A quick 2.5-hour train ride via Basel took us there. We wanted to get lunch, visit the cathedral and La Petite France, wander, eat, wander, and eat. We arrived a bit late for the traditional French lunch, but within 15 minutes later, we were eating open-faced sandwiches of grilled bread with jambon et fromage (ham and cheese), saumon et choucroute (salmon and sauerkraut), and chèvre (goat cheese). Yum!
Next, we wandered the streets toward the cathedral. LGG found a nice place for dancing
and chasing pigeons
We wandered on a bit further, when wonder of wonders appeared:
Of course, LGG simply had to ride the carousel multiple times. In the shot above, she is practicing her princess wave. While LGG was riding the carousel, ZMG and AG had stopped off to buy macarons, yummy pastries with two cookies cradling a creamy filling (ZMG tells me to note that macarons are not at all related to macaroons). We had chocolate and pistachio.
Time to visit the cathedral, which was just around the corner from the carousel. Here's the view from just in front of the timbered building in the picture above (just as a side note, two of our good friends lived in the tan building on the left side of the picture below when we visited them in 2000, and the cathedral bells were our alarm clock):
Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg dates back to the mid 1400s. It's a lovely Gothic church with an intricate facade and a very tall spire, which (according to Wikipedia) was the tallest building in the world from the mid 1600s to 1874! Here's a view from the foot of the cathedral:
We went inside the cathedral, where LGG and I lit a candle for my mother and one for my grandmother, and LGG asked me more questions about God. We also talked about the architecture, took pictures of the stained glass windows:
and visited the astronomical clock. It's breathtakingly pretty overall.
After leaving the cathedral, we headed over to La Petite France, a pretty section of town with canals, cafes, and traditional architecture (stopping along the way to buy chocolate ducks and some other treats). Here's a sample:
We strolled around this area for a bit and ended up at an island in the river where there was a playground for LGG, and some folks playing water polo in kayaks:
It was an oddly fascinating game to watch, with lots of ramming boats into each other to stop breakaways, whacking the ball out of the air with paddles, and the like.
We decided this was a good place for a sisters picture:
and a family portrait of The Geeks:
We wandered some more and window shopped some more and discussed coffee and beer before ending up back in the general area of the cathedral. AG, LGG, and I had ice cream as a substitute for the crêpes I had promised LGG, but had been unable to find. Happily, as we sat in a small square and ate, I spied a crêperie and ran over to see if they would make one with powered sugar, just as I had promised her.
As I was doing that, we heard music and I frantically waved everyone else over. Totally by coincidence, we had run into the Carnaval de Strasbourg and in particular the Witches' Parade. We had a spot just on the edge of the crowd, with a great view of the witches sweeping away winter:
the kids riding on the back of scary creatures:
and various other, um, things:
(Dad, what were you doing in France? Just kidding.)
By this time, we needed to get dinner, so we munched the crêpe as we headed off to a restaurant AG had read about. Once we got there, we ran right into a major difference between France and Switzerland: one can find great, cheap food in non-smoking restaurants in France. (Here, you can get great, and/or non-smoking, and/or cheap, it's just you have to pick two.) Yes, folks, restaurants in France have become non-smoking as of February 2008 -- so have been restaurants in England, Germany, Ireland, and Italy, among others. We're not holding our breath (awful pun intended) on a ban in Zürich, though some parts of Switzerland also ban smoking in restaurants.
Anyway, the restaurant was a nice brasserie which was also a student hangout, and was having Happy Hour when we got there. The four of us shared three tarte flambée, three beers, and a milk for 18 Euro, about 30 CHF. You would pay 25 CHF per person here for something similar, so this was a big score.
Tarte flambée, for those who have not heard ZMG and I carry on rapturously while drooling just saying the words, is a wonderful traditional Alsatian dish, and the main treat we wanted in Strasbourg. Picture a very very thin crust pizza, about 8 inches across. In the most classic form, it's covered in fromage blanc mixed with crème fraîche, onions, and lardons (bacon) - delicious! You can also get ones with mushrooms and other toppings, and at traditional brasseries, they'll keep bringing them until you say stop. As Homer Simpson would say, "Mmmm, very thin French pizza!"
