Second Time Around in Strasbourg

Mentioning Strasbourg in Monday's post really got me thinking. I started remembering all the things I loved about this border town, and wondering why I never went back. It's a perfect candidate for a second visit: I haven't been there in eight years, and I only spent a measly 2 days trying to cram in everything the city has to offer. Of course, there are a lot of cities and villages in France that I haven't seen in years, or that I only briefly passed through, but not all of them captured my attention quite like Strasbourg.

Almost everything I remember about this city that used to belong to the Germans, then the French, then the Germans, and finally the French again, is something I enjoyed. There was the little medieval neighborhood called La Petite France, with its adorable half-timbered houses and flowing canals, the gorgeous Gothic cathedral with only one spire and a really cool astronomical clock, the modern tramway that made navigating the city a breeze, the outdoor zoo that housed my favorite animal (pink flamingo), and the beautiful Rhine river on whose banks the city rests. Just about the only thing I didn't like was the cold. I went in December, before the famous Christmas markets opened, but well after the weather had turned wintry. This is not advised.

One of the things about Strasbourg I didn't get to experience as much as I would have liked is the regional food and drink. An undergrad's budget generally only allows for a baguette and cheese diet, which, admitedly, is not an entirely bad way to spend meals, but I'd really like to sample some of the city's finer dining options. With my (minimally) better post-grad school financial situation, I could enjoy the region's German-influenced (read: lots of pork) cuisine and sip on dry Alsacian reislings. Not to mention the fact that this part of France is the country's main beer-producing locale. Need I say more?