Blogs from Colmar, Alsace, France, Europe

Wew forgot that all things were closed in France on Sunday. We went by car to the restaurant we ate before and had a good meal. Lucky this time we went by car, for the place was closed. What now Back to the Hotel where we found out the only place to get something to eat was at Mc Donald's just over the road. We parked the car and walked up there. Now we had not been to Mac Donald's for ages so things had changed. Not to forget menus are in are in the French language. They are on a big screen where you point at the things you want. Well we were at an absolute lost. A girl that service gave us a few hints what to do but even with that help we ... read more

Gestern habe ich nach dem Frühstück im Hotel ausgecheckt und bin zu meinem Parkhaus gelaufen. Das erste aber bewältigbare Problem war, dass im Erdgeschoss kein Kassenautomat stand. Selbstverständlich war an dem Feiertag auch kein Personal anwesend oder irgendein Hinweisschild. Ich habe dann aber gehört, dass es in der 2. Etage noch Kassenautomaten gab. Also konnte ich problemlos das Parkhaus verlassen und mich auf den Weg machen. An so Tagen mit schönem Wetter und einem schnellen Auto mit französischer Musik im Radio in Frankreich wäre ja alles möglich. Als Selbständiger könnte ich einfach auch krank machen und ein Monat den Jakobsweg entlang fahren. Aber ich bin anständig geblieben und habe mich zur Hochkönigsburg aufgemacht. Die ist mir von der Autobahn schon 2002 aufgefallen, 2008 war ich nach einem Arbeitstag in Basel vor verschlossener Tür, weil sie schon ... read more

GÜN 07 GÜNLERDEN ÇARŞAMBA Hatırlatma babında söylüyorum, dünkü Heidelberg gezisini tamamlayan turcu kardeşler ile Speyer’de buluşmuştuk . Bilahare gemimiz dün saat 19:30 da Speyer’den ayrılarak bu sabah Strasbourg’a yakın Kehl limanına vardı. Bugün yine oldukça hareketli bir gün. Tur olarak Colmar-Riquewihr ve programa ilave olarak Strasbourg var.. Turcular bunları yaparken geri kalanlar saat 18:00 e kadar serbest olacak ve 18:00 de gemi Basel e hareket edecek. Turcular, yine erkenden kahvaltılarını yapıp besin çantaları eşliğinde yola çıktılar . Geride kalan ekabir takımı saat 09:00 a doğru kendine geldi. Efendim bu günün en önemli aktivitesi Fransız şarap yolunun incisi sayılan Colmar ‘ın ziyareti. Düşünün ki Ayşe bile ilk kez sevgili gemisini terk ederek Colmar ‘ı ziyaret etme kararını aldı. Ekabir t... read more

As we were finishing up our last few days in Belgium, something unexpected happened that caused quite a bit of excitement. We had booked an apartment with Airbnb in the Alsatian town of Strasbourg, France. We had already purchased our train tickets on the super-fast TGV train and were making last minute departure plans when we got bad news. Our reservation had been cancelled! We have rented nearly 50 apartments during our travels and it was something we expected would happen sooner or later. Because we normally rent apartments for one month, it can be a little bit of a problem to find a place at the last minute. With just a few days left until we move, most apartments have at least a few days rented during the upcoming month, which means we are out ... read more

My visit to Colmar, during my last week in France, turned out to be the best day of the summer. On the map, Colmar, about 70km from the hub of Strasbourg, might be easily mistaken for a sleepy little European village-town. But it is not quite what you would expect among the rural pastures of Alsace. It is spectacularly beautiful, unique in its architecture, interesting in its history and conveniently located. I spent a year in Strasbourg, unaware of this 'tourist jewel' so close by. Sure, it had great reviews on all the travel sites, but so do many other must-see places in Europe. You really have to visit it to experience its true charm and beauty. When I finally decided to spend a day in Colmar, it was on a wonderfully sunny day in August. ... read more