Blogs from Alsace, France, Europe - page 28

Today we went on a river tour of Strasbourg. I did not find this tour to be very helpful because as you listened to the headphones and it told you the history about some builds to the left or right but you were not always sure which one they were talking about. After the boat tour we had lunch then we went to the chocolate factory were we were able learn about Christian’s chocolate making. He informed us that he started working in the business when he was 14 with his father and that chocolate was his life passion. He had us test some chocolates and ice cream as well. The ice cream was the best ice cream I have ever had before. It was different from your every day ice cream though because it was ... read more

Friday, May 29. Today was the day of finding out what Strasberg, France was all about and what it had to offer. My morning began at 7:30am not waking up in Engleberg hotel but in a chateu in Strasberg. This morning when I went to eat breakfast I was hopeing to have scrammbled eggs like in our other hotel but I was sadly disappointed. Anywho after breakfast it was already time to take the bus to Strasberg. When we arrived the first thing on the agenda was to take a tour about the history of Strasberg on a boat. I'd have to say that the boat we were on was one the neatest things I've ever seen. It was kind of rectanlgular sahpped that had no celling and it probably held at least 60 people. When ... read more

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

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

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