"Another day, another Christmas market", you might say. And you might be right. Nevertheless, here we are after a 3 hours drive to Colmar across the border in Alsace. I have never been here before, but was thoroughly impressed.
Most of the houses in old town Colmar are lovingly restored. A large part of old town is a pedestrian zone. In addition, several streets are blocked off during the Christmas season, creating a large walkable area in the middle of the city. On the squares and streets throughout old town various stands were offering food, drink, and present-worthy wares.
By accident we wandered into the covered market. What a treat! Culinary overload.
In case you are wondering, ... yes, it was cold, only a couple degrees above freezing temperatures. We had a lot of fun, though.
Right next to the covered market starts an area known as Petite Venise, "Little Venice". Named quite appropriately, it reminded me of the canals in Amsterdam, too, but with its own unique character.
Here I finally managed to take photos that capture the atmosphere of the town. Charming, nicely restored houses, side-by-side, not quite straight, with lots of character. Most of the houses in Petite Venise are smaller than the rest of old town, and I'm sure this was the poorer part of town in the Middle Ages.
Today, it's probably the most photogenic part of town.
They even have boat rides on the canal.
As we walked the streets, dusk set in, and "La Magie de Noel" really started to show. The lights in the houses and streets turned this charming town into a life-size Christmas village.
It was a really long day and a long drive, but very much worth the trouble.
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