Blog 9

---

PROMPT: Why is Strasbourg called the capitol of Europe? How is the architecture different from what we have seen so far? How is the patisserie different from American bakeries?

Strasbourg is called the capitol of Europe because it houses the European Parliament (EP) which was founded in 1949. Members of Parliament are directly elected from the countries that comprise the European Union and there are 758 members as of today. The circular building that houses the EP looks to be unfinished. This is to symbolize that the EP is still open to other countries. Currently, Turkey is in negotiations to join the European Parliament.

In addition to housing the EP, Strasbourg also has the largest port on the Rhine in France. This has been a dominant feature of the city stretching back to the days where fishermen were prevalant. Also, the city center of Strasbourg was declared a World Heritage site, the first city to ever be given the honor. So Strasbourg has much to offer not only citizens and visitors of Europe but visitors from other countries as well.

Today we went on a river boat tour of Strasbourg where we saw many of the older buildings and churches. There are 80 churches and 180 bridges in Strasbourg. The buildings in the city seem much closer together than in Switzerland where houses sat on their own individual plot of land. The facades of the buildings are also much less decorative than the buildings in Swiss cities such as Lucerne. However, many of the buildings still look as you would expect a French village to look. One building that showes this is the old House of the Tanners. The building is white with black beams that crisscross it with large flower boxes under the windows that held red flowers as we passed by. The main difference between Switzerland and France is the style of the buildings. In France, the Gothic style of architecture is seen much more than the Baroque style we saw in Switzerland.

One of the most beautiful Gothic buildings in Strasbourg is the Cathedral of Our Lady. It was built during the 1200's and is the sixth largest church in the world. The most famous part of the Cathedral is the Astrological Clock. The clock has figures which rotate at certain points during the hours. One set features the cycle of life showing a child and then progressing adulthood while crossing in front of Death who is ringing a bell. Another set of figures are the Apostles who at 12:20 pm rotate around Christ while a crow calls three times to remind all of Peter's denial. The Cathedral also has amazing statues that cover the front arches, stain glass windows including a rose window, and a large sculpture of the Mount of Olives.

My favorite part of the day was going to Christian's to meet Christoff for our chocolate tasting! I have never eaten so much chocolate in such as short amount of time in my life! I don't know who the French patisserie compares to American bakeries as I have not had the oppourtunity to visit any bakeries. However, I have not met many Americans who are as passionate about their jobs as Christoff is about chocolate making. You could tell right away that he loved what he was doing and was excited about educating us not only on his work but on the correct way to eat chocolate. We got to taste several different bars of chocolate from the world before we tasted his specialties. Out of my favorties were the green topped ones (made with ginger, lime, and cardamon) and the white topped one (which had caramel, pralines, and salt). Just when we thought we were done, Christoff took us to the back to try some ice cream! There were so many unusual combinations like Grapefruite Coriander, Basil Lime Avacado, Red Pepper Orange, and Pineapple Tarragon. My favorites were the Rhubarb and the Vanilla with White Lilac!

All in all this was a great way to spend our first day in Strasbourg. I wish the boat tour would have had a live guide as it was confusing about what buildings the tape was talking about most of the time.

---