Our first stop was Strasbourg, which is infact very close to the border of Germany. I was secretly hoping we could pop over for a visit to another country, but that didn't happen. Instead, we headed to the European Parliament. I think we were all a bit dazed because we'd just been in a bus for three hours and hadn't had time to stretch our legs or install ourselves (excuse the francocism) before being whisked off to this seat of diplomacy. We were treated to a short tour, the main interest of which was the main room, where representatives fromo the E.U. come together to discuss and dispute. Our guide explained to us the many intricacies and details such as who sits where and how communication works. I found the system of translation fascinating. In theory, everyone can communicate in their native language, even if it's Gaelic, and there will be an interpretor standing by to translate for any combination of language. It's astonishing. And apparently, all we'd have to do to be a translator for the European Parliament is perfect our French, learn German and marry a French citizen. No problem.
The rest of our time in Strasbourg was spent walking around and exploring the city.
The statues mean serious business.
Inside the cathedral.
The astrological clock.
I really enjoyed Strasbourg. It was such an amalgamation of different cultures and aesthetics; sometimes it felt just how I imagined Amsterdam to be and other times I could have sworn we were in Germany. It was very easy to forget that this was still France.
The buildings in general tended to be very colorful and lively, but I loved this little street all in white.
"Dock of Little France"
Strasbourg is so un-French that it includes an area called Little France! I'm not really sure what was so particularly French about it though -- it was really just grassy little island on the river. We were expecting more of a French quarter and were a bit confused by what we found.
After our day of exploration we had an Alsatian dinner in a restaurant by the river. (Michael tagent!) As you may imagine, Alsatian cuisine is largely influenced by that of Germany -- lots of sauerkraut and strange meats. I'd been introduced to this already by my host family who actually has strong roots in Alsace (Pascale lived there as a child and Louis was born there). A few weeks after coming here they served a traditional Alsatian dish that basically consists of a large pile of sauerkraut topped with various meats, mostly pork products. It wasn't bad, but it's not something I'd order myself. So I mostly played it safe this trip and stayed away from the sauerkraut. I did, however, partake in the beer which of course is a specialty of Alsace. I'm not generally a beer fan, but I can definitely appreciate good beer, and this was really good beer. With the good beer, tarte flambé (similar to pizza but without sauce) and apple strudel, I was perfectly content.
The next day we left Strasbourg to visit the Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg
This château was completely unlike those of the Loire; it was much older and thus served more of a practical role as a fortress rather than an elaborate country getaway.
Well, some of it was elaborate.
There was definitely still some hunting that went on here.
The view from the top of the château.
Our next stop was a small town that Nathalie said we had to see because it was typical of Alsace. To me, it felt liked we'd stepped into Candy Land or Hansel and Gretel.
Houses the color of candy lined the street and sweet shops were open everywhere selling their goods on the street. All of this in the context of an old German-style town with cobble stone streets and artfully made signs hanging in front of shops.
When we'd had our fill of this ridiculous cuteness, it was time to head off to our next destination -- a wine tasting of course! We tasted the white wines of Alsace: Riesling, pino gris (my favorite) and some others that were insanely sweet. And to go with our wine we had some kougelhopf (pronounced KOO-gloff), the traditional cake of Alsace.
That night we stayed in a small town near the winery, in a hotel with a pool! We were excited about the pool and enjoyed ourselves in it. We also had an enjoyable dinner in the hotel. It was spent writing postcards to Michel, our French professor in Tacoma, and listening to children speaking English, marveling that there were other Americans staying in this small town.
After dinner we spent an amusing night walking in circles around the tiny town. Some of us ended up sitting around on a bench watching cars pass and wondering what it would be like to live in a place like that.
On our last day we went to the town of Colmar, where the creator of the Statue of Liberty lived and where there is a smaller version in honor of him. We didn't get to see any of this due to lack of time, but my host dad told me about it. Instead we went to the Musée d’Unterlinden and saw another painting from the survey of western art history that Abby, Emma and I took.
It's an astonishing, larger-than-life tableau that was originally constructed with several layers so that it would change at certain times of the year. It's now broken up so that viewers can see it all at one time. The above image is what was displayed throughout most of the year.
On Easter, it was opened up to show these four scenes, including that of Christ rising.
On the feast day of St. Anthony the tableau opened further to reveal these paintings and this sculptural scene of the saint. For some reason, Kolya never told us about this part of the piece and Abby and I were quite surprised. Even though this sort of art never interested me very much and, in fact, I remember this piece being particularly frustrating to study for because it had so many layers of meaning and importance, it was a really fantastic experience. I am so enjoying all these opportunities I've had to actually interact with history and to apply all the knowledge I've gained at university.
More generally, I really enjoyed the strange mélange of colors and tastes and history that was Alsace. It was a nice balance of strange and familiar, but it's also whet my appetite for new lands -- every time I looked around and felt that I was practically in Germany, I wanted so badly to actually be there. As much as I love France, it's amazing how much, for the most part, it has stopped feeling so foreign. I'm not really sure how I feel about it but it makes me a little anxious for more extreme foreignness -- even for being in a place where I don't know the language.
As it just so happens, I'll be experiencing this very soon. I'm leaving for my two week spring break this weekend. I'm going to spend my first week lounging on the beaches of the Greek island of Naxos and the second week visiting Hannah, my friend from home, in Beirut! I don't really know what to expect of these trips, especially the latter, but I know it's going to be amazing and very foreign and I can't wait.
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