Strasbourg, 8-11 December

We went off for a few days to Strasbourg in Alsace on the German border. The trip, by train, which used to take 4 or 5 hours is now less than two and a half hours on the TGV (high speed) trains. These trains have a top speed in excess of 300 km per hour and are very smooth. It almost seemed that by the time we got seated at Gare d'Est, we were arriving in Strasbourg.

Alsace has been in the hands of both the French and the Germans with it being considered a prize in various conflicts since at least the Franco-Prussian War in which Germany took possession of it and the northern part of the present region of Lorraine. After World War I, the area was returned to France until the Second World War when it was again annexed by Germany. After the war, it was again returned to France. Possibly as a result of such geo-political changes, one is soon aware of the high level of political correctness in the City. Phrases such as "when the city was bombed in the last war" are used without any attempt to identify the parties involved.

Strasbourg is a prosperous and cosmopolitan city with a population of around half-a-million and an international student population of about 40,000. It is the site of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights where, at the moment, they are hearing a very important case brought by five Irish women seeking the right to have legal abortions currently denied in Irelands. The buildings in the city are beautiful, old, timber framed structures, and towering over the city is the great medieval Cathedral of pink sandstone. In the square in front of the Cathedral are hundreds of stalls of the Christmas Market. At the side of the Cathedral is an ice-skating rink which seemed particularly popular with the young of the city.



We were extremely fortunate with the weather as the temperature hovered around ten degrees most of the time we were there and locals told us this was virtually a heat wave for the time of year when the temperature was normally around 0 to -2 degrees. We took advantage of the fine weather to do a lot of walking and to visit the many amazing Christmas street markets with their emphasis on Alsatian goods. But there is much more than the markets. Many of the streets are brilliantly decorated for the holiday season with lights and streamers and shop windows are filled with Christmas goods.

Christmas Market Stall

There are at least a dozen Christmas markets, all of which appear to have different themes. We visited many of them including the book market which, no surprise here, was in Place Gutenberg. Some of the markets were very large, covering squares or several streets and some consisted of only a dozen or so stalls but one thing was true of them all - they were neat and clean and very un-tacky! If you are seriously into Christmas, you really have to visit Strasbourg in December.

Somehow, they seem to be able to get it right; mixing the religious with the playfulness of the season. Musicians play on street corners, people sit outside bistros sipping hot mulled wine and the city is full of the sounds and smells of the season.

The old city is surrounded by the river and we took a very pleasant bateau ride on it. It is a splended way to see the city and to make it even more enjoyable we were greeted, at the end, by St Nicholas who distributed the spiced bread of the region. And speaking of spiced goodies, a very popular drink which we sampled on more than one occassion was the hot spiced wine sold at many of the stalls in the open air markets.

Strasbourg has a fine and modern tram system which we used to explore some of the more distant reaches of the city. Like any large city once we left the centre we saw lots of high-rise low-cost housing; something not normally on the tourist track.

If you are in France during the Christmas season, a visit to Strasbourg is an absolute must!

Strasbourg Tram