Vive La France – Strasbourg

When I told people we were going to France, and one of the cities we were visiting was Strasbourg, 90% of the time the response was “I thought you were going to France, Strasbourg is in Germany”. Au contraire, mes amies! True, throughout history Strasbourg has gone back and forth under French and German rule, and as recently as WWII Strasbourg was under German control. This area, the Alsace, is a great example of the fusion of French and German cultures, but definitely more French.

We took a train from Paris to Strasbourg – it was very comfortable and only took us a couple of hours. Strasbourg is a very walkable city, and a lot of the old town is pedestrian only. Laura, DLP, Tom, Mr. T, and I were staying at the BOMA Hotel, which was in a great location – close enough to the train station, and within walking distance of everything we wanted to see. Susan, Patti, and Sarah were also staying at a great hotel, the Best Western Plus Monopole Metropole, located not far from us.

It was too early to check in to the hotel, so we decided to have some lunch at L’Alsace À Boire, a lovely wine bar across the street from our hotel. The food was good and the wine was excellent! Strasbourg is in the Alsace wine region, and they are known for their dry rieslings, pinot blancs, and Gewürztraminer wines.

After lunch we wandered around town until it was time to check into our hotels. We really liked the vibe at the BOMA hotel – great bar and the rooms were nice.

As usual, we had a food tour scheduled for that evening. We used Do Eat Better for this experience, and Raphael was our guide. It was fantastic as usual! We met at Place d’Austerlitz, at the bronze statue called Le Point de Convergence, a 3-D bronze relief map of the Grand-Ile District.

Our first stop was at Les 3 Ptis Cochons, a super cute shop specializing in charcuterie. The sausage and pretzel bread were so good, I could have just stayed there and would have been happy!

Our next stop was at Le Gruber for a sit down meal. We had a choice between the traditional Choucroute (sauerkraut, fermented cabbage, boiled potatoes, meat and sausages) or a spätzle Mac ‘n Cheese (gourmet of course). So good!

Our next stop was Mon Oncle Malker de Munster, a gourmet market specializing in the products of the Alsace region. What a great store! We tasted some local cheeses here – delicious!

After this we walked to Maison Dreher, a bakery that specializes in Kougelhopf, a traditional European sweetbread. And we weren’t done!

Our final stop was at Le Meteor, a local brewery that is also known for their tartes flambées. Tarte Flambée, also known as Flammekueche, is a dish unique to Alsace, and usually consists of a very thin crust, with lardons, crème fraîche, and onions as toppings. We had a sweet version of a tarte flambée, consisting of crème fraîche, apples, and sprinkled with brandy and lit on fire. It was quite a presentation! And very yummy!

Such a fun night, and a great way to get a sample of the region’s food.

Confession time – I took a spill while walking too fast on the cobblestones trying to get to our food tour. I knew I was going to wake up really sore, and I did. Unfortunately for me this was the day we had planned on taking a short train ride to the beautiful and quaint town of Colmar. The rest of our group went ahead, and once I had taken some ibuprofen and loosened up a bit, Mr. T and I met them.

It is super easy to get to Colmar – there is a train from Strasbourg that runs every 30 minutes, and it only takes 30 minutes to get there. Once we got there, we wandered around trying to find our group. Walking through the cobblestone streets and through the well-preserved Old Town is definitely worth a visit! We were able to meet up with the rest of the gang for lunch at La Fleur de Sel, a cute restaurant situated on the Lauch River. We still couldn’t quit thinking about the tartes flambées from the night before, so that’s what we ordered! O-M-G!! So good! We loved them so much Susan has tried pretty successfully to replicate them once we got home.

After lunch we walked around the town some more, visited a couple of churches, and then made our way back to Strasbourg.

That evening we had decided to do a “Do It Yourself” pub crawl of Strasbourg. DLP, Sarah, and I researched this before we flew to France, so we had a list and a map of the places we wanted to go. Our first stop was at Le Garde Fou – great craft beer, unpretentious, and even wine for those non-beer drinkers. Oh, and a nice charcuterie board for snacks!

Our next stop was across the street at Le Tigre, a brewery that also specializes in tartes flambées. In fact, they were hosting a cooking class while we were partaking in their local brew. Another fun spot!

The next stop on our “tour” was L’Artichaut, a casual bar/restaurant with an industrial chic vibe. We were probably the oldest people in there LOL! And we certainly don’t mind that! The beer was good, and by this time we were all getting a little buzzed.

Time for some food! Our next stop, Starling Burgers, was recommended by our food tour guide Raphael. Their burgers were delicious! And they also featured local craft beers, which was a plus.

After this stop, I was pleasantly buzzed and full of food, so back to the hotel for a nightcap before heading to bed.

The next day we spent walking and exploring Strasbourg, as well as doing a little laundry. What a beautiful city!

That afternoon Mr. T and I visited the Strasbourg Cathedral, the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The construction of the cathedral started in the year 1015 and was finished in 1439. The cathedral is famous for its astronomical clock, as well as its grand organ and stained glass. It is a quite a sight, and you cannot miss it when you are in Strasbourg.

We had hoped to get tickets to see a football game that night, but their local team has very enthusiastic supporters and the game had been sold out for months. We asked some locals where we could go to watch the match, and they suggested The Dubliners. It was a fun place to eat, drink, and watch the game, and the servers were super nice! We started outside (they had televisions set up so you could watch the game while on the patio), but it started raining. No problem! Our server found us a table quickly before it got crowded. The game ended in a tie, but it was a win for us.

The next day we were going to Beaune, located in the Burgundy region. We hired a private driver through Daytrip to take us from Strasbourg to Beaune, and I am so happy we did. I received a call from our driver the day before we were to leave to let us know about a planned strike in the Alsace region that would affect our travel time to Beaune. Truck drivers were protesting something (I don’t remember what) and were planning to slow traffic on the roads throughout Alsace. We were supposed to leave at 9:00 am, but our driver suggested a 7:00 am pickup to make sure we would not get caught up in the slow-down. So, off to bed!

Goodbye, Strasbourg! I loved this area, and would like to come back for their famous Christmas Market.

See you in Beaune!