Evening in Alsace
15 September, 2017 continued
The Statue of Liberty is one of- if not the- most iconic and recognizable statues in the world. It is the symbol of liberty, freedom, America, and for some, hope. Many Americans may know she was a gift from France, but beyond that I wonder how much people know about where she came from or who created her? I'll admit I didn't know very much. But if you think about some of the most iconic and recognizable artworks of the world – Mona Lisa, David, The Last Supper – we at least know the artist who created it if nothing else. But what about Lady Liberty?
"Liberty Enlightening the World"- the actual name for the statue - was designed by French artist Auguste Bartholdi to celebrate the US' 100th anniversary of independence. Bartholdi was originally from right here in Colmar, and to celebrate the hometown artist for creating the most iconic statue in the world, they created a small replica at the northern entrance to the city. It's a pretty interesting sight, really. The statue is so iconically American, yet to see it here in France, and in the middle of a roundabout instead of its familiar place surrounded by water... it's a bit surreal.
But right there in the middle of the main street into town, on a patch of green in a roundabout next to the airport and surrounded by furniture stores, stands a replica of the famous statue. At 12 meters tall (almost 40ft to the American readers out there), she is a miniature replica for sure, but still she stands and greets the people as they arrive into Colmar. There is a rental car agency with a parking area by the road, we could stop and walk out on a little trail. The street is actually very busy, so instead of running over we just looked from a short distance. The Statue of Liberty – either in New York or here in France – does show itself best from a bit of a distance anyway.
We stood and looked up at the statue, trying to get pictures between the traffic. It was definitely a nice thing to see, but it would seem that for the reverence the city shows to the artist and the fame of the statue itself, there would have been a bit better of a place to feature it. Regardless, it was a great stop off... and a free stop at that!
Short drive back to Eguisheim (as all the drives between towns are pretty short here) and we took a break in the room. We had some of our amazing Riquewihr cheese and a couple of beers. One was PrinzBrau we picked up in Liechtenstein, because it just sounds cool to have a beer from the tiny country. The other was L'Alsacienne, yes that butt-flashing beer I admitted we purchased the other day. Hey, have to support the local products! After climbing castles, dodging hail and falling roof tiles, wandering through markets and cities, and hunting down lady liberty.... it did feel nice to just kick back in the room a bit. Sometimes we don't take enough time to just settle and relax. Always looking toward the next horizon!
We walked through the old streets getting to enjoy the evening when the busy tour buses had already left with their crowds, and we were able to really feel the simple quiet of the beautiful town. I loved it there so very much. We found the giant stork nest we saw yesterday on our walk, sitting high in one of the church steeples. There were stork nests everywhere through Alsace, though most were abandoned. This one we thought maybe we saw something moving up there but couldn't be sure. Too bad, because we really wanted to see a stork! We walked to the edge of the old town and along the roads that curved in giant circles as they followed the medieval walls that ring the center.
Eguisheim was so beautiful and ancient, yet I was in too much pain to really enjoy it as I wanted. Such a shame. We slowly made our way back to the room for another rest. Eventually we wandered down to the restaurant portion of the hotel we were staying, as we were going to keep it in house for dinner tonight. We started with Riesling and Sylvanier, both local white wines fitting of the region. As we looked over the menu, we found escargot as an appetizer. We have never had the snails before, almost getting while in Belgium but ultimately passed on. But now we were in France, and the snails are such a typical French dish, we really couldn't pass them up this time. We ordered them in the herbs and butter and they were fantastic! We were surprised to find them reminiscent of a nice Portobello mushroom in texture and flavor. We will definitely get the snails again! Another local specialty aside from the choucroute is a dish called Fleischnacka. Usually made with beef (which we try to avoid as we aren't big fans), La Ferme du Pape had a special one called Fischnacka made with fish! Beth had to order that while I chose the chicken stuffed with chestnuts over mushroom risotto. Spectacular, and finished with a trio of crème brulee was a perfect meal for our final night in France!
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