Christmas Markets in Alsace

Colmar - the crew ready to do some shopping.

First things first - cheese and potatoes to give energy. One never feels cold after eating this.

Steve taking it all in.

When in France.....

And they are so good.

Kaysersburgs.

Kaysersburg.

Domaine Mittnacht.

Tasting with Mark, Sylvie and Charlotte.

Hunawihr.

Lunch - delicious.

Outside the restaurant. Sylvie's father was born here.

We took a hike from Hunawihr to Ribeauville.

Ribeauville's medieval market.

Great idea - fire burns the log from inside.

Ribeauville.

Ribeauville.

Good news - Ribeauville and Hunawihr are on the Camino!!

Rosacker Grand Crus vineyard.

While in Salamanca, we met Mark and Sylvie Killian. They were staying at the same hotel and we noticed that they were speaking French. Our casual "bonjours" turned into more and more conversation. We learned that Mark and Sylvie live in France, just outside of Basel, Switzerland. They are both wine lovers and, while tasting Spanish wines with them in Salamanca, we discovered that Sylvie’s' family owns and operates Domaine Mittnacht in Hunawihr, a small village next to Ribeauville. Mark and Sylvie invited us to visit them and we said we would.

Alsace is famous for its Christmas markets. So we decided to combine a visit to the Christmas markets in Colmar and Kaysersberg with an Alsatian food and wine experience with our newfound friends. Next-door neighbor Camilla Trentini came with us to round out the fun

The Colmar Christmas market was huge and hugely populated. There were five completely different Christmas markets that lined the streets of Colmar. It was chilly so we warmed-up with gluhwein and the famous Alsatian gratin-styled potatoes. Full, warm and happy we departed for Orbey to meet the proprietors of our lodging for the evening. The bed and breakfast was really a rented room in the home of a lovely French couple, who spoke only French. Between Maria and Steve's french, we got along and had lovely conversations about their families, the region and our experiences in Suisse.

We had dinner that evening in Kayserberg – an impossibly cute Alsatian village. It also had a Christmas market. This small village, sitting in the shadows of an ancient castle, get a top score on the cuteness chart. We had dinner there – more potatoes and cheese accompanied with a nice Riesling.

Having said au revoir to our hosts, we headed to Hubinwihr to meet Mark and Sylvie at Domaine Mittnacht. Sylvie’s cousin Christopher hosted the tasting and gave us a broad sampling of the wines, including a 1998 Grand Crus Rosacker vineyard Riesling. It was amazing and shows that white wines can age well too. We also got to meet Mark and Sylvie’s daughter, Charlotte.

Following the tasting we headed to a small restaurant located in Sylvie’s childhood home. The food was fantastic and we dined as if we were with rock stars. The people were so nice and the traditional Alsatian cuisine was fantastic. After lunch, we hiked through the vineyards to Ribeauville to see the medieval-themed Christmas market (and to walk off a bit of lunch). It was a beautiful hike and gave us a chance to talk (mostly in French) about the life and times of each family.

It was a fantastic weekend. We look forward to a return trip for a special tasting dinner prepared by Christopher and his wife. Until then, we will think of the people and cuisine of Alsace when we raise our glasses of Riesling or Gewürztraminer.