Strasbourg: Welcome to Alsace

It occurred to me today that I have not written a blog in quite some time and I am WAY behind.  To be fair, November was a quieter month for traveling what with the cold and unrelenting gray. I'm not kidding, I don't think that I've seen the sun in 6 weeks.  Actually, the only time I see the sun is when I skype with my parents and they hold the camera out the window. Oh, the power of technology.

Okay, onto Strasbourg. Strausbourg is technically in France, but directly over the border (Main River) and in a region called Alsace.  If I'm remembering my history correctly, Alsace was important for its coal deposits and so it found itself swapped between France and Germany several times through history.  This is why the food has a distinctly German flair, but they speak French. I had an interesting time dredging up my high school French. This was made especially difficult because I'm trying to learn German now. Apparently, I'm incapable of keeping more than one extra language in my brain at a time. I tossed out a lot more Dankes than Mercis. Oops.

Strasbourg is also the only city I've visited so far without a tour book telling what I should see and where I should go.  It's oddly liberating to enjoy a city just to enjoy a city. Below is a collection of random photos from different point through the city.

First stop was the Old French Quarter with a collection of half-timber houses that should look very familiar at this point to anyone who has read previous posts.

Old French Quarter house
Most of these houses were stores or restaurants



One of those rare cases where I'm in a photo from my own
vacation. Thank you Sakeena for joining me in
Strasbourg!



Another cute little house

And what is France without a picture from a bakery window?

That is extruded chestnut paste that was piled on top
of some creamy inside. I didn't get one but had to take
a picture.

Time to wipe the drool off the keyboard.

In Strasbourg there is a very famous cathedral, whose name completely eludes me, but I think it's a Cathedrale of Notre Dame.  Cathedrals to Mary were quite common at that time, 13th century.  These things are almost impossible to take pictures of from the outside because of their sheer size, but I did get a few photos of the interior. 

This is one of the famous astronomical clocks that crop up around Europe.
I saw one in Prague and also a smaller version in Goethe's House.

Stained Glass Windows

I believe the Garden of Gethsemane (sp?)
It's not so easy to see in this picture but there are three sleeping
apostles and those are the soldiers rushing in on the right.

And the gray, gray sky....

This is one of the older (built in 1427) and more famous houses in Strasbourg. It's a restaurant and I believe, also a hotel. It's called Maison Kammerzell.  You can see in that name the odd mix of German and French that has occurred in this region.

Roasted Chestnut vendor.
You can just tell what that little kid is saying.
But Mommy, I want THAT!



If there is one thing that pervades all of Europe it is memorials
from WWI and especially WWII. This was one of the
more poignant ones, in my opinion.

 The two photos below amused me.  And I thought the houses in Amsterdam were skinny...

Thin house

Thinner house