La Petite France et autres choses

Yesterday (Saturday), my roommate Peter and I decided to spend a few hours walking around some parts of Strasbourg that we hadn't already visited. After the first week of classes, it was nice to get out and see some more sights. Classes aren't too bad, but obviously it's pretty hard to take in everything the professor is saying and write decent notes at the same time. Plus, my speaking is way behind my comprehension. It's feels really weird to understand what someone is saying to you, and at the same time being unable to really express yourself in turn. I just have to meet some French students, is all - goal for this week!

Anyway, we decided to go to La Petite France, a beautiful neighborhood some distance down one of Strasbourg's many rivers (L'Ille is the name, I think). It turned into one of the coolest days I've had here so far, and I'm definitely going back there sometime soon. The city is so unlike anything I've seen before that it's hard to describe how awesome it feels just walking around and taking in the sights. These photos can tell the story of the afternoon better than I can.

If you have time, it's worth clicking on each of these pictures to see them in much larger size. I know there's a lot of them, but it's definitely worth the extra time.

Starting out on our journey. This building isn't too far from our apartment, just down the tram tracks a ways. It's some kind of art institute. Pretty cool.

Close-up of the detail on one of the facades.

another close up

Ferrari. Tiny hatchbacks aren't the only cars in France.

One of our webbed-footed friends on the edge of L'Ille. "What you lookin at youngblood?"

The sole spire of the Strasbourg Cathedral

A bit further down the river, there's l'Ancienne Douaine, the old Customs House. A cool building.

I saw this and had to take the picture. This pink beauty is chained to the railing running along the length of l'Ille. Why, I wonder?

I took this picture while Peter and I were walking along a footpath directly beside the river. A nice promenade. Further down, Peter and I were accosted by some swans. They actually floated over to us and made threatening noises, as if to say "Nobody...and I mean nobody...comes into our house...and pushes us around!" We didn't press them. Swans think they're God's gift to birds, I swear.

These structures are huge, incredibly old watchtowers. The sight of them meant we were about to enter La Petite France. Apparently they date from the 14th century. So cool.

A crowd of birds going nuts for bread. Some little kid and her mom were throwing them scraps from one of several bridges connecting the watchtowers. It reminded me of "The Birds." I kept thinking I was going to get dive-bombed or something.

The first of a series of pictures taken in La Petite France. One of my best of the day, I think.

One of the first streets we came to. Peter, with his insatiable culinary curiosity, is intently studying a menu at right.

The entrance to one of many restaurants in the neighborhood. Great color, once again.

View from Pont Saint Martin, one of the many bridges criss-crossing the waterways of La Petite France.

Still on Pont Saint Martin, but turned to my right instead of my left.

This is one of the coolest streets we found in the neighborhood. It is very long and narrow, lots of great architecture on both sides, and the banners hanging down are crests of the old guilds - various professions and what not. So cool.

Bakers never looked so tough. See the pretzel and baguette in the lion's hands?

-Have fun losing with your losers in Las Vegas, laFleur.
-Nice, Dwight. Alliteration aside, I think I'll take my chances.

Another incredibly narrow street. So awesome, especially because a lot of them curve slightly. So old, so European.

Close-up of a nice little restaurant, "La Petite France."

Same restaurant, just stepped back a bit. More amazing German-French architecture.

Coming up along another street of La Petite France. The combination of the small waterways and the buildings is amazing.

The view downriver a bit. I waited on purpose for those people to cross the bridge before I took the picture. A nice effect, I think.

On the left is "La Maison des Tanneurs," apparently an old tannery/ hangout for tanners, I'm not sure.


La maison is very old, as you can see. Founded 1572! Long before the Pilgrims were even twinkles in the eyes of their crazy parents.

Another little restaurant. Too bad we can't afford to eat in any of them. A special occasion for the future, I suppose.

One final shot. What an amazing place. I'll definitely be back to La Petite France. A great Saturday afternoon.

Eh bien, c'est tout pour le moment. À Bientôt!

Sam

Enfin, des photos! the day was not a complete failure...

This morning I had to deal with the alternately boring, semi-pointless, and confusing process of registering for some of my classes at the Institut d'Études Politiques (IEP). I'm taking the rest of my classes at UdS (Université de Strasbourg Marc Bloch), and there's a separate registration process for each. Not fun. Anyway, after that I planned to go downtown at 3:00 to meet my program coordinator and other BC kids, the objective being the creation of a bank account. It was an utter fail. She didn't tell me where to go, so I had to call her. She gave me false directions, so I never found my way there. Seriously, she's lived her for at least 15 years and yet I feel like she is little or no help at all. I won't say any names though. This blog is dedicated to preserving the anonymity of any persons mentioned herein. She is proof, though, that the extra tuition BC charged for this semester abroad is somehow being misappropriated. Sorry mom and dad.

On the plus side, and it was a big plus side, I got to wander around and finally take some pictures of my surroundings. Honestly, if I didn't get tired I could walk around Strasbourg all day just taking in the sights. Downtown is full of beautiful old city blocks, super narrow alleys, crazy german-french architecture, beautiful rivers (or canals, if you will), and many nice dogs. Just take a look at these beauties:

This is Place Kléber, one of the main squares in downtown Strasbourg. There are many boutiques, as well as bars, small restaurants, and specialty stores. Maybe that's what a boutique is. Quite nice. You can see the spire of the famous Strasbourg Cathedral in the background to the right.


