When we first arrived in Colmar in the late afternoon after a three-hour train ride from Paris, neither Jack nor I felt a great vibe about the place. Maybe it was because of the mass of people jam-packed into such a small town with narrow streets, or perhaps it was because we couldn’t check into our room until 8:00pm, meaning we had to haul our heavy backpacks around all day—a less-than-ideal situation. Though the town itself was charming, with warm weather and postcard-worthy views, there was an Easter festival in full swing, which explained the crowds on every cobbled corner. Squeezing through the stream of locals and tourists was more exhausting than enjoyable. After a few hours and attempts to settle in, with nowhere to rest and struggling to find a place to store our luggage for a few hours, we both agreed we would hop on the next train out of there.
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| Decorative accents around Colmar |
Wandering aimlessly around Mulhouse, trying to decide our next move, we both agreed it was too much hassle to continue on. Since we had already paid for accommodation in Colmar, we hopped on the next train back—ha! I should mention that we were travelling around Europe with an Interrail Pass, which meant all our journeys were prepaid, giving us the freedom to hop on and off anywhere at any time (within limits of course).
By the time we arrived back in Colmar, it was around 7:00 pm. The streets had calmed down, the air was cooler, and just like that, our whole impression of Colmar shifted. Funny how timing can change everything!
We stopped for a drink and some food, and I tried a local dish called Alsacienne, a Colmar speciality, and it was incredible. Served in a hot clay dish, it was loaded with potatoes, cream, mushrooms, onions, bacon, and melted cheese—all mixed together in carb-filled perfection.
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| A local dish called Alsacienne, a Colmar speciality |
We stayed with a woman named Roseanne, our second experience with Couch Surfing. Roseanne, who shared a traveller’s spirit like ours, told us that she was an optician originally from Strasbourg but now living in Colmar. After she headed out for the evening, we had the apartment to ourselves, which was just what we needed after a long and frustrating day!
Sunday 19th April 2015
We woke up early to make the most of Colmar before catching our next train to Annecy. Walking along the canal, "Petit Venezia" (or "Little Venice"), I felt a twinge of regret and stupidity for not giving this place a fair chance yesterday. I realised I'd been too quick to judge the Colmar, forgetting that this is the life of a backpacker—not every day is hassle-free, and sometimes, Daniela, you’ve just got to carry your backpack around for more than half an hour!
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