Strasbourg, Colmar, and Thanksgiving

Let's begin with a  throwback to last Thursday: Thanksgiving Day (to all of you in the states). Just as I was beginning to get down about missing all the fun holidays that happen at home, I was reminded of how blessed I am to be studying with API. The phenomenal directors of our program plan a potluck for their students every year so that they don't have to miss their families too much. Of course, if you are anything like me, I tend to worry that college students aren't  reliable when it comes to showing up with nicely prepared food to share with 30 people, so my expectations were pretty low. Lucky for me it seems everyone else thought the same thing! When I showed up at the door with my big bowl of mashed potatoes a delicious feast of sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, pasta salad, cranberry sauce, mac n' cheese, pumpkin pie, apple tart, and more were waiting to be devoured! API provided the turkey and we all had a really good time listing what we were thankful for and stuffing ourselves over-full.

Photo credit to Jeanne, a fellow student.
I was in the back right corner, but apparently leaned back out of the photo. Oops!

Okay, now let's get to last Friday: a weekend vacation to Strasbourg to visit the Marche de Noel! Yes that's right, we got to visit a Christmas market. Not just any Christmas market, mind you, but the oldest and largest Christmas market in Europe.

Credit to Jasmine, a fellow student.
A shot of one of the restaurants decked out Strasbourg style.

Quick history lesson! Strasbourg is located in the Alsace Lorraine region of France, right next to Germany. The region has been fought over between the two countries for ages, and has a really neat mixture of French/German culture. However, if you ask anyone who lives there, they are 100% French. All residents speak French and German, and oftentimes English as well. The architecture changes between the two styles depending on the part of town you happen to be in, and food specialties are heavily influenced by Germany (think beer and sausages). Basically it's the best possible mixture in the entire world. I was in love.

Credit to Jasmine.
Lights and the Cathedral in the background.

Fairy-tale houses covered from ground to rooftops in Christmas decorations lined every single cobblestone street. I swear it was the North Pole minus snow. I've never seen a place look so perfect in my entire life! Lights, baubles, bears, wreaths, garlands, bells, and more in every nook and cranny of the entire city. We arrived at night to see the entire shin-dig at its finest, showering us all in the soft glow of string lights and teasing our noses with the luscious smells of gingerbread and hot spiced wine. If there was any lack of the Christmas spirit in me before Strasbourg, there certainly isn't now. (I'm bobbing my head to Christmas music as I write this.)

Credit to Jasmine.
Notice: giant stuffed bears strapped to a building. These people put your decorations to shame.

We dropped our things off at the hotel and took off immediately to find food. It takes 7 hours to get to Strasbourg from Grenoble, and a bus ride like that can work up some serious hunger pains. A few friends and myself ended up at a charming, narrow, 3 story classic Alsatian restaurant dining on the third (crooked) floor. I feasted on a delicious maple-syrup flavored smoked sausage with a side of fries and a small salad. Mmm delicious! I pretty much rolled down the stairs on the way out I was so full.

The front of the restaurant. Again, credit to Jasmine.

It was pretty  late by then so we only snuck in a few peeks at the Christmas booths on our march back to the hotel. We took a moment to tilt our heads back and stare in awe at the gorgeous cathedral illuminated from below, then it was off to bed!

The next morning kicked off with an hour and a half tour of the city. Although I couldn't hear too much, we were given an awesome view of the cathedral Clock (clockenspiel) and even got to see the quarter hour strike and bring an old man to ring death's bell.  I'm sure this thing has an awesome history considering how well it's been preserved so it's a pity I missed it this time around. Oh well, guess that means I'll have to go back! I did learn, however, that the only concentration camp in France is located near Strasbourg.

Credit to Jasmine.
Left: Cathedral
Top Right: Christmas Market entry!
Bottom Right: Clockenspiel.

From then on the day was free! I went ice-skating with a few fellow students and had a blast! What a great way to spend a few hours and burn off some of last night's dinner. The ice rink had a huge DJ stand and some pretty neat disco lights. Everything was great, except avoiding the little bullies who were skating around pushing people over.

I spent the rest of my day wandering around wide-eyed, shopping for Christmas gifts. I've never seen so many beautifully crafted goods in one place!Leather crafters, metal benders, glass makers, wood carvers, and more were around every corner.  The little log houses added an extra charm to every square and I couldn't stop smiling. It was the real Santa's workshop. I was very pleased to come away with almost everyone's Christmas gifts and I can't wait to give them all out!

Credit to jasmine.
Top Left: Carriage going by
Bottom Left: Big Christmas tree!
Top Right: River and German style building.
Bottom Right: Myself, Jasmine, and Ernesto

Sunday morning brought an hour bus ride to Colmar to visit another, smaller market. I think the houses here were more typical German, but beyond that it was much the same as the day before. I did snag myself a pretzel (bretzel) and I am proud to let you know that America is making them just fine. I couldn't tell a difference between my Alsatian pretzel and Auntie Ann's except that  didn't get chemically processed cheese with mine here. ;)

Credit to Jasmine.

Seven hours later we were all back home unpacking and finishing last-minute homework assignments. I bought my host family a parting gift which they loved: a Christmas Advent Candle. The tall taper candle in the middle is decorated with little designs and numbered 1-25. You burn it a little every day of December until Christmas. It's nestled in a bed of pine needles, pine cones, cinnamon sticks, and orange slices. They said they would burn it Christmas eve and think of me.

Also, sorry about the lack of original pictures! I forgot my camera for the trip and was super bummed about it. I hope you all got a decent sense of the completely awesome Christmasness that is Strasbourg. I also wanted to mention that I found a Michigan cafe on my way out of Colmar! How neat?