Christmas Across 3 Borders Tour

When planning my 10-Day Europe Christmas Trip, I came across this tour. The Christmas Across 3 Borders tour that departs out of Colmar, France and visits 3 different Christmas Markets:

• Freiburg, Germany
• Basel, Switzerland
• Eguisheim, France

I figured it would be neat to experience 3 different countries on the same day. Lord know you could barely see that number of U.S. states in the same day! My fiancé and I spent 4 nights in Paris before taking the train over to Colmar. It was roughly a 3-hour journey. Colmar’s popularity is steadily increasing, especially around Christmastime. It’s located in the Alsace region of France, next to Strasbourg. It borders Germany and Switzerland so you’ll see German influences on the architecture and Swiss influence on some meals.

Colmar, France

Colmar is this adorable, picturesque town that I can only put into 1 word: Whoville. Yes, the neighborhood from Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch. This quaint, picturesque village comes alive at Christmastime. Right when you get out of the train station, you see the decor everywhere. Freezing cold weather just adds to the ambiance! Staying in the city center will allow you to walk everywhere. We grabbed an Uber but it took us longer to wait for him, than to reach our hotel. I was later told that there are only a handful of Colmar Uber drivers so that makes sense.

We checked in at the hotel and grabbed lunch at Bistrot Gourmand. I had the Quiche Lorraine and he had the savory crepe pocket with egg. Menus are in French, German, and English. The locals speak French and German fluently, but communication in English was sometimes a miss. Reading before we left… I found out that in schools the children here are taught French first and German second. Learning a third language is sort of an extra curricular for them. Which makes sense! But if you’re used to the English fluency found in Paris, it’s not comparable.

Little Venice

Evening Christmas Market

After walking around the city for awhile, evening was upon us. It got real dark REAL fast. But that just meant the Christmas lights were even brighter. I was able to sample gluhwein for the first time. Mulled wine, also known as spiced wine, is  usually made with red wine along with various mulling spices and sometimes raisins. It is served warm  and is alcoholic, though rest assured there are non-alcoholic versions of it. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas. I believe it originates from Germany.

There was one little amusement ride available for kids and an ice skating rink. The carousel bar for adults sat right next to it. The magic of Christmas in Colmar was illuminated and lit up like out of a fairy tale. In the Alsace region, the preparation of Christmas and end-of-year celebrations, it’s a big deal. Moment of conviviality and sharing, this period is favorable to return to the real family values. You can visit the Noel Colmar website to learn more about the dates of the markets, activities, and more. Good food was served like sweet crepes and churros.

After spending some time in the evening markets, we headed to the hotel to sleep so we’d be ready for our Christmas Across 3 Borders tour.

Freiburg, Germany

At 10:00AM promptly, our tour guide Christopher picked us up at the hotel. Christopher currently works a tour company called Alsace Original Experiences. Though, I believe he may be branching off and starting his own transportation service company in the near future. So, if any of my clients are headed to this region I’ll have to give you his contact info! He’s so knowledgeable on all things Colmar (and surrounding areas). Our first stop of the day was to Freiburg, Germany.

En route to Germany, we passed by this mini Statue of Liberty replica. Fun fact: The main designer of the Statue of Liberty, Auguste Bartholdi, was from Colmar, France. As we made our way to Germany, it was so interesting seeing no border control up. Both France and Germany are apart of the European Union and therefore no passport check/border control is in place. When we got to Freiburg, we walked around the historic center. It’s a cute little city in southwest Germany’s Black Forest.

Black Forest

The Black Forest is known for quite a few things but one of the items they’re known for is their cuckoo clocks. This medieval old town is very historic and you’ll even find names of the Holocaust survivors laid within the brick of certain streets. It can be a street out front of the house they used to live in or in front of the business they used to own. Walking this town was like taking a step back in time. We started our tour at the Gothic Cathedral Freiburg Minster, which towers over the central square Münsterplatz. We ended the tour with delicious bratwursts. I couldn’t tell you the type it was but it was delicious.

It was just fun to walk through the markets and look at what was available. Different heavenly-smelling soaps, cuckoo clocks, winter gear like hats and gloves. There was also an assortment of both sweet and savory food. Of course they sold bratwursts and all types of meats, lots of jams/jellies. I also saw a ton of mulled wine for sale! 🍷

Basel, Switzerland

We left Germany and headed to Switzerland. Since Switzerland is not apart of the European Union, a passport is technically required by vehicle. We drove right past the gates though as there was no one working the border. I guess since they’re such a neutral country these formalities aren’t that necessary. Meanwhile on the U.S. / Mexico border…

We arrived in Basel, Switzerland and my first thought is that it’s a mixture of historic and modern. On one side, you see H&M and current retail stores and on the other side you see a historic church and Christmas markets. For a large city, it also looked very clean. Like sparkling clean. You’ll see the Rhine River running through the middle. I was told that in the summer, some locals swim in this river to get to/from work, purely for tradition.

After viewing yet another historic church, we made it to this fun bubble-blowing Santa. Kids just lit up around him. The markets here seemed more spread out than they did at Freiburg but offered similar items. Of course in Switzerland they’re known for their chocolate so that was available for purchase. Pic of our tour guide Christopher, below!

Eguisheim, France

We left Switzerland and headed back to France, stopping at Eguisheim. When I talk about the quintessential picturesque markets, Eguisheim definitely comes to mind. It’s small and quaint but ambiance on a grand scale. Eguisheim is a medieval village in the Alsace wine region (the same region as Colmar). The narrow, concentric streets of its old town are lined with many preserved half-timbered houses. There are ruins here (Three Castles of Eguisheim), which date from the Middle Ages.

Our tour guide, Christopher, pointed out these huge birds nests on the roofs of homes. Apparently, this Alsace region is home to many storks! I found that interesting. Storks, in my mind, are fictional characters that bring babies to people’s doorsteps. But wow, guess they are real! LOL And they can birth about 2-3 birds at a time so you can imagine the size of the nest. After walking around, and enjoy a sweet gingerbread man, it was back home to Colmar for the night. Christpher booked us a table at this incredible Italian restaurant

COMMENT TIME: There is actually a DISNEY MOVIE that was allegedly inspired by Eguisheim. Let me know if you can guess in the comments. Let’s see how good you know your Disney. With the addition of Disney +, no excuses!

Heading to the Alsace region? Shoot me an email and I’ll work on a quote for you: cassandra@accent-on-travel.net. Working with me is easy and never an additional cost to you. I can often times price match and allow easy payment plans!

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