As soon as we arrived in Strasbourg we took a boat tour along the river l'Ill (pronounced "LEEL," but spelled like "ill"). We saw the EU parliament building, a very modern structure of glass which was surprising aesthetically pleasing. After our boat tour we went to the cathedral where we met our guide. Our guide was a very pleasant Alsacian lady whose tour would have been even better if she had geared it towards people of average intelligence. Although she spoke very quickly, she
insisted on explaining the most basic concepts, which got a little tiresome, especially considering how many cathedrals we have toured during the last 3 months. Her favorite phrase was "Ok, je vous explique," which means "okay, I'll explain it to you." The cathedral itself was very interesting - the sandstone exterior is a very different color from anything we've seen so far. The facade only has one spire (the cathedral's trademark), which many people in our group really liked, but I found too industrial-looking. To each his own. This picture of the clock and the angel is a close-up of one part of the giant astrological clock found inside the cathedral.After the tour we found our hotel and then headed back to the cathedral square for dinner.
Everyone ordered dishes typical of Alsacian cuisine, which is a mixture of French and German (the region has long been disputed between the two countries and has changed nationality's many times). One of the most well known is flammekueche, which can have many variations but the traditional form is a dough base covered in cream or white cheese and topped with onions and pieces of ham and then baked in an oven. It's sort of like very thin-crust pizza. It's more of an appetizer or a light lunch, but we ordered two pomme-canelle-Calvados flammenkueche to share for dessert (apples, cinnamon, and apple-flavored liquour). The server brought them to the table, 
poured the Calvados on top and lit them. Very cool. And very yummy. I ordered poulet avec une sauce Riesling et spaetzl. Let it me known there was no mention of butter anywhere on the menu. But, of course, as we're still in France, the morsels of chicken were served in a tureen of sauce which was probably 98% butter and 2% Riesling. Of course it was delicious and of course I probably lowered my life expectancy by several months. The spätzle was tasty too. Spätzle is a kind of pasta with a consistency similar to that of gnocchi, but lighter and less dense. The picture below is of Carleigh and I at dinner that night.
The next day we met the same tour guide again for an hour-long tour of the town. This tour was more enjoyable (probably because I knew much less about Alsacian history than about the general architectural terms for cathedrals). I find the history of the region very fascinating. Strasbourg was an independent city for many hundreds of years before Louiz XIV finally 
annexed it to France. But that was only the start of the trouble, because during the Franco-Prussian war France proceeded to lose it to the Germans (who tripled the size of the city and built many large civic buildings and a university to try and appease the Strasbourg residents who had lost a precious library and many other buildings under the Prussian bombs). Now, many filmmakers come to Strasbourg when they want to make movies about old Berlin, because the buildings in Strasbourg are still standing, while those in Berlin were destroyed during WWII. Alsace changed nationalities 4 times in 30 years during the 20th century, and our tour ended in a square which was once Kaisersplace and is now Place de la République. There are four enormous ginko trees and one had just dropped all of its leaves, leaving a golden carpet underneath. And of course as soon as our tour ended, the frolicking commenced. Even Dr. Barbour and Patrick got in on the action. The jubilation of those few moments of playing in the leaves was only a small part of the general high spirits of the weekend. Our group really has bonded over the semester and I am very sorry that it coming to a close.
For lunch we went to a brasserie that Patrick recommended, the only remaining microbrewery in Strasbourg. All of us tried the Christmas beer, which even I liked. I'm still not a huge fan of beer, it certainly went well with the Czech food and I liked the spices in the Christmas beer, but it's not my favorite. After lunch we walked around the city, swimming through the mobs of tourists who had arrived for the debut weekend of the Marché de Noël. My host mom informed me that originally (as in, a really long time ago) the marché was a month-long community event where women gathered together to make the decorations and gifts for Christmas. Like a giant communal craft closet, the marché allowed the women to share their materials and add a social aspect to time-intensive work. Nowadays though, it's more like the French twist on a Christmas county fair. There are stands selling ornaments, candles, jewelry, and pretty much everything 
you can imagine relating to Christmas, and even some things which don't relate to it at all. There are stands selling bretzels (yes, they spell them with a b), beignets (like donuts), pommes d'amour (candy apples), hot wine, hot chocolate, barbe à papa (cotton candy), etc. My host mom was pretty adamently against the commercialization surrounding the Marché de Noël in Strasbourg, and after going to a smaller marche in Kaysersberg the next day, I can sort of see why. Don't get me wrong, the Christmas decorations in Strasbourg were fantastic - giant crystal chandeliers in glass boxes hanging above the streets, flanked by Christmas lights and garland and such. But the scale and the sheer quantity of merchandise did feel a little "Wal-mart."Below is a picture of Gutenberg square (Johannes, the guy famous for making book publishing oh-so-much-easier, started his work in Strasbourg in 1434). You can see the statue of Mr. Gutenberg between the purple interpretation of a Christmas tree and the neon-blue-rimmed concession stand.
