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On emerging from the American bubble that was Disneyland, we have landed in some odd foreign country. We're still in France but there is such a mixture of languages, food, and architecture here it is quite disorienting as to where we are.
Strasbourg is right on the border with Germany and the german influence is very strong. Everyone here is trilingual and extremely fluent. Even though we are persevering with our french attempts we are replied to in either English or German. All menus come with German and English subtitles. The local food specialty is tarte flamme which is like a pizza but a very very thin base (oblong shape with rounded corners), with creme fraiche then whatever topping. No tomato or cheese. They were quite yummy. Not so yummy was the sauerkraut.
Very few here have the dress style of the Parisiens. They are as keen on cycling though, if not more so. They have their own version of bike hire, and dedicated bike lanes on almost every street in the central city.
Our sight seeing has involved the cathedral which was incredibly detailed, gothic and tall. The top portions of the spire were quite lacy and
could be seen through. We also did our usual shopping which was similar to elsewhere in France. We're becoming quite familiar (and sick of) the usual brands - H&M, Zara, New Look, Promod, Jennyfer (none of which are actually French I think). We also wandered through the historic area called Petite France, which is a world heritage site. It was easy to imagine it centuries ago with slops being thrown from the top windows.
We also decided to go to the edge of town to a park on the Rhone river, where there was a new suspension walking bridge crossing over into Germany. We got there by the local city bus, but missed our stop and ended up in the neighbouring German town of Kehl. The bus does a loop through that town then back into Strasbourg. So we wandered around Kehl but felt even more disorientated with all the german signs, and struggled with even a few pleasantries when buying some water. We caught the bus back again, looking at the river and bridge from the bus.
The architecture in Strasbourg is a real mixture of; parisien style with wrought iron balconies, simple plain shuttered fronts, old
medievel wooded, and gingerbread looking roofs, interspersed with a few modern buildings. Also set against this mixture are their ultra modern space aged looking trams. There was an instant transformation on the way here by train. We were passing through the usual rolling hills of wheat and vineyards, and quaint villages of terracotta and earthy coloured houses. Then we went through a longish tunnel and emerged into a completely different landscape. It started out as forest but then turned to scrubby fields of wheat and completely different looking villages. The villages here were a mismatch of pastel painted, alpine, and grim bland two story houses.
Our hotel (Lagrange) was very impressive. We were a bit nervous about it as it looked so good on the internet but was suspiciously cheap (three nights cost the same as one night in Epernay). It did not disappoint at all. It had a swimming pool, gym, was large and modern, and we had a large deck perfect for sitting out enjoying the city views with some wine and snacks. It was only a couple of hundred metres from the train station so easy to walk to, yet still right in town (as most
train stations are here).
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