engineering around the world

Strasbourg

Our daytrip to Nancy was fun, but after getting back, we started to second-guess our plans of staying overnight in Strasbourg. If it was as entertaining as Nancy, a day trip would be enough, so we though it might be best to cancel our hotel in Strasbourg and save some euros for more delicious dinners. Turns out it was too late to cancel the Strasbourg hotel, which might have been the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to us. I didn’t know if anything could compare to the magic of Paris, but Strasbourg proved me wrong.

After several hours on the train through the snowy winter wonderland of France, we arrived in Strasbourg and I immediately started taking pictures of all the Christmas decorations. By day, Strabourg was the most festive European city I’d seen so far. But that was nothing compared to what we had in store for us at night!

I was very excited when I took this picture of the window decoration. Didn’t realize at the time that this was one of the least decorated streets in Strasbourg…

…then we turned the corner and discovered this street! At which point I realized Strasbourg is unlike anywhere else in the world.

We spent the afternoon of wandering through the Christmas markets (which weren’t officially supposed to open until the next day – luckily most of them were set up anyway!), admiring the cathedral, and munching on crepes. Then we sat down at a place called Europcafé for a few hours. We were having such a fun time there that I even suggested we stay for dinner, but the menu seemed pretty plain and we decided it might be better to explore Strasbourg a bit more. Best decision so far! During the few hours we’d spent indoors, the sun had set and Strasbourg had transformed into a Christmas dream. We wandered in awe through the streets which were now beautifully lit up, overflowing with Christmas decorations, music, and people who seemed as excited about the Christmas spirit as we were. In case all that wasn’t enough to create enough happiness for a lifetime, the air was filled with flurries of lightly falling snow.

Magic.

More magic.

Thankful that we didn’t decide to stay at the Europcafé for even one second longer, we spent hours wandering the streets, taking pictures, and absorbing all the Christmas magic. We also peeked into many of the cozy German restaurants (being on the border, Strasbourg has very heavy German influences), but each one seemed cuter than the next and it proved impossible to choose! Luckily we were in no rush, so we took our time before finally settling on “Au Vieux Strasbourg.”  Upon entering, we were told to sit anywhere, so we wandered around until ending up on the third floor at a little table by the window, from where we could still enjoy all the Christmas-ness that was going on outdoors. But at that point, we were too focused on the restaurant itself to even care about looking out! The decorations, ambiance, and food were all perfect. French waiters really let you take your time, so the meal lasted for hours. I wanted to try something new, so I ordered duck with sauerkraut. Delicious, but not what I was expecting! I expected one filet of meat that was similar to turkey. Instead, 3 filets, a hot-dog, and a sausage of meat which was closer to pork than anything else, all piled on top of tons of sauerkraut.  

Lots of duck. Too bad you can’t take home leftovers in France…

Inside the restaurant.

Outside. Our window was the one on the top floor, left.

We picked up a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau on the way, and enjoyed a glass after dinner. Tim was lucky that his time in France coincided with the release of this wine, which starts selling on the third Thursday of November every year in France (starting to sound like the French version of Thanksgiving?). The release of this wine is extremely anticipated, and it tends to completely sell out within a matter of weeks. So it was a very cultural experience to be here in time to try it!

DisneyWorld has taken the name “the happiest place on earth.” Anybody who believes that clearly hasn’t been to Strasbourg yet. Meanwhile, Strasbourg takes the name “capitale de noël.” Definitely well-deserved.