The next day we headed back to Dijon, by way of Kaysersberg. This Alsacian town has a 13th century "chateau" on a hill behind it (actually all that's left is a stone tower, but that's pretty cool). It is an adorable town with its own, much smaller Marché de Noël. There were elementary-school aged children playing Christmas carols on various instruments (including, 
gasp, a recorder!) and many of the vendors sold home-made or organic products. Certainly you could still buy bretzels and hot wine, but the whole experience felt much more personal and more human. The picture on the right is of (L-to-R) Kara, Carolyn, and Mary-Kate on the bridge as we entered Kaysersberg. The whole weekend excursion really was wonderful. It was relaxing, pleasant, and much more low-key than some of our other excursions. Maybe because we knew we weren't going to be tested on the material we heard during the tours...but I also think being around all of the Christmas decorations really put everyone in a good mood. Poor Jennifer got sick on Thursday night and was feeling poorly all weekend, but she was a trooper despite her aching tummy (she found out later she had a stomach virus, yuck). The picture below is of one of the streets in Kaysersberg. That style of architecture (maison à colombages) was used in this region in the 16th century because there is not much stone in the area. All of the quarries are far away, but the Black Forest of Germany is very close. Since wood was so much more plentiful, the people who inhabited this region originally used it to build their houses.
The picture below was taken from the top of the "chateau" (aka tower). 
Well, I am writing this blog update nearly a week after our excursion because I have had so much work this week. A paper, 4 tests, and lots homework, all over 4 days. Two of the four tests were today, but now I am completely finished! No more class for the whole semester! I can't believe it. Of course I am relieved to end the stress of studying for exams, but part of me wishes there was still more to come, because it means I wouldn't have to leave. I could write a whole entry on this subject, and since I will have plenty of time tomorrow, maybe I will. But as the reality of my flight home draws nearer and nearer, I am realizing exactly how fond I have grown of Dijon, the friends I have made here, my host family, and the little life I have created this semester. I am understanding the sagacity of year-long programs. I understand why the Wake Forest program is only a semester (it allows non-majors to study a language abroad, it allows sports fanatics not to miss basketball season, it expands the number of potential applicants because not everyone wants to go for a whole year, etc). But if there was one, I would certainly take it. And if I wasn't already registered for classes in the spring, I would probably be working harder to figure out a way to stay. Of course I miss my family, friends from home, friends from Wake, and everyone else. But it really has been an amazing learning and life experience. My French speaking and writing skills have drastically improved. I have learned a lot more about living quasi-on-my-own and figuring out travel plans and transportation by myself. In short, I will be eternally grateful to my parents for giving me this opportunity and I will champion studying abroad to every student I meet from here on.Below is a picture taken on Monday night at the end of Discjonctes practice. At the time I wasn't sure if it was going to be my last one or not, because my plans to visit Claire in Geneva were still up in the air (now it's looking like I'm not going to because her program ends right before my flight home, but I'll see her in the beginning of January when I go back to Wake for RA training). Not all of the regulars were there on Monday night, but from left to right, back row: Nico, Jacqui, new guy (it was his first night, I've forgotten his name), Natalie, Jerome, Julien, Francois, Christophe, Laurent, front row: Manu, Pika, Bruno (the captain), Jonathon, and me. Missing from the picture but). I can't tell you how much I am going to miss them.
No comments:
Post a Comment