Strasbourg

  Strasbourg, Alsace, France
Wednesday, November 5, 2008

This past weekend I went on a two day trip to Strasbourg with my friend Hayley.  We got there on Saturday morning and left Sunday night.  Strasbourg is one of the largest cities in France but since we went on a holiday (they celebrate All Saints Day here) the place wasn't terribly crowded.  Strasbourg is officially one of my favorite places in the world now.  The buildings all have an old feeling to them and it's just the perfect size.  There's a canal that runs right down the middle of it and a cathedral to rival Notre-Dame de Paris.
We rented bikes from our hostel and made our way all around the city on Saturday. We started out in the historical center where the cathedral is then we made our way to Petite-France, a trendy little spot in the town.  A lot of places were closed because of the hiliday but we found a nice little music store then a really cool cafe called l'Artichaut.  It was like being back in Boston and going to all those hippie cafes in Cambridge.  All the roads had German names like Rue Finkwillwer.  Strasbourg was a really nice mix between French and German culture.  It also seemed much more down to earth than Paris.  The people weren't as trendy and generally friendlier than Parisians.  Strasbourg to Paris is kind of like Boston to New York.  Hayley and I both decided that we want to live there someday.  On Sunday we went to the park which was very nice and had a little zoo in it.   After that we went to the Alsace Museum which focuses on the culture and history of Alsace which has been disputed over by France and Germany for years.  Then we wandered around the old quarters of the city some more but at a slower pace.  It's a very charming place and I only regret that I went too early for all the Christmas festivities that go on there.  We saw them starting to set it all up and it looks like it will be spectacular.  I highly recommend Strasbourg to anyone thinking of traveling to Europe.  It's almost like a fairy tale town.  I really hope I get to go back someday.