Is it France? Is it Germany? No, it's Strasbourg!

It was a 7 hr bus ride to get there, but the trip was obviously worth it. We are going to a completely new and different region of France. We drive past the luscious fields of Burgundy, past Dijon, through Franche-Comte (which borders Switzerland), Le Doubs and into Les Vosges of Alsace. We arrive in Colmar, in southern Alsace, around 2pm in the afternoon. It is a city along La Route des Vins, or winecountry! There are vineyards absolutely everywhere, in this luscious and fertile valley nourrished by the Rhine river. Colmar, as the name suggests, has a very German feel to it. Anna and I immediately associate lunch- German- BRATWURST! and wander in search of it around the little streets of Colmar. But to no avail..I guess we're not in Germany after all, but still in France :(
Colmar is very charming, quaint and beautiful- they were just starting to set up the famous Christmas markets that happens all over Alsace, and to which all the French flock for Christmas gifts. There was a cute little river that ran through the town, cobblestone roads and very different architecture. All weekend I felt as if we were in Germany, not in France. The houses all had those colonial architecture and wooden frames... but everyone spoke French ! So it was trippy....
They speak a dialect called Alsacien, sounding more German than French.
In Colmar, we explored the little shops and admired the giant sandstone cathedral in the centre - the stones were all carried from Les Vosges mountains surrounding Colmar. We got back on the bus and drove to a tiny village surrounded by green, luscious vineyards, fed and nourished by Le Rhin. In the town of Kientzheim, we visited a vineyard for a degustation du vin (pas du fromage this time :( First we saw all the big wooden vats that store the vin, and the compression vat that squishes the grapes. We got to taste about 6 white wines, which were all absolutely delicious. There was a Reisling, a Gewurtztraminer Schlossberg and a Pinot Gris to name a few. It smelled so good in the there! Like wine, apples and pears....
We walked through the little village, past the fountain and la mairie (town hall). An hour to Strasbourg; Aly and I just played the whole time with our scarves, tying them like gypsy women.
In Strasbourg, we settled into the hotel, got dressed for dinner and walked through a bit of the city to get to the restaurant. Then BAM ! The most breathtaking cathedral I think I will ever see, Strasbourg's claim to fame. It was literally breath-taking, when you turn the corner and suddenly this enormous cathedral rises up above you, all lit up and gothic !
We ate flemmenkuchen (flatbread pizza with cream cheese, ham and croucroute/sauerkraut) at a beer hall in the center and drank big pitchers of delicious German beer.
The beer hall reminded me SO much of the Hofbrau house in Munich - I really felt like I was in Germany! But no, it's still France ! A little history lesson of Strasbourg, by the way -
After the war in 1871, Germany (Prussia, at the time) took the rich, fertile region from France. At the end of WWI, the territory was taken by France. During the German occupation from 1940-1944, the territory was retaken by Germany, and finally given back to France in 1945. Finally, someone had the bright idea of asking the actual people there which country they wanted to belong to, and they chose France. So that's why the language sounds Germanic, but the street signs are half in Frence, half in Alsacien.
Strasbourg is the home of Gutenberg- you know, the guy who invented the printing press and basically set off everything in Europe. Also the home of De Lille, who wrote the French national anthem La Marseillaise. Why is it called La Marseillaise you ask ? Well during the French Revolution, or some war (I forget actually) they used the song to inspire troops to fight to save the liberty of their beloved France (we all know how much the French freakin love their liberty), and a troop from Marseille sang the song when they were fighting in Paris . Something romantic like that.
On Saturday morning, we were up at 8am for breakfast, then out and about in the city. We walked first to Le Vieux Quartier- called La Petite France. Sounds cute and quaint, but back in the Middle Ages, it's where they used to cure venereal diseases all the sailors would pick up. Nice. But today, all the old buildings remain and give the quarter a very old, Mid Ages feel to it. And of course, all that German architecture. We went on an hour-long boat ride up and down the Rhine that runs through the city. We even went into a lock! Reminded me of our houseboating trip in southern France and all the locks we went through :)
Saw old buildings, cathedrals, statues at one end of the river, and at the other was the Conseil de l'Europe, ultramodern. Quite a juxtaposition ....what a great city for the Conseil de L'Europe, in a city between two countries that used to loathe each other, and now work together.
We visited an outdoor market, full of fresh fruits and wine from the fertile region. So many smells, and sounds...an accordian and a trumpet duet, a mime nearby. We went inside the huge cathedral (the only one in France to fly to French flag) to see the astronomical clock.
Julia, Doug, Evan, Anna and I sat into a very cozy restaurant for a midday beer and choucroute, the regional specialty. Anna and I finally found our bratwurst and hot wine, which were both out of this world. We also bought roasted chestnuts- so Christmassy!