Strasbourg, France

Jeff and I had a four day weekend in May to celebrate Ascension in Switzerland, and apparently Banks, in France. (Get it, Bank Holiday? Celebrate banks… no? okay…) Because we failed to book tickets in advanced, me coming to Paris was going to cost twice the normal amount, and flying to anywhere else was also going to cost a lot more than we were expecting/willing to pay. Thus, we chose the cheapest interesting location we could find, and it ended up being Strasbourg, France.

Strasbourg is on the border of France and Germany, and is known for having the Supreme Court of Europe as well as the European Union. Throughout it’s history the city has been either apart of France or a part of Germany and thus acts as a bridge between the two countries today. During the Protestant Reformation, the city was strongly influenced by the teachings of Martin Luther, the guy who said you can’t purchase forgiveness for your sins and that priests should be able to have sexy-time. The city was also greatly influenced by Johannes Gutenberg and had the first modern newspaper.

Strasbourg Cathedral of our lady

For our first day in Strasbourg we were joined by our Russian friend Alex and explored the city. Strasbourg is quite small, but very pretty. Small canals break up the city, and half timbered houses dot the streets. Since it is spring, there were flowers all over adding to the picture perfect aesthetic of old Europe. We spent the day eating flamküchen and drinking wine, exploring the city and relaxing in the sun. Flamküchen is a pizza like dish, it is a thin crust covered in a cream cheese and selected toppings.

At the end of the day Alex had to return home, so while we waited for his train, Jeff and I tried to book a room for the night. As it turns out, all the rooms in Strasbourg seemed to be booked except the ones for 300 euros a night. While I panicked for a little while, mentally planning which bridge looked most comfortable to sleep under, Jeff cooly booked the last room in a hotel a 5 km walk from the station. After saying goodbye to Alex, we started walking, arriving at the hotel around 22:30. When we tried to check in, the receptionist told us that the booking website did not email them, and thus they had booked our room already to somebody else. I excused myself to again plan our sleeping strategy, while Jeff stayed with the receptionist who was calling other hotels to see if they had room. After about ten minutes, and no other hotels having rooms, she gave us a room that had been booked but without a credit card. We were relieved about having the room, but also very worried that any moment Mr.No-Credit-Card would show up and try to reclaim his room. Okay, only I was worried.