I just got back from my long weekend in Strasbourg visiting Anna! (And coincidentally, Jane, too!) Thursday was a very loooooong day of traveling. I flew SpanAir to Frankfurt, and unfortunately they made me check my bag, since their weight limit is 6! kg. Which is roughly 13lbs. Which is nothing. [Actually checking it wasn't really a problem, in fact it was kind of nice not to lug it around, but complications to follow, of course.] It was a easy flight, and I arrived in Frankfurt around 4:30p. Since I flew in and out of Frankfurt and took a bus through Germany to Strasbourg, I feel I can count that I've "visited" Germany, right?
[Speaking of visiting many countries, and to comment on the title of the post, I am extremely sad that traveling within the EU doesn't yield a traveler any customs stamps! I guess they figure if one of their brethren let us in originally, we can't be half bad. But how am I supposed to show off all my worldliness if my passport doesn't reflect it?? Although I suppose it does make traveling easier.]
Anyway, here's where the checking a bag thing became a problem. The woman who checked it in Madrid told me it was checked through to the bus station in Strasbourg. I was pretty sure that wasn't right, so I asked her specifically if that was what she meant. Her answer: yes. Reality: no. So I find the bus pretty quickly, and there's actually a 5:30 one that I can jump on, even if I'm scheduled for the one 3 hours later, which is perfect. Then I ask the driver about my bag, who confirms that I do in fact need to transfer it myself. Duh. So I go back down to baggage claim... and the carousel says that off-loading is complete... and there are no bags left circulating around. So I go to some guy, who points me to another desk, who points me to a baggage carrier, who finally knows what I'm talking about, although he directs me to a completely different carousel than the one that matches my flight number. He was right (luckily), but why it would have ended up 6 carousels away is anyone's guess. Very clear. Unfortunately it was 5:25 by then so I couldn't make it back to the bus, so I ended up spending 3 hours in the Frankfurt airport. It's a very nice airport, though, so that wasn't too bad. FINALLY I took a bus and arrived in Strasbourg at 11pm. After walking back to Anna's room at the foyer/boardinghouse, we decided to go out for a drink at a bar, met a friend of hers from the university, and chatted.
Friday we wandered around Strasbourg a bit, but it started raining so we ducked into an adorable restaurant in the German quarter called Le Gruber. It had very authentic Alsacien food - we shared a tarte flambée (an extremely thin-crusted pizza with gruyere, ham, and onions), onion soup (most delicious ever, not salty!) And something with a German name that I don't remember that had choucroute (sauerkraut), spaetzle (potato-y noodles) and ham. It was all extremely delicous, and then I went with Anna to a yoga class! It was really good and I'm thinking of looking into classes in Madrid now! After that we wandered around for a bit and got delicious smoothies (pineapple and mango with fresh-squeezed orange juice and mint!) before rushing to our cooking class! That was definitely the most exciting - the two of us, plus another friend of Anna's - and lots of French people! We split up into four groups and spent time learning how to make four different appetizers: little tarte flambées, an amuse-bouche of smoked duck w/chives and spices and apple w/balsamic reduction, puff pastry with all sorts of fillings, cheese sticks, and crab w/ginger and beets deep-fried as a croquette. (I kept the menu and recipes of course! I'll be sure to cook you all French delicacies when I return.) We rounded out the night making chocolate chip cookies (they were very melty in the oven and came out extremely flat, I think because there is no packed brown sugar in France, but they were still chewy and delicious!) and watching a movie.
Saturday, I accompanied Anna on her program field trip to Schirmeck. We visited a very cool interactive museum about the history of the Alsace-Lorraine region and then went to a DELICIOUS lunch. Afterward we visited a monastery on top of a mountain with spectacular views of the valley. Then we went on a "hike". At least, I thought it was supposed to be only an amble through the woods. I hadn't even known about it so I didn't even have sneakers with me! While it might be a pleasant walk with some slight inclines and steep steps occasionally in normal weather, here it was still snowy/slushy and icy so it became a very interesting walk indeed. I have never felt more uncoordinated while hiking in my entire life. Also we lost our gropu so after wandering for 45 minutes, we had to go back the way we came! It was kind of more like rock climbing/scampering. I'm not sure the boots I was wearing are going to make it home from Europe alive...
We got home around 7, and then met Jane (and Maddy and Julia who were traveling with her) at 8:30. We wandered around looking at menus for a bit, and ultimately decided to go to Le Gruber again! This time we got three different tarte flambée (traditional, traditional with chevre, and one with olives and tomatoes). I also had a delicious tarte a l'oignon, plus desserts (chocolate mousse and apple streudel (or apfelstreudel, on the menu) and of course a delicious bottle of Riesling. Afterward, we went to a bar that's on a boat docked on the quai. It was really cool looking, and fun to be on the water (Check out my photo album on facebook!)
Sunday we had a delicous breakfast and wandered around again and took lots of pictures. We visited "Le Petit France" and went to a pub for lunch, an establishment recommended by Biere Magazine, according to the sign on the door. I figured I was the closest I would be to Germany this trip, so I decided to taste a local brew (Erdinger Hefe Weizen): tasty!
I had to depart Strasbourg at 5p... just in time to get back to my apartment by 1:30a and get up for school on Monday at 7p! Eventually I'll get around to sleeping...
Unrelated: I watched a film screening at school today of a film called "Tesis" [Thesis], a Spanish film directed by Alejandro Amenábar - it was very good and I think I understood almost all of it, give or take a few words! (okay, so there were Spanish subtitles as well, but still).
Next fun adventure: I'm going to Marrakesh in 2 days! Can't wait to tell all about THAT!
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