Our journey through Alsace and Munich was a rich tapestry of charming towns, culinary adventures, and a blend of French and German cultures.
Saturday & Sunday: Travel and Arrival in Colmar
Our trip began with a bus and train ride to the airport. After falling asleep before takeoff, we landed and navigated through passport control to the TGV station. The initial coffee and pastries at Paul were “unenjoyable,” but we found better coffee at the Sheraton hotel bar. The train ride to Strasbourg was easy, though I nodded off during the journey. We briefly explored Strasbourg before picking up our car and driving to Colmar, where we checked into our lovely hotel. Dinner was at La Kilbe, featuring tarte flambée with Emmenthal, steak pesto Parmesan, steak au poivre with fresh vegetables and frites, accompanied by 0.5L of Papillon Crozes Hermitage. We then retired to our room.
Monday: Colmar Exploration and Culinary Indulgences
After both waking up overnight, we slept in until 10 AM. Breakfast was at Le Bistrot Gourmand, consisting of bread, butter, confiture, and coffee. We spent the day walking around Colmar and visited the Unterlinden Museum. Lunch was at Le Café de Marchands, where we enjoyed bretzel, a charcuterie plate, Pinot Gris, and Gewürztraminer. We continued walking before returning to the hotel to relax. Dinner was at a different bar a vin, featuring smoked trout tartine, raw cow’s milk tartine, pork terrine, Cremant d’Alsace, Pinot Gris, Gewurz, and Riesling Grand Cru.
Tuesday: Riquewihr, Kayserberg, and Wine Discoveries
We checked out after breakfast at Au Croissant Dore, enjoying croissants and cappuccinos. We drove to Riquewihr and stowed our car at our hotel. We walked 4km to Kayserberg and had lunch, sharing a tomato/peach tarte flambée and a salad with egg, lardons, and Munster croutons. After walking around, our return walk led to a serendipitous wine tasting at Domaine Weinbach, which resulted in purchasing three bottles. We rested at our hotel before dinner at AOR La Table le goût et Nous in Riquewihr, featuring olive bread with tapenade and chickpea “flan,” sushi with salmon marinated in rose tea, Chilean sea bass with carrot gnocchi in coconut curry, and spiced ground beef wrapped in papaya over mashed potatoes and papaya jus, accompanied by a caramel glace under cotton candy with passion fruit sauce and Pinot Gris blend, Pinot Blanc, and Gewurztraminer.
Wednesday: Riquewihr, Obernai, and Strasbourg
We woke up after a poor night’s sleep. Breakfast at the hotel was followed by a dispute over its inclusion. We walked around Riquewihr before driving to Obernai for lunch at a popular restaurant, enjoying escargot, salad with ham and cheese on potato cakes, and schnitzel with frites and salad. We explored the village before driving to Strasbourg, dropping off the car, and checking into our hotel. An attempt to visit a market was unsuccessful, so we decided to get boat tour tickets and stopped for coffee and people-watching at Cafe Montmartre near the river. The boat ride was pleasant, taking us up to the EU Parliament. Dinner was at Chez Yvonne, where we had foie gras with pear and cherries, tête de veau, rognon de veau in a mushroom cream sauce with spaetzle, and baba au rhum, accompanied by Cremant, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, cognac, and Marc de Gewurz.
Thursday: Strasbourg’s Culinary Scene and Relaxation
Breakfast was at Cafes Reck, known for its excellent classic coffee. We visited Le Nouvelle Douane for dinner ingredients, followed by stops at a chocolatier, epicerie, and Monoprix. After dropping off our purchases, we had lunch at La Corde a Linge, enjoying salad with chicken, lardons, and cheese, and a burger with bacon and Munster, paired with Sylvaner and blonde beer. We walked around Petite France, the medical complex, and south of the river before relaxing in our room. We had a conversation with Tracey Bjick. Dinner was in our room, featuring Munster cheese, salad with lardons and shallot/red wine/mustard vinaigrette, pork sausage with choucroute, and chocolate, accompanied by Domaine Weinbach Altenbourg 2020 and Sous La Foret 2020 wines.
Friday: European Parliament and Alsatian Flavors
After a good night’s sleep, we packed up and had breakfast at Cafes Reck again. We purchased 24-hour tram passes and took the tram to the EU Parliament for a tour. We then took the tram to the University of Strasbourg. Lunch was at Mademoiselle 10, where we savored smoked herring, courgette coconut milk Thai cold soup with poached egg, whitefish with mushroom risotto, chicken supreme with grains and peppers, and Genoise chocolate and melon with red fruits and caramel corn, accompanied by Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. We explored the University of Strasbourg botanic garden and campus before stopping at Mokqa cafe for our picnic dinner supplies. We took the tram to Gare Central and boarded a delayed but otherwise pleasant train, where we enjoyed our sandwiches, chips, chocolate, and Pinot Noir from Domaine Weinbach. We walked to our small but nice hotel.
Saturday: Munich’s Charms and Culinary Tour
We had a late start and began the day with coffee and Franzbrötchen at Sweet Spot. We wandered around Munich, visiting Alter Hof, Residenz, and Marienplatz. We then embarked on a food tour with Kevin, an excellent and engaging guide. The tour included Weisswurst with sweet mustard, pretzels, and Weissbier, cherries, mango grapes, and other fruit, a pork neck sandwich, rum cake and cinnamon brioche, and a final round of beers with fruit and crisps. We rested at our room before venturing out to the Biergarten near Alter Hof for a glass of Riesling amidst a light drizzle. Dinner was at Weinhaus Neuner, featuring swordfish with yogurt sauce and chutney to start, followed by veal knuckle and braised pork cheek, accompanied by a 2011 Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva.
Sunday: British Garden and Departure
We got up later than planned, packed, and took the train to the British Gardens for breakfast at Königin 43, enjoying speck and fried eggs with brown bread, scrambled eggs with speck, dates, and pomegranate seeds, and flat whites. We returned to the hotel to check out and took a tram to Hbf, then the Lufthansa bus to the airport. After a counter check-in due to ticket issues, we had an easy time through security and passport control. We visited the Lufthansa lounge for food and wine before boarding our flight. The flight was fine, though disembarking was a bit chaotic. We moved quickly through passport control and encountered a long but fast-moving taxi line.
Generated by Google Gemini from Chris’ notes
record of m. 