I’ve never been to Alsace, which lies in eastern France, just across the Rhine River from Germany. I’ve grown fond of their wines, though, and look forward to making a visit in person one day.

Over the weekend Gabe and I ventured down (all the way down!) to the bottom of Manhattan to an area called Bowling Green. It was predictably cold and windy – pretty much the winter norm for this part of the city. It’s a good place to watch the boats go by and catch a breath of fresh air. On Saturday it was also the perfect place to experience a taste of Alsace, thanks to a pop-up Christmas market courtesy of Visit Alsace.

Alsace comprises a string of villages lying east of the Vosges Mountains. It’s sunny and charming, and a great place to grow grapes. The region is famous for its Christmas markets, full of wooden kiosks offering tasty treats like spiced wine, gingerbread, and pretzels, as well as homemade ornaments and linens.

We moseyed around for about an hour, marveling at the juxtaposition of the rustic, wooden huts decorated with handmade signs and holiday swag, against the ultra-modern skyscrapers surrounding them. If you ignored the tall glass and steel towers, you could almost imagine you were strolling through a market in Colmar.

Here’s a sample of what we saw. Hope you enjoy this little taste of Alsace in NYC!