Weekend à Strasbourg

Last weekend I took the train to Strasbourg, a city on the border between France and Germany, in the Alsace region of France.  (Photos are posted to go along with my summary).  My friends and classmates had plans of their own, so I ended up going by myself, which was actually pretty nice.  The train ride was supposed to be about 3 hours, but it ended up lasting 5 hours because of repairs on some of the tracks.  I kept myself entertained by reading the entire section on Ireland in my travel guide to Europe.  Have I mentioned that I am spending two weeks in April in Ireland?  More on that later, for sure! 

 

At any rate, at one point during the journey I looked up and noticed that the man across the aisle from me was wearing a John Deere Iowa polo!  So of course I had to ask him about it.  He seemed very surprised that I knew where and what it was, until I told him I was from there!  Turns out he works for Deere and had spent a few years in Iowa, even.  There are at least a couple of plants in France, too.  Talk about a small world!

I arrived quite late Friday night and rose bright and early Saturday morning to explore the city.  I hadn't really made any plans, but Strasbourg was not lacking in things to see and do!  I meandered over to the tourist office for suggestions and ended up taking an audio-guide walking tour of the city.  It was a lovely morning and the tour was very thorough, I trekked all over town!  I stopped at a number of houses and churches (which if I hadn't had the guide wouldn't have stood out)  that were remarkable for their hidden history.  

The Cathedral was particularly beautiful inside and out, with an amazing pipe organ affixed to the left side of the upper balcony, almost like a swallow's nest.  There was also an enormous astronomical clock, with seven levels of movement and functions.  Strasbourg is unique for its mix of Catholic and Protestant history.  I visited a couple of Lutheran cathedrals, too, which was neat because you don't usually think of the Lutherans as the cathedral type.  

I had Spaeztle for lunch in a restaurant in the Petit France district, a picturesque little area of half-timbered houses along the canal.  After that I made my way over to the Alsacian culture and traditions museum, where you could see how the Alsacian people had lived in the 17 and 1800's.  It was really interesting!  The people seemed so close and at the same time, very different.  It was clear that they worked hard but still had time for crafts and leisure.  

Next I wandered back toward the Cathedral and stopped to admire a row of portrait artists.  Most of them advertised caricatures, but one was busy doing actual portraits, and he was incredibly skilled, too.  I stood and watched, captivated.  He was good.  A crowd gathered to watch him work.  The other artists approached me, "Ahh, you are a beautiful young woman, wouldn't you like your portrait done?"  Well, I did want it done, but not by them!  And so I waited until the one I was watching finished his current subject, and then I sat for him!  What an unusual experience, to have to sit completely still while a crowd stares at you.  

While he was working, a random young French father walked by with a stroller and loudly commented, "Wow, this one (artist) is good!  But those other ones, they're amateurs.  Look at how poorly drawn their work is.  But this one here, he's got talent."  Oooo I thought there was going to be a fight, one of the caricature artists got so defensive!  Even if it was true, he was looking for trouble to go and say it like that!  I took a photo of the portrait, so you can see it in the Strasbourg album.  It isn't perfect but it is still pretty cool.  I was impressed, as it only took him half an hour or so to do it.

The next day, I made sure to be at the Cathedral at 12:30pm to see the astronomical clock go off. One of the four ages of man passes in front of a skeleton (representing Death) every fifteen minutes, as death chimes a bell.  Then, only at 12:30pm, the twelve apostles pass in front of Jesus in a line, as he raises his hand over each of their heads in a blessing.  When every fourth apostle passes, a mechanical rooster on top of the clock crows to represent the three times Peter denied Jesus.  I was skeptical of how cool this would be going in, but it was really neat!  The rooster sounded so real!  The skeleton was spooky, and Jesus really did look serene.  Very well done.  

I spent the rest of my day in the Palais Rohan, a palace that has been converted into three museums: Art, Archeology, and the rooms and furnishings of the Palace itself.  The art museum was ironically filled with religious pieces from Venice and Florence!  I felt like I had returned there sooner than expected.  The archeology museum was immense and dry, but impressive nonetheless.  Many of the artifacts were discovered in the area, as there has been no lack of peoples and cultures passing over the Alsace region!  The Palace itself is described by locals as a "miniature Versailles".  Well I don't know about that, but it was still pretty elegant.  Oddly, amongst the rooms of furniture and fine china, there was a room filled with a donated collection of tin wind up toys.  I took photos of the most interesting ones that had traveled all the way from the USA.  

And that was my weekend in Strasbourg!  This weekend I stayed in Besançon, relaxing and going to the movies (Darjeeling Ltd and Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, the first one yay, the second nay).  Friday night Christine and I made brownies from a mix that I had brought with me.  They were fantastic!  Not a bad substitute for Easter eggs, if I do say so myself.