Strasbourg

This summer I attended a one-month summer school in Frankfurt, Germany and had such an amazing time! I will write about it in due time, but first I wanted to post about a weekend trip we made during the program. This was of course to Strasbourg :)

So beautiful, so breathtaking, so French! The canals with their wonderful bridges, flowers everywhere and the mix of German and French culture around every corner have left quite an impression. Thanks to a friend who was there during her Erasmus, I knew exactly where to go to make the most of my short time there.

We started out walking around Le Petite France, the old town area and tourist central with small cafes and restaurants stopping for some Flamkuchen- a traditional dish of the region. Then, after finally being able to check into our hotel we took a walk to the cathedral and hit the grocery store for some bread, cheese and wine for a very French picnic by the river. The night ended with a light show on the covered bridge, unfortunately I did not take so many photos this day, but made up for that the next morning.

With crowds of tourist swarming the old town I didn't feel like I was getting the full experience. So I decided that waking up early the next morning, walk around town and take photos would be an excellent thing to do. I was not mistaken. A friend and I woke up at 6 am and embarked on our undisturbed stroll around Strasbourg while everyone else was still asleep in their cozy beds. 

The town was very different to what had seen the day before. Closed shops, packed up tables and chairs in front of cafes, not a person in sight. Without the distraction of masses of people and the need to watch where you're stepping we could notice so much more. Cute window displays, tiny works of art, the small details that give character to the houses opened up in front of our eyes.

On our way back a bakery was opening up, so we decided to go buy a snack before returning to the hotel. We ordered in French as should be done and ended our morning walk on a delicious note.

Back at the hotel, we had a very French breakfast consisting of mini crepes, croissants, pan au chocolate, cheese and bread. Was so good to have a change from the breakfast at our Frankfurt hotel, everyone was quite excited and we could cross off a few more activities from our 'must do things while in France' list.

We continued our day with a river boat trip that took us around the old town area and all the way to the European parliament, which was nice since I was not intending on going there on foot and so still got to see it. After the tour, we climbed to the top of the cathedral for a panoramic view of the city. After climbing almost double the amount of stairs the week before in Cologne, these weren't so bad and the view was so worth the climb.  

We finished the day by going to a recommended restaurant for some more Flammkuchen. This time, we split a regular one and ordered a sweet one for dessert which they set on fire at the table. Had a relaxing afternoon with 'no plans' and finished the day with some delicious chocolate cake at the ''Beer academy". All in all awesome trip, has made me want to travel more in France, anyone keen for next summer? :)