At least once a year, I like to go on a solo adventure. This style of travel enables me to travel at my own pace, see places on my list that my loved ones may not wish to visit, and it is pretty empowering. However, prior to this getaway, my previous solo trips have usually been to English-speaking countries (like Australia and Scotland), or to join an organised tour (as I did for Morocco and Cuba) - or just for the day via the Eurostar. However, this time, I decided to up the ante a little. Armed with my Duolingo app and over a decade-old GCSE French skills, I embarked on a three-day trip to Colmar in France. By train. With a small backpack. A mini interrailing adventure, some might say!
Colmar is a town in the Alsace region that I’ve longed to visit for a while. So much so, in fact, that it even earned its own spot on my #30before30 list. Situated close to the French-German and French-Swiss borders, the medieval architecture and quaint town centre look like something out of a fairytale, and I had to see it first hand. This holiday definitely put me out of my comfort zone in a variety of ways, but all with positive outcomes.
The trains
The moment Eurostar announced their ‘£35 one way’ sale in February, I knew what I had to do. After an hour of logistics and planning between the Eurostar and TGV websites, I booked my tickets to Paris and Colmar. Just three-to-four train rides from my Sussex home and I could be in Colmar! Hey, that's fewer changes than I make to get to some places in London! The journey would include a four-hour stopover in Paris each way - a city I've visited on various occasions in the last 11 years - so initially, I wasn’t out of my comfort zone at all. I knew I needed to get about with ease, so avoided large luggage; I decided to pack super lightly (the lightest I've ever packed for an overnight(s) stay, actually), fitting everything in my little backpack and handbag.
Where being out of my comfort zone came into play was when it came to understanding the train route. For the fourth train, my ticket said I needed to change at Strasbourg, but my third train was headed to Colmar as its final destination anyway. Initially, I was very confused, intently listening to announcements, but understanding very few sentences. Once I checked the SNCF website, it showed there was a 15-minute stop in Strasbourg - no changes needed on my way to Colmar. However, on my return journey, I did have to change. I used the same website’s arrivals and departures board to coordinate my platform change. The travel Gods were smiling down on me: although there are around 30 platforms at Strasbourg, my platforms were less than two minutes apart, and my onward train was delayed by 10 minutes anyway, so I had ample time to get to the right place. On the Eurostar back, it was like the Eurostar company had been confused, and/or had a glitch, as my seat was double booked! I was already seated when the other traveller and her husband arrived, and we both showed each other our tickets, and they were the same. We had a laugh about it, and as I was settled, they sought to rectify it with the conductor.
France is still pretty strict on the Covid regulations when it comes to public transport: before you even enter King’s Cross’ Eurostar area on your way to France, a guard instructs all masks are on properly, then before passport control, another guard scans your vaccine QR code. If your vaccine is over 9 months old, it must include the QR code for your booster too. This was the first time since I’ve been vaccinated that my QR code has actually been scanned, not just looked at, and I’ve been to three countries in that time…
Language
A big element of being out of my comfort zone was the language barrier. Unlike many tourist towns and cities I've visited, almost no one back home had heard of Colmar, and upon arrival, I realised there were very few British tourists here. Not just that, but where I was staying, about 15 minutes out of the centre, there weren't many tourists full stop. In the town centre, there were more English speakers working in the shops and at attractions, but even the other tourists were mostly from their neighbouring countries like Germany and Switzerland. While at first, this made me a little uncomfortable, soon after, I very much embraced it. For years, I've been learning French on and off, and being in Colmar on my own fully immersed me in the language and helped to expand my vocabulary. I even had to learn how to say "there's a cockroach in my bathroom, help!" in French - that insect definitely put me out of my comfort zone!
Sightseeing
Usually, my go-to routine when travelling solo is to board a city sightseeing bus, get a little history and overview of the city, then stick my headphones in, listen to my music, and explore the attractions more closely on foot. I did a version of that in Colmar, but this time, the other way around. Even something as simple as this was new for me - not completely out of my comfort zone per say, but a little different. Without context or my bearings from that preliminary tour, I just walked and got lost in the weaving streets of the Old Town, snapping pics of the beautiful bold buildings and their intricate roofs, sometimes accidentally circling back to the same spot or retracing my steps.
After getting my bearings on foot, I bought a ticket for a 30-minute boat tour along Petite Venise. I boarded the small wooden boat with a German family; the host asked what languages we'd like and thankfully did all three (French, German and English). It was beautiful to see the town from the water, and also venture into an area with more wildlife and bountiful bird calls.
After disembarking, I walked back into the main area to admire the architecture of Maison Pfister and neighbouring Saint Martin Collegial, and then intended to make my way to the Unterlinden Museum, but instead decided on a whim to board the tourist train - a train version of my fave bus tours, woohoo! I got to learn the history of some of the impactful buildings, as well as other fun facts I otherwise would not have known. I mean, who else is counting the heads on the facade of Maison des Tetes? It's worth carrying a bit of cash as you venture around Colmar's town centre; I had to run to an ATM to pay for the tourist train, and also had to find a different shop for bottled water at one point earlier in the trip, due to a minimum card spend.
Unfortunately, one thing I missed out on was the Alsace wine route. I'd really hoped it for my itinerary, but only the full-day tours were available during my stay (half-day tours were available at other times of the week) and I didn't want to lose out on eight hours in Colmar itself. Without a car, pre-organised tours are the best way to do the wine tours and the castle.
Dining alone
For some reason, I have absolutely no qualms over eating breakfast or lunch alone in a restaurant, but I have a sticking point when it comes to dinner. Of course, I've dined on my evening meal on other travels, but I'd always eat as quickly as possible. However, here, I had no choice but to enjoy a long, indulgent meal, solo. On my first night, I chose to dine close to my hotel. As noted above, this meant absolutely no English-speaking staff. However, I apologised for my poor French (en francais, of course) and the waiters were very patient and gentil to me... but all the while speaking French, so I really had to practise. I realise the locals here love veal, so I made sure to have at least one veal-based meal during my stay. On the first night, this was washed down with a few Saint Germain spritzes because it was the restaurant’s speciality.
Overall, I am very proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone, and it’s given me the confidence to consider a long train-based trip. A luxury interrailing trip perhaps… hey, Orient Express, do you have any deals going?!
Bonus paragraph: A brief interlude in Paris
It wouldn't be a truly accurate article on my trip if I didn't detail my time in Paris, which bookended my time in Colmar. I spent around four hours in Paris each way. One of my favourite places in Paris is the fountains outside the Louvre, so I made a beeline for this from Gare du Nord upon arrival in France. I then decided to take a Batobus river cruise down the Seine; it is a cheap and yet lovely alternative to just strolling along the banks myself. Unfortunately, I missed the first boat of the day by mere minutes, which meant by the time I boarded, I couldn't do the whole loop otherwise would have missed my train to Colmar. However, I made up for it on my trip home by visiting my favourite sites again, like Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower (sorry, I'm a basic tourist!), making friends with a Californian tourist, and visiting Laduree for macarons. They were so polite and lovely, and I chose some unique flavours like black sesame and the Marie Antoinette, the latter of which was quite zesty. A great few hours spent in the French capital on both travel days.