When we first moved to Germany one of my first kamikaze day trips was to Boleslawiec Poland, a tiny town that churns out volumes of the irresistible blue and white pottery full of dots and stripes. Boleslawiec is a good 4.5 hours from our home in southern Germany but it’s quite common for small groups of women to leave home at 3:30am and drive directly to the first shops that open at 8:30am. While it can seem overwhelming, after the first stop everyone is an expert pottery collector and car trunks are packed full of goodies by 3pm ready for the ride home.
Last year, I happened to hear about another pottery village, this one located in France, in the Alsace region. I couldn’t quite convince myself that I did, indeed, need more pottery nor could I see myself setting so many fancy meals that required two very different styles of pottery.But, the dreary weather we’ve experienced this spring made me long for some excitement and it wasn’t hard to justify a relatively quick 3 hour drive to Soufflenheim this past week. A friend and I swung through Stuttgart to pick up another friend, a veteran Soufflenheim shopper, who willingly played tour guide for our maiden voyage. Can I say how delighted I was to cave into this hankering for a new shopping experience? As bare bones and rugged and bleak as Poland is, Alsace region screams the good life.

Our first introduction to the town reminded me of the quaint village from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast–I expected Gaston to appear out of the woods with a large ax and a song. Small pottery shops had their distinctive wares displayed at the shop doors and signs were written in a very French script. With the first shop we visited, Graessel & Fille, I was in love. The colors, designs and attention to detail in Soufflenheim shops are outstanding. Long-gone are the rows upon rows of factory-produced pottery. Here, the master craftsman reigns supreme. Of course, the prices also reign supreme. On average, you’re going to spend more in France than you would in Poland, with the covered bakers for the traditional dish Baeckoffe starting at 40 euros for the small size. I purchased some new drinking glasses, several small bowls perfect for individual servings of applesauce and new dish for quiche Lorraine. Of course I don’t make quiche, but with my new dish, I’m thinking it’s a good idea to learn.
For an interesting read on how Alsatian pottery is made, check out this blog post from Crawfish and Caramel SoufflenheimAlsacePottery