We took the TGV (train) from Grenoble to Lyon then from Lyon to Strasbourg. It was about a 7 hour ride one way, which was beneficial to us because we got all of our homework done and was able to sleep after a long week. We arrived in Strasbourg at 11:50pm, we planned on going out that night to experience some of the night life but we were so tired and wanted to get an early start to Saturday that we checked into our hotel and crashed.
We woke up at 8:00am -__- (Meagan's idea) and got right to sightseeing. Because we didn't want to waste money on a taxi we decided to walk from the hotel to town (2-3 miles) which ended up to be a tremendous idea because we got to see more of the town this way instead of driving right by it. We ended up going to La Petite France,which is popular for their old/tiny french homes and buildings all right up against the Rhine river. Each building was painted a different color and it was absolutely adorable.
Next we visited the Strasbourg Cathedral which is the largest cathedral in France and the 4th largest in the world. The gothic architecture was AMAZING...absolutely breathtaking. It doesn't even compare to Notre Dame in Paris. There were separate rooms throughout the cathedral dedicated for prayer only or to different saints. There was an organ which was placed above where the congregation would sit and it was outlined in gold. We couldn't go up to the pulpit because it was sectioned off but from below I could see a huge gold cross in the center with different paintings and sculptures of saints and apostles. There was a huge slab of marble where the priest would stand and another organ on the side. In one of the hallways was a HUGE sculpture of the crucifixion with a congregation of people below him, including Mary. The sculpture was so detailed that Jesus face actually look real, not made of clay. In the other hallway stood a clock from the floor to the ceiling, very ornate which depicted heaven, earth and hell. Every 30 minutes the clock would ring and a doll type figure would come from behind the clock, come up to the skeleton (which I'm assuming depicted Satan and hell) and hit the two bells that the skeleton was carrying and then went back behind the clock again. It was very odd and seemed out of place in that cathedral, but the clock itself was absolutely beautiful.
We then went roaming in whatever direction seemed interesting. We came across little cobblestone alley ways which held cute little cafes and restaurants, we saw numerous other cathedrals, some catholic and others protestant. We saw the University of Strasbourg and the European Union :D Then we came across a sign for Germany and we both wanted to step into Germany just to say we had so we started following the signs, not knowing that it was at least a 40 minute walk we kept venturing through the city until we came to the border, took a quick picture and then turned around and came back. We were starving at that point so we stopped at a restaurant for one of Alsace's most popular dishes, "Tarte Flambée" which looked like a very very thin pizza, but was absolutely delicious.
In total we probably walked at least 10-15 miles Saturday. Once we walked back to where the tram stop was, we ended up buying a 24 hour pass so that we wouldn't have to walk back to the hotel to rest and then walk back to Strasbourg for dinner. For dinner we decided to choose another popular Alsacien dish, "Choucroute" which is a slab of 5 different kinds of meat and a heap of sauerkraut and potatoes. This was the first time either of us had had some real protein since we arrived in France (because the French don't eat chicken, steak, fish, turkey, sausage ham etc. as much as Americans do and if they do it's in tiny, tiny portions) so we were ecstatic and wolfed it down. It has been my favorite dish I have had while in Europe, so far.
The next day we decided to go to mass in the Strasbourg church, just to see what it was like. The sermon was in French, obviously so I couldn't follow, but I've always appreciate and have been interested in the Catholic traditions so it was interesting to watch I even ended up getting blessed by the priest with Meagan haha.
As we were walking out we stopped into a cafe for a warm drink (since it was NEGATIVE celsius) we ordered a hot chocolate and when it came out they brought an ENTIRE bowl of whipped cream for us, I was so happy. I felt like a 5 year old:)
For the rest of the afternoon we took a boat tour on the Rhine River where we went through La Petite France again and saw the school where King Louis XIV studied and saw more of the European Union building. We even met a group of Americans on the boat too. We learned so much history while we were there and of course took a couple hundred photos :) I definitely want to come back here someday, it's absolutely beautiful especially while it's snowing.
bisous, bisous <3
Ciao!!
No comments:
Post a Comment