Alsace: Colmar and Eguisheim

We stayed in a lovely Airbnb in Colmar just on the edge of the old city. My brother Brad served in Colmar during his mission and it was one of his favorite areas. I first fell in love with Colmar in 1994 when I was pregnant with Kate. I went with my parents to pick up Brad from his mission in Brussels and we traveled to many of his mission towns and other parts of Europe. Colmar is a charming, bustling town.

Little Venice in Colmar

"Les Incorruptibles" 

All the half-timber buildings and details were so fun.

Hearts and Flowers Everywhere

Building Details

The famous Maison Pfister was built in 1537.

Maison Pfister

The evening light was beautiful on the church.

Kate at the Church

1419 Building

The French sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was born in Colmar in 1834. He was an officer in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and defended Colmar from the Germans. He was devastated by the loss of Alsace to the Germans. These troubles are purported to have influenced Bartholdi's interest in independence, liberty, and self-determination. In his first trip to the United States in 1871, Bartholdi pitched the idea of a massive statue to celebrate the centennial of American independence. After years of work and fundraising by Bartholdi, the Statue of Liberty was inaugurated in 1886. There is a smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty on the Ile des Cygnes in the Seine where Kelly often runs.

Statue of Liberty Paris

Rear View of Statue of Liberty Paris

  

Colmar was also beautiful and peaceful in the morning. It was a wonderful place to stay so we could explore places within an hour or two of Colmar.

Colmar Street

Early Monring in Colmar

Sande had found using ChatGPT that nearby Equisheim was one of the 10 most beautiful villages in France. We went there first thing Saturday morning. The Equisheim firehouse greeted us and reminded us of Andrew, who was at the firestation in downtown Salt Lake City on a busy conference weekend.

Eguisheim Sapeurs Pompiers

As we walked into the village, a stork went flying over our heads carrying a stick in its beak. As we looked around, we saw storks and their nests everywhere! We were fascinated and so excited to see so many. Traditionally, storks would winter in Africa and then migrate to Alsace for the summer. Their numbers had declined over the years from a variety of factors-weather, power lines and hunting-so in 1983, France started a program to repopulate the storks in Alsace and it has been very successful.

Stork in its nest on top of the church

Stork and Nest by the Chimney

Three Stork Nests in this Picture

Two Stork Nests

Three Stork Nests

Equisheim was bigger than Riquewihr and not as crowded with tourists. It helped that we arrived in the morning.

Kate, Sande and Mike walking into Eguisheim

Kate

We loved all the darling shop signs.

Caveau d'Eguisheim 

Close up of Restaurant Sign

We bought warm bretzels in Eguisheim and more coconut macaroons.

Bretzel Shop

Sande and Mike

Aux Trois Cigognes Sign

Sande on a Side Street

Kate below a Dragon Sign for
Auberge du Rempart

We enjoyed Eguisheim even more than Riquewihr. The village was larger and not as crowded. And the storks were delightful! Eguisheim was a charming little village that we would put first on our list to visit in Alsace.

Kate and Sande as we left Eguisheim