Alsatian Cousin
Now TWO days ago was almost as good as THREE days ago. But I have little time to write. I am sitting in a very expensive internet cafe in Chamonix, France and want to get out to the gondola in time so that I can go hiking in the French Alps before I go to Paris tomorrow. Appreciate my attempt at brevity, then?
After my bike around Strasbourg, I was inspired to bike around the Route de Vin, a scenic highway that curves through the vinyards of Alsace, connecting about 100 small, primarily wine oriented towns.
I took a train to Colmar, the northern "hub" of the route, and rented a bicycle from a guy who, while initially gruff, noticed my Beach Boys/Bjork themed wallet and said, "That's Brian, right? And that's...that's Carl!" Soon, he and I were talking about the Beach Boys and soon after that he informed me how very much he loved music. The most unusual among his favorites was Grandaddy. I'm glad to know that indie rock lives on among middle aged bicycle store owners in touristy Alsatian towns.
Before embarking on the bike ride, I went to the town's biggest museum (forgot the name) to see the Isenheim Alterpiece, painted by Grunewald. This particular work of art was a good part of the reason that I went to Colmar at all, rather than beginning my trip in another town. While no expert at art, I've always loved Grunewald's depiction of Christ's crucifixion, mostly because it is so terribly gruesome. I think I liked it so much (especially in high school when I first discovered it in Art History class) because it depicted death as something horrible and painful, unlike many of the other famous crucifixion portraits from the middle ages and Rennaissance. I was very excited to see it. Rarely do I get so excited about seeing any one painting in person.
The bike ride was beautiful of course, but as all of the towns COMPLETELY shut down between 12-2 in the afternoon, I found my goal of "wine tasting" to be partially frustrated. I did find two wineries that were open to provide a free tasting, and I bought a bottle from the second (although perhaps foolishly, as he proudly informed me that a major wine store in Los Angeles is one of his clients (and I could have gotten the same wine in L.A.))
There wasn't much to DO in the towns, but they were old and separated by only 1-3 kilometers, so I was about to see about 5 in the course of the afternoon, while taking my time.
For lunch I stopped in Equisheim and had a delicious chicken in a Riesling sauce (one of the very few times I've consumed chicken on this trip) with some pasta that tasted like matzoh meal and a few glasses of Vin Nouveau. Vin Nouveau is not real wine (as one might imagine, from the name...especially considering that Beaujoulais (sp?) Nouveau is very much a real wine.) Instead, it is juice that has been fermented for only a few weeks. It has only the faintest taste of alcohol, but when served cold was extremely refreshing, especially after a few hours of bicycling.
In the evening, I returned by train to Strasbourg, had a merquez sandwich for dinner and met some of the people from the night before in the hotel bar. By this point I felt sad to be leaving Strasbourg, as I was just getting the hang of it. I love the Alsatian food, the people are nice and the city is fun to get around (on a bike, not so much on foot.) Unfortunately, I felt that while it might have been nice to "chill" there for a while, my time was better spent doing something really special.
I sat in that hotel bar, studying my Let's Go Guide, trying to decide. Amsterdam? I've been. Cologne? Probably nice, but would it be that different from other places i've been? Bruge? Maastrict? Antwerp? I've seen enough old buildings and alterpieces to last me a lifetime.
So Chamonix it was. Home to the first winter Olympics back in the 20s and at the foot of Mt. Blanc, the tallest peak in Europe. Little did I know how much trouble it would be to get there.
After my bike around Strasbourg, I was inspired to bike around the Route de Vin, a scenic highway that curves through the vinyards of Alsace, connecting about 100 small, primarily wine oriented towns.
I took a train to Colmar, the northern "hub" of the route, and rented a bicycle from a guy who, while initially gruff, noticed my Beach Boys/Bjork themed wallet and said, "That's Brian, right? And that's...that's Carl!" Soon, he and I were talking about the Beach Boys and soon after that he informed me how very much he loved music. The most unusual among his favorites was Grandaddy. I'm glad to know that indie rock lives on among middle aged bicycle store owners in touristy Alsatian towns.
Before embarking on the bike ride, I went to the town's biggest museum (forgot the name) to see the Isenheim Alterpiece, painted by Grunewald. This particular work of art was a good part of the reason that I went to Colmar at all, rather than beginning my trip in another town. While no expert at art, I've always loved Grunewald's depiction of Christ's crucifixion, mostly because it is so terribly gruesome. I think I liked it so much (especially in high school when I first discovered it in Art History class) because it depicted death as something horrible and painful, unlike many of the other famous crucifixion portraits from the middle ages and Rennaissance. I was very excited to see it. Rarely do I get so excited about seeing any one painting in person.
The bike ride was beautiful of course, but as all of the towns COMPLETELY shut down between 12-2 in the afternoon, I found my goal of "wine tasting" to be partially frustrated. I did find two wineries that were open to provide a free tasting, and I bought a bottle from the second (although perhaps foolishly, as he proudly informed me that a major wine store in Los Angeles is one of his clients (and I could have gotten the same wine in L.A.))
There wasn't much to DO in the towns, but they were old and separated by only 1-3 kilometers, so I was about to see about 5 in the course of the afternoon, while taking my time.
For lunch I stopped in Equisheim and had a delicious chicken in a Riesling sauce (one of the very few times I've consumed chicken on this trip) with some pasta that tasted like matzoh meal and a few glasses of Vin Nouveau. Vin Nouveau is not real wine (as one might imagine, from the name...especially considering that Beaujoulais (sp?) Nouveau is very much a real wine.) Instead, it is juice that has been fermented for only a few weeks. It has only the faintest taste of alcohol, but when served cold was extremely refreshing, especially after a few hours of bicycling.
In the evening, I returned by train to Strasbourg, had a merquez sandwich for dinner and met some of the people from the night before in the hotel bar. By this point I felt sad to be leaving Strasbourg, as I was just getting the hang of it. I love the Alsatian food, the people are nice and the city is fun to get around (on a bike, not so much on foot.) Unfortunately, I felt that while it might have been nice to "chill" there for a while, my time was better spent doing something really special.
I sat in that hotel bar, studying my Let's Go Guide, trying to decide. Amsterdam? I've been. Cologne? Probably nice, but would it be that different from other places i've been? Bruge? Maastrict? Antwerp? I've seen enough old buildings and alterpieces to last me a lifetime.
So Chamonix it was. Home to the first winter Olympics back in the 20s and at the foot of Mt. Blanc, the tallest peak in Europe. Little did I know how much trouble it would be to get there.
posted by Jed at 4:20 AM
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