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This Disneyesque version of Mitteleuropa attracted a multitude of tour parties. We escaped by driving up into the stupendous forest that crowns the Vosges range.Less than half an hour after leaving the depths of the forest, we were in Colmar, a city whose centre is little changed from late medieval times. We had supper in a canalside winstub called the Caveau Saint Pierre More beams More cold-weather cuisine. Les oiseaux need energy for migration, which they keep in the form of fat in the liver." Mr Willman did not raise the birds, it transpires His geese livers came from Hungary. We learnt about the importance of smell, touch, appearance and weight in assessing the quality of liver, the removal of the hepatic nerve and the admixture of 13 spices and brandy.
Before embarking on a generous sampling, we were instructed to let the p? "melt in the mouth like chocolate". The aftertaste was still dancing on my palate as we drove for lunch.Fortunately, the confusing nomenclature of Alsatian communities (we found ourselves circuiting Wettolsheim when we should have been in Wintzenheim) meant that we were able to enjoy exercise in the form of a vociferous argument, and thereby work up a good appetite for lunch, before we found the tongue-tripping village of Niedermorschwihr.Despite being an hour late, we were given a warm welcome in the Caveau Morakopf, our first Alsatian winstub. "The most important thing is to catch the bitterness - a subtle, delicate bitterness that allows it to taste its best in the mouth," he declared.Feeling not unlike foie-gras geese ourselves, we waddled off to visit a producer of the celebrated p? the next morning. After an amuse-bouche of fromage de t? - like our brawn, but with the advantage that it tastes of something - we had a starter of more fromage de t?. These are cosy, pub-like joints, with wood beams and red gingham tablecloths Though excellent, the lunch was unremittingly porky. Marco Willman, whose Foie Gras de Liesel shop is in the village of Ribeauville, pooh-poohed any Anglo-Saxon misgivings about this luxury food "Foie gras exists only because it is natural.
If they feel the urge, citizens can breakfast in France, lunch in Germany and have dinner in Switzerland.We went for a simple, yet sustaining supper in Au Crocodile (two stars). After eight or nine courses, including fried foie gras with saut? rhubarb, turbot in a nut crust, a roast duck carved at the table, and the most perfect cheeseboard I have ever encountered, we waved the white flag when presented with dessert - a cylinder of paper-thin brandysnap filled with lightly stewed strawberries.Over coffee, accompanied by a small mountain of petits fours and truffles in case we were still peckish, the Crocodile's chef-patron, Emile Jung, explained the philosophical underpinnings of foie gras, another Alsace speciality. Paris aside, this is more than any other region in France.We started in the Alsatian capital, Strasbourg. The highlight comes when you have done your shopping and can collapse in one of the many local bacari wine bars, for an espresso and panino. Why does breakfast taste better at a market than anywhere else in the world? Kauppatori, Helsinki Open 6.30am-6pm Monday-Friday; 6.30am-4pm Saturday; 9am-4pm Sunday (Summer Only)Located on the waterfront, on the site of the old Baltic herring market, the Kauppatori is the emotional and physical centre of Helsinki. Over the centuries, Alsace was snatched back and forth by France and Germany. During the 19th century, it was possible for a Strasbourgian to have swapped nationalities five times during a lifetime It remains a border city.