Anyway, suitably stuffed and tipsy from the great beer, we waddled back toward the train station (stopping along the way to get cookies and other treats). Here's the last picture - evening in the Place de la Cathédrale of Strasbourg:
Hmmm, time for another trip for more tarte flambée. Or at least to the kitchen for something. À bientôt!
and chasing pigeons
We wandered on a bit further, when wonder of wonders appeared:
Of course, LGG simply had to ride the carousel multiple times. In the shot above, she is practicing her princess wave. While LGG was riding the carousel, ZMG and AG had stopped off to buy macarons, yummy pastries with two cookies cradling a creamy filling (ZMG tells me to note that macarons are not at all related to macaroons). We had chocolate and pistachio.
Time to visit the cathedral, which was just around the corner from the carousel. Here's the view from just in front of the timbered building in the picture above (just as a side note, two of our good friends lived in the tan building on the left side of the picture below when we visited them in 2000, and the cathedral bells were our alarm clock):
Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg dates back to the mid 1400s. It's a lovely Gothic church with an intricate facade and a very tall spire, which (according to Wikipedia) was the tallest building in the world from the mid 1600s to 1874! Here's a view from the foot of the cathedral:
We went inside the cathedral, where LGG and I lit a candle for my mother and one for my grandmother, and LGG asked me more questions about God. We also talked about the architecture, took pictures of the stained glass windows:
and visited the astronomical clock. It's breathtakingly pretty overall.
After leaving the cathedral, we headed over to La Petite France, a pretty section of town with canals, cafes, and traditional architecture (stopping along the way to buy chocolate ducks and some other treats). Here's a sample:
We strolled around this area for a bit and ended up at an island in the river where there was a playground for LGG, and some folks playing water polo in kayaks:
It was an oddly fascinating game to watch, with lots of ramming boats into each other to stop breakaways, whacking the ball out of the air with paddles, and the like.
We decided this was a good place for a sisters picture:
and a family portrait of The Geeks:
We wandered some more and window shopped some more and discussed coffee and beer before ending up back in the general area of the cathedral. AG, LGG, and I had ice cream as a substitute for the crêpes I had promised LGG, but had been unable to find. Happily, as we sat in a small square and ate, I spied a crêperie and ran over to see if they would make one with powered sugar, just as I had promised her.
As I was doing that, we heard music and I frantically waved everyone else over. Totally by coincidence, we had run into the Carnaval de Strasbourg and in particular the Witches' Parade. We had a spot just on the edge of the crowd, with a great view of the witches sweeping away winter:
the kids riding on the back of scary creatures:
and various other, um, things:
(Dad, what were you doing in France? Just kidding.)
By this time, we needed to get dinner, so we munched the crêpe as we headed off to a restaurant AG had read about. Once we got there, we ran right into a major difference between France and Switzerland: one can find great, cheap food in non-smoking restaurants in France. (Here, you can get great, and/or non-smoking, and/or cheap, it's just you have to pick two.) Yes, folks, restaurants in France have become non-smoking as of February 2008 -- so have been restaurants in England, Germany, Ireland, and Italy, among others. We're not holding our breath (awful pun intended) on a ban in Zürich, though some parts of Switzerland also ban smoking in restaurants.
Anyway, the restaurant was a nice brasserie which was also a student hangout, and was having Happy Hour when we got there. The four of us shared three tarte flambée, three beers, and a milk for 18 Euro, about 30 CHF. You would pay 25 CHF per person here for something similar, so this was a big score.
Tarte flambée, for those who have not heard ZMG and I carry on rapturously while drooling just saying the words, is a wonderful traditional Alsatian dish, and the main treat we wanted in Strasbourg. Picture a very very thin crust pizza, about 8 inches across. In the most classic form, it's covered in fromage blanc mixed with crème fraîche, onions, and lardons (bacon) - delicious! You can also get ones with mushrooms and other toppings, and at traditional brasseries, they'll keep bringing them until you say stop. As Homer Simpson would say, "Mmmm, very thin French pizza!"
Anyway, suitably stuffed and tipsy from the great beer, we waddled back toward the train station (stopping along the way to get cookies and other treats). Here's the last picture - evening in the Place de la Cathédrale of Strasbourg:
Hmmm, time for another trip for more tarte flambée. Or at least to the kitchen for something. À bientôt!
1 comment:
Yeah, let's just "go to France!" sheesh! "Let's just go to TJ" doesn't quite have the same ring to it... glad you guys found a place! Happy belated bday, Deb!
Love, Jen (Steinman) Oliveira
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