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Day 5

Hello!  It's Adam today.

After the long travel day yesterday, we slept in for a bit before heading out into the town. But, once the time came we were excited to get out and explore. 

Today was the official opening of the Christmas Markets in the Alsace region of France. Every year this area, and many cities all across Europe, close down their city centers to vehicle traffic and open up a bunch of stands that sell a variety of Christmastime treats such as hot wine (vin chaud), dessert pastries, local crafts, and various foods of the region. At the same time, each town is usually fully decorated and lit up with Christmas spirit. Alsace may be the epicenter of such activities...

We had thought the Christmas Markets were to open at 9AM, but turns out that was a myth, so we had to go to a local market to get a quick breakfast (pretzels and chocolate pastries). Speaking of the food here - Alsace is right on the border with western Germany, so it likewise shares many of the same types of food. 

We decided to depart Colmar for the moment and head over to the nearby town of Kaysersberg. After the short 15 minute drive, we found parking and started walking into town. Since traveling deeper into Europe, the temperatures have been noticeably dropping. Today was a mere 34 degrees to start the day. In Kaysersberg, we wandered up the main street to see the fully decorated timber-clad buildings. We also visited its Christmas Markets (which we had to access using our France/EU vaccination QR codes given the severe restrictions in Europe currently). Finally, we were able to enjoy some delicious hot wine and hot chocolate. Luke even tried some (the hot chocolate, of course). We continued up the Grand Rue (main street), and even let Luke out of his stroller to explore. There were some pigeons around that he was having a blast chasing from one side of the street to the other. 

We had a lunch reservation at a fancy Michelin Star restaurant called Le Chambard Winstub, so we started making our way back to the beginning of the Grand Rue, where the restaurant was located. Right at noon we were allowed in (after scanning our QR codes), and were quickly seated. Jessica ordered the full 3 course meal consisting of a onion pie, trout from the valley served in cream with pasta, and an ice cream dessert. I went straight for the 9-meat assortment with sauerkraut. We also ordered a cheese dish to share. 

Before they brought our meals out, we were served bread along with some small containers which appeared to contain melted butter. Jessica and I started spooning the butter onto our bread which was quite tasty. However, as we looked around us, guests at other tables were drinking the butter straight from the containers. Assuming we were in the wrong, we then drank the rest of our butter - an interesting experience.

Once the food came, we were all happy with our choices. Although, one of the cheeses from our cheese plate appeared at first glance to be a mild brie. But, once we tasted it, it was easily the most stinky/aged cheese that either of us have ever ate in our lives. Even the extremely sweet raspberry sauce that was served with the cheeses could not overcome this stink!!

In the end, the food was delicious. Yet, the service was quite slow. It took us nearly two hours from start to finish and Luke was getting very sleepy and upset. So, once we were finally able to pay we hurried out and make the short drive back to Colmar for naptime (for everyone, not just Luke). 

We all woke up around 4pm and after spending an hour or so hanging out at the B&B, we finally wandered out into the Colmar streets to see the Christmas Markets and get a light dinner. Colmar is not a very large city, but it is still able to squeeze 6-7 different Christmas Markets throughout it.  There were plenty of people wandering around and the town was fully decorated and lit up for the occasion. We wandered through a few of them and had some more hot wine and cider. Luke even got to see some farm animals - some bunny rabbits and sheep which he was very excited about. We wound our way through the streets to another market where we got a hot dog and some cheese bread (with ham on top), for dinner. Both were yummy! 

As the markets started to wind down, so did we. Back at our B&B, we put Luke down quickly (he was very tired), and now we are about fall asleep ourselves. 

Another great day!

























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