau is a German slang word for “exactly”/”yeah” and to hear two American teenagers randomly say it in an English conversation must have been hilarious to her.
Anyways, my 10-day travel journey through France and Spain finally came to an end, and I was excited to take the world’s longest nap.
Takeaways
- Non-Parisian France is so beautiful and definitely worth checking out. It was so hard picking just 10 pictures for the highlight slideshow below!
- If your name is Rohan, feel free to move into your brand-new castle in Strasbourg!
- Colmar is a peaceful town; it was so idyllic it was featured in a Studio Ghibli movie!
- If you find yourself in a German-speaking country, make sure to abuse the word “genau”. #1 tip to sound like a local!
Rose-Bud-Thorn
Rose (what went well): It was a great time to hang out with some of my friends. It was near the end of the semester, so it was nice to spend some time with them before everyone starts leaving.
Bud (what was good but could be improved on): Most of my food experiences in France were stellar, but the ones I had here were just alright. Not eating beef or pork is a huge limitation in this Franco-Germanic cuisine, and that limited a lot of the options in a city that isn’t as large or touristy.
Thorn (what did not go well): Wish we had more time! I had very little time in Strasbourg and we had to leave Colmar without seeing most of the lights. Spending a night would have been great, but I also recognize a day trip is best for someone who is exhausted and has lots of work to do
Rohan Chhaya 