Monsieur Kléber himself. I think he served the French military with distinction.



Some might find that face intimidating, but to me, Monsieur Kléber is stern. Stern...but fair.

This is a facade of a building I stumbled upon while wandering the backstreets of Place Kléber looking for the damned bank. A silver lining indeed.


Here's a closer picture of the ornate designs around one of the windows. I really have never seen anything like it. Puts my painting work to shame.


And here is another view - a mother and child (perhaps Jesus and Mary - France loves its Catholicism)? Maybe not, but en tout cas, quel détail magnifique!


I couple of streets away, I found this. Malcolm, I think I finally found a keg big enough for you. I don't think we could fit it in the back of your minivan, though.


These interestingly-shaped trees line many of the avenues and waterways in Strasbourg. Proof that the Whomping Willow exists.


This is a view along one of Strasbourg's many waterways/canals. Small bridges can be found every so often. Beautiful. I also felt like I was Jason Bourne the entire time, so that was cool, too.


Another view from along a waterway. One of the things I like most about Strasbourg's older buildings is the variation in color. Such a thing just doesn't exist in the states.



There are also lots of buildings that look like they're straight out of the Tudor era. They probably are.


Another old, ornate building. It is actually a café/ boutique on the first floor (rez-de-chaussée). The mixed German-French heritage of the Alsace region can be seen in buildings like this, and it really makes Strasbourg a special place.

Last, but certainly not least, I saw this guy sitting in the doorway of a building I passed as I was walking home. If I wasn't such an amateur photographer he might not look so demonic. Plus I haven't figured out how to use the red eye eraser tool and I didn't want to screw it up more. I thought about petting him, yet instinctively I knew that a beast of his majesty deserves to be left alone. People in Strasbourg love their dogs - I see them everywhere, even in restaurants. A sign of good people, if you ask me.

First post in over 20 years

Hey everyone, happy belated new year and good tidings. I originally thought I might keep a written journal of my experiences in Strasbourg as an abroad student (étudiant ERASMUS as they say in France), but I realized that it was much more practical to make a blog, I guess the modern equivalent of a journal. Plus my brother made one, and I figured why not. I used to think they were stupid, but now that I'm plunged into a crazy unprecedented experience I realized I might have some interesting things to share with any who care to read along. Also, it seemed more efficient than trying to e-mail people constantly.

So far, my experience in Strasbourg has been good. I'm almost finished with my first week here, and still tying up the most annoying loose ends possible - Internet (just got it today), bank accounts, cell phones, class schedule, academic calendar, etc. My apartment is tiny and fairly threadbare, but it's fine (although I will say that all BC housing options are not created equal). I start classes at the Université de Strasbourg Marc Bloch this Monday. Some of my classes will also be held at the Institut d'Études Politics (IEP). Both campuses are located quite close to my apartment, which is not far from the beautiful downtown area of Strasbourg. Right now myself and other kids in the program are taking a stage de Français at the IEP as a sort of warm-up for the beginning of classes. It is a three-day, fifteen hour experience: six hours on Monday, six on Tuesday, and three on Wednesday. I mention it because it is taught by an awesome professor, a Frenchman to the core named Jean-Christophe Meyer. He seems kind of severe, but it's probably because he speaks rapid, native French, something no class has every prepared me for. He's the man. Has long hair, crazy leather shoes, nice sweaters - an academic heavyweight. It is fascinating to listen to his view of French and American politics, government, current events, you name it. He was no fan of the previous U.S. administration, I can tell you that.

The city will be much more aesthetically appealing when the temperature warms and it stops snowing/the sun comes out. Apparently the weather throughout France is uncharacteristically cold right now. It hardly ever snows in Strasbourg, yet it has snowed the majority of the days I've been here. Zut, mais ça va changer.

The city is picturesque, and it has been great to do some initial exploring with fellow BC in Strasbourg students. It's comforting to have some sort of American anchor, because I've only been out of the country once (in eighth grade, on a family trip to England). Of course it has been fun to explore the bars as well, though we haven't gotten into much of that yet. Interestingly enough, at most places they play mostly American music. Forget getting carded - pretty obvious, this is Europe, but still quite a novelty to me. Many stores sell 16-20 oz. cans of Amsterdam beer, the strongest of which is MAXIMATOR, with an astounding 11.6% alcohol content. The Maximator puts Steel Reserve to shame, and does the trick, to say the least.

There are many cultural differences, which are always fun to see. Some are intriguing - many French advertisements contain sexual references, even ads for laundry detergent; others are disconcerting - it's great to see dog lovers with their canine companions everywhere, but they don't pick up after them hardly at all. Thus, walking on a sidewalk can sometimes literally be shitty. A sort of minefield if you will. Also, there are bicyclists everywhere, and one can't expect them to slow down much, even if you're ahead of them. Makes for some interesting encounters.

I guess that's all for now. When the weather improves I'm going to bring my camera around the city with me - so many good photo ops. As a final word, here's a quote from Professor Meyer (or at least the gist of it), uttered not more than three hours ago local time:

Il faut que les riches vivent plus simplement, pour que les pauvres puissent simplement vivre - Gandhi.

Dad, I knew you'd like this. It basically means "The rich must live more simply, so that the poor can simply live." I'm not into political preaching or anything, but something about the quote resonated for me.

Again, sorry for the lack of photos on this first post. There will be many, all in good time.

À Bientot!