Strasbourg 2022

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Strasbourg in a day

This visit in Strasbourg was not part the original agenda for our trip. It was a spur of the moment decision we made when we realised that we were very close to the French border. It hardly felt like we changed country when we visited Strasbourg. For obvious reasons people speak French, not German, in Strasbourg. Other than that it could have been the same country. The regions close to the border have close cultural ties to each other, ties that go back further than the current border between Germany and France. These ties have ensured that the local culture, like food and architecture for instance, is very similar.



Grand Île/Historical city centre

The area of Strasbourg that sees the highest number of tourists is the historical city centre. This area coincides with the island Grand Île, an island created by Ill River on one side and the Canal du Faux-Rempart on the other.



Just like in many other major cities there is a large cathedral in the historical city centre. We have found that cathedrals often tend to look much the same. Therefore we sometimes don't bother going in. But we learned that the cathedral in Strasbourg has an astronomical clock that we wanted to see. The clock is from mid 19th century and it has dials showing the time but also things like solar time and 24-hour time.



Other than cathedral it is the large number of half-timbered houses that is the dominating feature of Grand Île.



In the western end of Grand Île there is a large covered bridge and two large towers, all of which we believe in medieval times were part of the defence system of the city. The bridge is named Mirador Molinos and the towers are named Heinrichturm and Hans von Altheimturm.



Seat of the European Parliament

Strasbourg is also known for being the seat of the European Parliament. This might come as a surprise to those of you who thought that European Union is run exclusively from Brussels. Please don't ask us what exactly they do in Strasbourg that they don't do in Brussels. Also, please don't ask us what the reason for having one major seat of the European Union in Belgium and another one in France. We do not know these things and we have no plans on educating ourselves on this issue either. Hopefully there is a good reason for this setup.



Flammkueche

Flammkueche is a dish that we on this trip met for the first time ever. It seems like it is a speciality in the region around the border between Germany and France. It is best described as a kind of thin pizza. Fundamentally it is dough with ingredients on it. But it is lighter and less greasy than a pizza which makes it feel like a healthier choice of food.



We only spent one day in Strasbourg and that was quite enough to be honest. We enjoyed it, but felt that we didn't have to explore the city much more than we did. We saw all the essentials and were ready to return to Germany in the evening again. The next day we continued our travels there and we will tell you more about that in our next blog entry.

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Photos

One of the first buildings we saw in Strasbourg
This is one of the first buildings we saw in Strasbourg. The things hanging from the windows are teddy bears. It was pretty cute actually

Portico
Yes Ake loves this kind of photos and try his best to squeeze in at least one in each blog entry

The cathedral
Just like in many other major cities there is a large cathedral in the historical city centre.

The cathedral
The cathedral in Strasbourg was very impressive

Astronomical clock
The astronomical clock is from mid 19th century and it has dials showing the time but also things like solar time and 24-hour time.

Organ in the cathedral
An organ in the cathedral in Strasbourg

Drain pipe
The end of the drain pipe is shaped like a duck head

The historical city centre
Buildings in the historical city centre

Half-timbered house
The large number of half-timbered houses is a dominating feature of Grand Île.

Half-timbered house
We really like half-timbered houses. In the historical city centre they provided many photo opportunities for us

Half-timbered houses
Half-timbered houses along either Ill River or Canal du Faux-Rempart

Half-timbered houses
Nice reflection of the half-timbered houses

Half-timbered house
Yet another one

"Sister street" - in two languages
The regions close to the border have close cultural ties to each other. This might be the reason why the street name, which is Sister Street by the way, is written in two languages

Ill River or Canal du Faux-Rempart
Grand Île, an island created by Ill River on one side and the Canal du Faux-Rempart on the other side. We can't tell those two apart

Building in Strasbourg
An impressive building in Strasbourg that we now, two months later, can't identify. But it is nice enough to be included in the blog

Mirador Molinos
A large covered bridge in the western end of Grand Île

Two towers
Two towers which we believe in medieval times was part of the defence system of the city.

Heinrichturm and Hans von Altheimturm
The towers are named Heinrichturm and Hans von Altheimturm

Seat of the European Parliament
Strasbourg is also known for being the seat of the European Parliament.

Flammkueche
Flammkueche, which can be described as a kind of thin pizza, is a local speciality.

A man with a giraffe head
Just a man with a giraffe head. Nothing else to see. Move along

Comments

[alex waring]

Strasbourg
Ah, very interesting. I imagine that this part of France and the neighbouring part of Germany have much in common, and probably a very interesting history - the border between two mighty powers must have many stories to tell. Good idea to pop over to Strasbourg for the day. I love the half-timbered houses 😊

[Ake Och Emma]

One day was worth it (and enough)
We spent one day in Strasbourg and it was worth it. But it was also enough. We didn't feel that we needed to stay longer than that. /Ake

[Rainyb]

Thanks for sharing.

[Ake Och Emma]

Thanks
You're welcome. And thanks for reading. /Ake

[D MJ Binkley]

The same but different
I always enjoy visiting towns near the border as they are so similar to the one just across the border with a different language. The architecture is lovely.

[RENanDREW]

Porticos
I love a good portico photograph too! The symmetry and perspective of porticos really appeal to my sense of balance :) Lovely architectural shots in this blog. There's a German stall at a local farmer's market that does flammkueche and it's very good :)

[Ake Och Emma]

Never seen flammkueche here
I have never seen flammkueche before going on this trip. Maybe you can find them in Sweden but I've never seen them. /Ake