Welcome back! Taking a look at my first few weeks in France, here is a glimpse of the beautiful city of Colmar!
After the first few days, things finally started settling into a routine. This was the first time I had ever experienced jet lag, and I slept the first day and a half away. Sidenote: as a child, I thought jet lag was an actual phenomena, something experienced by the human body after a high-altitude flight. Then I found out it was simply time-zone fatigue? I was disappointed. Normally, I just sleep right through my flight and my circadian rhythms just adjust themselves. I know, I am a very lucky person to just shrug these things off.
Anyway, like I said, after the first few days, I settled into a routine. Juliette's mom had set up a nice little work area for me, and I helped finish NSR's Maritime report. I enjoyed a schedule of breakfast, lunch, dinner which was far more regular than my work work work mind had been used to, and I spent all of my off time writing blog posts and spending time with Juliette.
Just a few days ago, we decided to go on a date, and tour the nearby city of Colmar.
The first thing I learned about the city is that it is the birthplace of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who designed the Statue of Liberty. As such, there is a mini-statue to honour him.
The second thing I learned about Colmar is that it is one of the most visited areas of France, after Paris. Situated along the Alsatian wine route, it considers itself the "capital of Alsatian wine". It is a very old city, full of history, and it was very lovely to walk through its cobblestone streets.
Rounding the corner, we saw St. Catherine's convent, a church constructed in 1371. This is where Juliette learned to fence, a church being one of the coolest places to fence I can think of.
Halfway through the walk, we came across this statue. It stood out to me because I have a friend with the last name of Rapp, but it turns out General Jean Rapp was a very interesting guy. From janitor's son to general, he won numerous battles, and worked his way up to become very near and dear to Napoleon himself. Colmar was his hometown, so they have honoured him with this statue.
Just after our stroll in the park, we came across a playground, and this little bee! So I thought I'd go for a ride!
I was pretty excited to see this poster! I have never seen this documentary, but I had heard a lot about it from my friends. Basically, Jodorowsky and others worked to create a film adaption of Frank Herbert's science-fiction classic Dune, but despite their grand ambition, the movie was never made. Some interesting consequences of this project includes the movie Alien, arguably Star Wars, Terminator, and much of the visual style was used in Jupiter Ascending.
Then, the Unterlinden Museum, one of the most visited museums outside of Paris. Juliette and I didn't go in, we had no time for it, but it was a lovely sight.
So there you have it, a nice walking tour of Colmar. It was a beautiful day, full of the sights and sounds of France. We had a lovely time, and I really enjoyed taking in the history and culture of the area.
I hope you enjoyed your time with us in Colmar, stay tuned for next time when we tour the city and countryside of Turckheim!
Thanks for reading!
After the first few days, things finally started settling into a routine. This was the first time I had ever experienced jet lag, and I slept the first day and a half away. Sidenote: as a child, I thought jet lag was an actual phenomena, something experienced by the human body after a high-altitude flight. Then I found out it was simply time-zone fatigue? I was disappointed. Normally, I just sleep right through my flight and my circadian rhythms just adjust themselves. I know, I am a very lucky person to just shrug these things off.
Anyway, like I said, after the first few days, I settled into a routine. Juliette's mom had set up a nice little work area for me, and I helped finish NSR's Maritime report. I enjoyed a schedule of breakfast, lunch, dinner which was far more regular than my work work work mind had been used to, and I spent all of my off time writing blog posts and spending time with Juliette.
Just a few days ago, we decided to go on a date, and tour the nearby city of Colmar.
The first thing I learned about the city is that it is the birthplace of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who designed the Statue of Liberty. As such, there is a mini-statue to honour him.
The second thing I learned about Colmar is that it is one of the most visited areas of France, after Paris. Situated along the Alsatian wine route, it considers itself the "capital of Alsatian wine". It is a very old city, full of history, and it was very lovely to walk through its cobblestone streets.
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| Colmar's train station |
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| I just really liked these balconies |
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| Le couvent Sainte-Catherine, or les Catherinettes for short |
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| You can tell the stork is real because of the white tiles near its nest |
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| La Maison des Têtes |
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| L'Église des Dominicains |
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| Is that a tiny door...? |
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| Nope! It's a giant plant! |
Halfway through the walk, we came across this statue. It stood out to me because I have a friend with the last name of Rapp, but it turns out General Jean Rapp was a very interesting guy. From janitor's son to general, he won numerous battles, and worked his way up to become very near and dear to Napoleon himself. Colmar was his hometown, so they have honoured him with this statue.
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| A statue of Admiral Joseph Bruat |
This fountain/statue was interesting. Surrounding Admiral Bruat were four statues each made to represent Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America. Plus, there were ducks taking a bath and not caring at all about anyone else.
Just after our stroll in the park, we came across a playground, and this little bee! So I thought I'd go for a ride!
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| Jodorowsky's Dune |
Then, the Unterlinden Museum, one of the most visited museums outside of Paris. Juliette and I didn't go in, we had no time for it, but it was a lovely sight.
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| A statue of Lazare de Schwendi, who was responsible for bringing a particular type of wine to the region |
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| Can you guess what this place is called? If you guessed Little Venice, you'd be right! |
So there you have it, a nice walking tour of Colmar. It was a beautiful day, full of the sights and sounds of France. We had a lovely time, and I really enjoyed taking in the history and culture of the area.
I hope you enjoyed your time with us in Colmar, stay tuned for next time when we tour the city and countryside of Turckheim!
Thanks for reading!
thanks Dallas. My ancestors are from France and it is wonderful reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteWow, Colmar looks so old.
ReplyDeleteIn a good way.