Blogs from Alsace, France, Europe - page 28

Advertisement

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 29th 2009

Strasbourg France. I was a little confused about that. Strasbourg did not sound like a french name, matter of fact it sounded very German, now I know why. I never realized how close it was to German border, nor i did have any idea about the numerous periods of Germanic occupation. This makes its name AKA The Capital of Europe very appropriate. Being so close to Switzerland, Germany, and who knows what other countries, the EU or European Union decided to build numerous diplomatic buildings there. Not a bad idea, since there are French, German, and even some Roman influences all throughout the city, and a mix of two major European cultures. This is reflected in the architecture because it is styled more of a gothic era than what we have seen up to this point. ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 29th 2009

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 ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 29th 2009

Today was our first real day in France and I must say, I was already missing Switzerland. After eating breakfast, we took a bus to the city of Strasburg, which is one of the EU capitals, considered the legislative and democratic capital of Europe. The difference between Strasburg and Switzerland was huge, obviously the landscape was immensely different, but the architecture was very different as well. Strasburg seemed to have a very old, gothic feel, where as Switzerland was a lot prettier, I feel as though being on the border with Germany, and having their cultures mix, probably attributed to this. After taking and burning on a boat tour of the city, we got to walk around get harassed by gypsies. This was fun, as my new goal quickly became scoring a picture with some of ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 29th 2009

This morning we got to sleep in a bit and meet up outside at the bus around 10:00. We drove into Strasbourg and took a boat tour of the city down the River lll. We listened to little head phones as we floated down the river. I switched my headset over to French for a bit, but I really didn't understand much at all. Oh well. I found the lock and dam system to be entertaining to take part in. They shut off a part of the river to raise or lower our boat to get us level with the next part of the river. Pretty nifty. Then a group of us went to eat lunch at a little bread place. I got a piece of bread with some cheese and bacon on top, then we ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 29th 2009

Today we ate breakfast, which isn't as good as it was in Switzerland! I liked that breakfast a lot more. We went into the town and we had a boat tour of the city of Strasbourg. The boat ride was 1 hour and we got to see some cathedrals, and the building of Human Rights as well. The boat ride was very nice, and you could listen in different languages as well! We also saw the European Parliment while on the boat. After the boat ride, we had about 1 hour and 30 minutes to eat lunch and walk around if we wanted. I ended up eating some type of ham sandwhich with this cheese cooked on top of it. Luckily, Stephanie Clark loaned me some money to eat! I was so thankful! I talked to ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 28th 2009

To be perfectly honest, I did not sleep well last night. I was still so angry and in shock of not being able to access my bank in Europe. Not to mention, watching everyone book their tickets to Paris was majorly depressing! I had some breakfast and the stuffed my suitcases full of things from the room. We travelled to Hergiswill, Switzerland to visit the Hergiswill Glass Factory. This was an amazing factory! There was lots of history in this factory. The men who worked there were barely paid any money, and they always owed their boss money when they would get a credit. They also worked under dangerous conditions. After the tour of the glass factory, we got the chance to visit two of the glass shops; one was discounted and the other wasn't. I ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 28th 2009

We began the day at 8:45, the earliest that we have thus started. Due to this early get-up, I wasn't able to run. That is ok though, I allowed the day of rest :p. First stop was the glass factory. I must say they put on a very impressive display. The tour/museum was in intensely described and planned. I couldn't have done it better myself! haha Frankly, I probably couldn't compete. There was a gift shop, and although the glass was gorgeous, it just wasn't my thing to spend money on. Instead, Ryan and I went down to the bar and I spend 8 franks on coffee. Typical move by me :) Gotta have it! We then went the Lucerne for one last wahoo in Switzerland. I had anticipated on buying a dress from my favorite ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 28th 2009

This morning was our last morning to wake up at the Hotel Central in Engelberg. It was actually pretty sad, I wasn't quite ready to leave that quaint little town. We headed in towards Lucerne but stopped off at a glass factory/museum. The museum part was very interesting and a really neat layout. It was neat to hear about how the glassblowers were looked so down upon and not well paid while the owners just reaped the benefits. I loved getting to watch all the men blowing glass and making the bottles and bowls. It was crazy to me how they were just hanging out in shorts and sandals when they were messing with glass that was over 1000 degrees (I think it was that hot, maybe I just made that part up, I just know ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 27th 2009

Wednesday, May 27. Today was en exciting day because it was our free day to do whatever we wanted. I chose to go to Lucerne and shop. I woke up around 9am so I could make the 9:45am train. The ride was gorgeous. It was also nice because me and Mrs. Runnels chatted it up for the hour ride. When we got there I headed straight for the shops. I wish I was made of money because there was way to much to chose from. In all I bought at least 20 hair items; clips, headbands, rubberbands and amazing bobbypins. Also, I bought two dresses. One is a tube top dress that is shin length and the other is spagetti strap with a plaid print. I'm in the love with them. The four or five ours ... read more

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg May 26th 2009

Tuesday, May 26 was a great day for exercising. We started off by walking to the Mount Titlis ski operation. Which we learned many facts about the history and how they run things at the Mount Titlis ski operation. What's neat is that the very first ski lift they built is still used till this very day. After that brief lesson we headed up the mountain by a 6 person enclosed lift. Some parts I liked, for instances the few but I did not like that everytime we came to a pole our car would jerk which really scared me. After this life we had to tansfer on to a bigger one that was box shapped and could hold up to 8 people. In this lift there were these handles hanging from the ceilling by leather ... read more




Tot: 0.131s; Tpl: 0.005s; cc: 6; qc: 96; dbt: 0.0665s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb