While being at home and watching “Beef” on Netflix, I remembered that I have a couple of beautiful(-ish) photos from my most recent business trip to Strasbourg. Since it is April and after work it is still bright, one afternoon I decided to go for a short walk around the city center. During this trip, I managed to eat dinner in three different yet delicious places and two times at the same place for lunch. I can wholeheartedly recommend every single one of these places for your next visit to the city that holds the European Parliament plenary sessions.
I wanted to visit and see the following places since my first Strasbourg trip back in October. Furthermore, when I was a Schuman trainee in 2018 I came to this lovely city only once but during this trip, I managed to squeeze in various interesting visits. Sadly, no museums, but at least I saw Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg. It is a truly a magnificent building. Thus I needed to see it again.
I would say it is something special, would you agree? I have a photo with a close-up as well.
To be honest, I thought that this Strasbourg cathedral had a clock. Sadly it did not. Thus I need to book a ticket to Prague (with my significant other) in the upcoming future to see the Prague astronomical clock.
Buildings like these make you wonder have many man-hours it took and how many it would take now to build something like that. Also, considering the labor costs and everything, it is no wonder that no one builds structures like these anymore. Most buildings today have dull facades, and no ornaments or artistic touches. Unless you are a stealing, mass-murdering dictator then maybe your palace located in an unmarked territory might have some artistic albeit tasteless touches.
Thus, this building was one thing that I wanted to see with my own eyes again. The second thing was a place called “La Petite France”. It is more like a quarter than a place, it has colorful wood buildings with Swiss-German (Bavarian?) style facades. At least that is what I call them.
I’ll let you in on a little secret. I would like to own a house with a facade of this style. I can’t explain the reason why this style appeals to me so much, but I do really fancy it.
This photo below is from the other side of the bridge where I was standing.
A little bit of food now. When one is visiting Strasbourg then one must taste a classic Alsatian pizza aka tarte flambee aka Flammekueche. The first time I ate it was during my traineeship visit, and during my subsequent visits for reasons unknown, I chose not to pursue my willingness to taste this wonderful deliciousness. But not this time. This time I found a place that serves Flammekueche. The place is called “Le Baeckeoffe l’Alsace”. Hard to say if this is the best place for authentic Alsatian food, but it is a nice one. Hopefully, on your visit, their coffee machine is going to work.
It looks small and thin, but, believe me, it pushes you. Tarte flambee is delicious and I highly recommend it. Furthermore, I was told that the recipe is manageable and one should try to recreate this wonderful creation. I believe that I will accept this challenge this coming summer.
With this tarte flambee I drank Alsatian beer. It was a bit sweet, and dark, but nevertheless tasty. In my opinion a good combo with the Flammekueche.
A bit more of Strasbourg’s lovely architecture is needed. Hint: it is still La Petite France.
But don’t be fooled. Strasbourg is not all canals and beautiful Bavarian-style buildings. It also has regular French-style residential buildings, as well as modern architecture, but sadly it is not going to be shown in this report.
I would call these structures beautiful, wouldn’t you? I’d say that those wooden window shutters provide a rustic feel to the place. I would like to live in a place like this. Okay, a bit of color and water before we move on.
Red, yellow, pink, gray, white… I just love this architecture.
A little bit of street art as well? Sure.
I noticed only one basketball court in Strasbourg; thus, I was surprised to see the following sight. Furthermore, this basketball court was in an enclosed space, namely, it was a section of a house that was enclosed with a wall-high metal fence. At least in a court like that you don’t have to worry that the ball is going to get thrown under a passing car.
I already mentioned canals. But can you have a boat trip or a bout-tour on these canals? Yes, you do. Technically I was not on a boat tour, I was in a boat taxi specifically intended for people working for European institutions. It was a lovely experience. An opportunity to see Strasbourg from a different vantage point.
Above we are in a boat. But below you can see Strasbourg from above.
I can honestly say that I enjoy my business trips to Strasbourg. My next one is scheduled in October, namely, when it is going to be dark once my working day ends. Thus, on this session I tried to see and explore as much as I could.
One of those things was Indian food. I enjoyed curry but it was not anything special. The rice tasted good, the chicken as well and the curry itself was mildly spicy – not too much and not too little. The same could be said about Indian beer. It sounds interesting, but it tastes dull. The place is called “Tamil Restaurant”. This one is also a solid recommendation.
But for lunch, I can wholeheartedly recommend a place called “PÂTISSERIE KAUTZMANN“. Anything they serve is extremely delicious. For example, these potato pancakes with salmon. Perfection. I was once told that you can eat in this place only with a reservation, thus on my previous trips I went there only once. But this time I thought hell with the reservation, let’s try to get a seat without a reservation. And you know what? I got it twice. Therefore, I would suggest you do the same.
If I have worked up an appetite for you then I don’t feel sorry about that. Because I have one as well while writing these lines. The draft was written after I had my dinner and the second look is written in the morning before breakfast. Trust me, I am hungry.
Lastly, once I saw the following picture I immediately knew what the caption for it should be: “The Union of the Three Towers”. Yes, a Lord of the Rings reference.
I worked. I ate. I explored. I tasted. I did it all and something more while being on my business trip to the beautiful city of Strasbourg. I love France. I love my job.
Kind regards,
Olaaf
