2026-04-24 Freiburg Germany

 

To the Black Forest in Germany

Today started with the run for croissants. We’re not up super early, so boulangeries are sometimes out of croissants. This was the case today. We ended up with “grand pain” and Dale’s éclair. A mild tragedy, but not our preferred choice.

Oh, and they found our local strawberry stand on the route. Closed but promising.

Our goal today is “lange-rote” (long-red) for lunch, a specialty of Freiburg im Brisgau, Germany, 45 minutes east of us, across the Rhine River. While EU countries can cross borders to other countries without showing papers, we decided not to take a chance and carried our passports with us. But, alas! Neither the Germans nor the French took any interest in our rental car with its passengers.

Freiburg (literally Free City) was established in the 1100s as an “independent fortified city of free citizens”. Schwabentor and Martinstor gates remain from these medieval fortifications.

Freiburg today is a large, university city (population about 355,000) whose center city is vibrant and busy.  The center is a mix of very old buildings and very modern buildings. Situated on the Dreisam River, one unique characteristic of the city is its system of “bächle” -little streams of water that flow in canals along most streets. Small children can be seen sailing little wooden boats on string in these tiny canals. Shops offer a variety of models to choose from.

    

We made our way to the Rathaus (city hall) to find the Tourist Office, always our first stop.

In the “Neues Rathaus” (the New City Hall) next door, is space that can be used as a wedding venue. Many Germans are married in civil ceremonies rather than in the church. And this was the case here. A young couple was mingling inside with their guests following the ceremony. Their decorated wedding car – a Rolls Royce – awaited them outside.

Unlike most of the rest of Germany which became Protestant during the Reformation, Freiburg remained Catholic. Its Münster (cathedral) sits at the center of the city, on the largest square in the city.

 

Built from red sandstone between about 1200-about 1500, the cathedral escaped bombing damage in WWII, but is constantly under repair because of the deterioration of the soft sandstone. Luckily, Freiburg has its own school of stonemasons.

Surrounding the cathedral is the daily market where we expect to find the vendors of our lange-rote.

 We should not have worried. Every 4^th vendor was selling sausages of some kind. And all had the long red sausages Freiburg is famous for.  Lynn and Dave ordered a traditional lange rote while Kim and Dale opted for the cheese thuringer.

The market encircled the münster and was full of booths selling flowers, food, clothing, souvenirs and about any other item you may desire.  Strolling through the market like the tourists we are, we did find small bags of bon bons that we remembered from when we lived in Germany 50 years ago. Of course, we bought them.

Wysteria is in season and was often seen clinging to the buildings we walked by.

Cafes were full of people enjoying the good weather.

 

Also claiming a place of honor on the Münster Platz is the historical “Kaufhaus” (Merchants Hall).

Following the walking tour, we were off to the nearby Schlossberg mountain which was across the street from Schwabintur tower - one of the original gateways to the city.  Dave, Kim and Dale hiked the mountain in search of the promised views of the city center.  The Schlossburgtur did not disappoint as there were many steps that culminated in spectacular views of all points north and west.

 

April 23, 2026 Colmar in Alsace France

 

We need food! ….Starting with breakfast.

Dale and Dave walked to our local épicerie (there’s no boulangerie in our small town) but found it closed until next week for vacation. They then drove 2 miles to the next town to find us breakfast croissants at the Sainte Croix-en-Plaine Boulangerie.

Dale also found a caramel éclair which he shared with us as well. That happens when your boulangère is also a patisserie (think pastry) Croissants and coffee and we're ready to head out.

The plan for the day is to drive to Colmar, a large town just 10 minutes from here, visit the old city center and then head to one of its large grocery stores (LeClerc, SuperU, or HyperU) to stock up on groceries.

Colmar “fête le printemps” (celebrates spring) with an Easter market that goes from Easter till the end of April. We’re hoping to join in on this last week of the fest. Houses are decorated in bunnies, Easter eggs, chickens and more. Besides the wooden stalls of the dealers, highly decorated in eggs, bunnies, and other Easter symbols, there are activities at the museums, music concerts almost daily, and other entertainments – including some wine-tasting.

Figure 1 Easter Market

We found street parking (handicapped) just outside the city-center and made our way to the first stop: the Office de Tourisme.

Figure 2 Leaving the Tourist Office

Map in hand, we set out on the self-guided tour of the old city center before strolling the Easter Market.  

 “La Maison des Têtes” (The House of Heads) is quite an amazing house as you can see with 105 carved heads covering the outside.

       

Built in 1609 as a private house, it is best known for being the seat of the wine growers of Alsace. The sculpture of an Alsatian cooper on the very top (added in 1902 by Bartholdi) is a reminder of this house’s former wine connections.

        

Figure 3 Sign commemorating the wine exchange & Statue of the cooper (barrel maker)

Very noticeable at this time of the year are the pollarded trees. This style of pruning keeps trees a more manageable size and helps create a larger shaded canopy. But they sure look dead in spring.

Small plaques embedded in the sidewalks act as guides to the “centre ville” walking tour. Notice the Statue of Liberty design.

Frédéric Bartholdi, the designer of our most famous statue, is possibly the most well-known Colmar native. His home is now a museum dedicated to displaying his work as well as family furnishings.

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Figure 4 Courtyard of the Bartholdi Museum

The Collegiale of St Martin is the second largest gothic church in this part of France after the Strasbourg Cathedral. It sits impressively smack dab in the center of the old city. It is the third church constructed on this site and took more than 130 years to build. Completed around 1365, as can be expected, this church experienced fire and the ravages of the French Revolution. The colors in the roofing tiles remind me of buildings in Burgundy. As with many Gothic cathedrals, the inside is quite dark with some treasured religious art works proudly displayed.

Figure 5 Notice the colored tiles on the roof of the Collegiale

All around the collegiale an Easter market has been set up. Small wooden shacks presented their wares of locally made foods, wines, snacks, candy, toys…you name it. What made this market so special were the Easter eggs, bunnies, chickens and floral decorations that covered these wagons. In fact, all of the old city center was decked out in Easter décor that just made you smile and think “Happy Spring”.

Rides for the kids

One of the market stalls decorated for Easter

Easter market stalls

Behind the bunny are live chickens called "poulets de soie" - silk chickens

But we couldn’t linger – we still had major grocery shopping to do. We chose LeClerc, reminiscent of a Costco or Walmart superstore, but with an organization we didn’t know. We wandered separately and together scouring the store for items on our grocery list.

 Strawberries are in season and delicious. Some items we never found and had to give up. Of course, the boys had to visit the wine aisles and stock up a bit. Wine seems to evaporate around here. And, of course, we forgot to bring our French shopping bags (heavy duty and plasticized) because they were in the trunk of our car at home. (We use them for everything!) So we had to buy new ones. With my scooter in the back and 5 large grocery bags, the only way to get the last bag in was to put it between Kim and I in the back seat.

                       

Figure 6 Lynn crowded in the back seat of our car & Dale chauffeuring us all back home

                       

Back home, groceries put away, it was time for aperos. The first of many to come in Alsace. Cheers!

Figure 7 Our patio in Logelheim