Colmar, Grand Est, France
Pack up day! Time to move on. After loading up the car, we stopped at the office to return the keys and use the wifi. Astrid had to nip off to a local ATM, as there was an unexpected tourist tax to pay for each of us, and she had run out of Swiss Francs. Emails downloaded and bill settled, we began our journey to Colmar via a high mountain pass a high mountain pass. The road zigzagged impressively up the mountain. Before zigzagging back down the other side, we stopped and walked a short distance to take some photos of the incredible road.
Our next stop was at a service stop along the autobahn. Whilst one had to pay €1 to use the loo, this amount was deducted off the coffees we purchased to eat with our homemade sandwiches. We sat outside despite the temperature being about 34C.
Astrid took us all the way to our next destination — Colmar in the Alsace region of France. She rang the Air B&B host to let him know that we had arrived in the outskirts of the town, managing to recall all the necessary French words in order to communicate with Christian who spoke very little, if any, English.
Christian greeted us on our arrival at the apartment and showed us around the apartment. A dishwasher and washing machine were welcome appliances, but there was no air conditioner — only a fancy fan with a container of water attached to it to presumably humidify the air.
After a refreshing drink at a nearby cafe, we farewelled Astrid who still had another 90 minutes’ drive to reach her home in Baden-Baden. Quite overwhelmed by the heat, we rested for a while (using our iPads, now that we had access to the internet!), and then ventured out in the late afternoon to find the supermarket and stock up with supplies for the coming week. Our delicious dinner consisted of a baguette with tomatoes, cheese and basil. After doing nothing much, but sitting in a car all day, we were quite exhausted — perhaps it was the heat and humidity. We collapsed into the small bed (we think it’s only a double — quite a challenge for us, given that we have a king-size bed at home!) and were soon fast asleep.
Lynette
2018-08-07
Some amazing scenery! Thank you Merrilly
Ian
2018-08-09
What an engineering fete in the construction of those mountain passes! Wonderful scenery that you traversed and your photos of Colbar whet my appetite to see further scenery of the areas within and around Colbar on your sty there. I am still chuckling over the number of watering cans on display on the balconies.
melandmic
2018-08-09
Thank you, Lynne! It’s amazing when you think that many of these roads have been used for hundreds of years: “The first fully documented use of the Grimsel Pass dates back to the 14th century, although it has been suggested that the pass was used in Roman times and also, in 1211, by troops of Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen. In 1397, the Landschaften of Pomat, Goms and Hasli, and the cities of Interlaken, Thun and Bern, signed an agreement in which it was agreed to provide for free and secure trade by the mule track over the Grimsel. “The Grimsel Pass formed, along with the Nufenen and Gries passes, a regional trade route between the Haslital and Domodossola and the Lombardy plain. Cheese and cattle were sent south, whilst wine, rice, corn and olive oil came north. This trade continued until the opening of the Gotthard railway in 1882. “The track over the pass was not upgraded to a paved road until 1894. Between the 1920s and the 1950s, several hydro-electric power plants were constructed in the area around the pass by Kraftwerke Oberhasli (KWO), which resulted in the expansion and diversion of the pass road. The KWO now promotes the pass and surrounding area as a visitor attraction, as part of its Grimselwelt tourism brand.” Yes, it’s intriguing to see what different items have been used to decorate some of the facades in this town!