This morning, after coffee and kugelhopf, I decided on some international travel.
I know it’s stupid, but given my Airbnb is pretty much right on the border with Germany, I thought it would be rude not to take a tram over the bridge and have a look at Germany. Sadly, it appeared to be closed, so I walked back over the bridge into France and got a tram to the nearest vaccination centre — living the high life — just in case I could get a booster shot before going to England tomorrow. I was out of luck; they’d just had a run on old people and weren’t accepting people under 65 years old.
After that crushing disappointment, I walked to Petite France which my Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget informs was, back in the days when Strasbourg was not in France, home to a lot of French soldiers afflicted with what was affectionately known as the French illness — that’s venereal disease to everyone else — after a series of belligerent yet apparently enjoyable excursions to Italy. They were confined to a hospital by local decree, and the locals coined the name Petite France because of the nationality of its unwittingly itchy inhabitants. It seemed worth a visit on the strength of that alone, really. Everyone was wearing masks, even the soldiers, so presumably there’s still a bit of it about.
I really should have made more of an effort to research my trip to Strasbourg, but as this trip was planned solely on the strengths of sparkly tat, I wandered around Petite France relatively aimlessly looking for some. At one point I was in danger of eating an Alsatian hot dog, but the wait was thirty minutes and I didn’t want my vin chaud to get cold, so I had some chips instead.
After a little more walking, I found a tram — almost by accident — and took a ride out to the European Parliament building because, well — why not? There is no real reason for the entire EU Paliament to up sticks and come to Strasbourg from Brussels every month other than the fact the French insist on it. It was probably unsurprising how dull the the Parliament and its surroundings are.
I had a little walk around the area and was amused that it’s actually in a leafy little residential area and pretty much in some people’s back gardens, with a concrete fence around it. Lovely. This excursion entertained me long enough to wait for a tram back to Place de La Répulique, one of Strasbourg’s many squares, but not one with a Christmas tree. It does, however, host the Palais du Rhin, the National Theatre, a rather impressive-looking university library and an enormous tax office.
After that I found the Place Kleber, where there was more sparkly tat and an enormous Christmas tree. I had some more vin chaud then took myself to Place Broglie to see even more sparkly tat, some wonderful animated illuminations on the Hôtel de Ville, and the Opéra building. There were lots of enticing smells and I ended up having some Lebanese man’ouché. Should I ever make it to the Lebanon by train, it looks as if there are lots of tasty things I’d like to try. There might have been some vin chaud.
As it started to rain, I fought my way back from Place Broglie to Place Kleber through waves of distracted umbrella-wielding sociopaths who temporarily cemented in me a hatred of mankind. I looked around for more sparkly tat and considered what I could take with me to England, settling on non-breakable gesture presents rather than boxes of shattered baubles and festive expectation.
Place Kleber has Strasbourg’s magnificent Christmas tree, complete with a photo-taking platform filled with cold people clutching their selfie sticks. After a few shots of my own, I wandered back to the cathedral, lured by the bells, for some roasted chesnuts (no open fire) and some more vin chaud. I then headed back to the tram, via the Café Montmartre (vin chaud) and pottered back to the Airbnb.
I’ve made good use of my 72-hour CTS ticket today as the hopping on and off I did would’ve have easily cost more than 9,30€. There’s so much more to see of Strasbourg and while a day and a bit was enough to look at baubles and Christmas trees through the blur of vin chaud (did I mention they also do cider?), it definitely deserves another visit over a long weekend when the days are longer, the cathedral is open, and the tourists are not quite so unrelenting.
I always use the traditional red and gold sparkly tat on my tree but the Place Kleber tree appears particularly attractive, albeit blurry (fault of the vin chaud?), so I’m considering whether I now need to purchase some blue and gold sparkly tat. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hahaha, we love the tongue-in-cheek travel diary from our lovely Strasbourg. The unwittingly itchy inhabitants and sparkly tat really made us laugh. Hope you enjoyed your stay, in spite of umbrella-wielding psychopaths! If you’re ever tempted to come back at a time of year with a little less craziness, we have lots of tips to explore the city year-round 🙂
Absolutely – I intend to come back when it’s a bit warmer and easier to get around! I definitely need to get inside the cathedral – it’s breathtaking.
That’s great! Hope you get the chance to do that soon. We actually got married in the crypt of the cathedral! It’s an incredible place, well worth the trip and the wait.