12-06-18

Strasbourg, France / 2 nights

Before I start my blog on our past two nights in Strasbourg let me explain our current situation of a hectic day. Two words: French strike. This was a worry we had before we left for our trip knowing how frequently the French railway and airport staff strike but I suppose we should be thankful it has only affected us this one time travelling through France.

We arrived in Strasbourg station this morning expecting to get a train to Mets Ville and then from there, a train to Luxembourg. We then learn that our first train is cancelled and there is not another until 6pm. We then came to a resolution to get a train to a place called Lorraine and then an hours bus ride to Luxembourg City. We arrive in Lorraine to find out you had to buy a ticket for the bus 2 hours before its departure. We now had to get another bus from Lorraine to Mets Ville and now that leads me to where we are now; on a train from Mets Ville to Luxembourg. Safe to say this is the craziest travel day we have had so far on our trip but thankfully back on track.

When Ben and I were planning our trip and placing the dots on a printed out Europe map, Strasbourg was one of my must-dos, along with Lugano. Strasbourg is always a city whoms pictures have popped up on all the travel blogs I followed and whenever I was researching Europe. The reason I fell so in love with the city was it’s old town buildings. Identical to the town in Beauty and the Beast it resembled a place that looked too good to be true. Almost as though it was just built for a movie set.

I must say I was very happy to be entering France again. I thank school for my education in French as I can still remember enough to get by without having to resort to being an arrogant English speaker. The one thing that becomes very irritating on the trip is how untalented you feel when every local you speak to happily speaks their second language fluently as we lazily do not know their first.

The city’s tram system is extremely accessible and cheap. This is very handy for getting to and from the train station however the city is small enough to explore on foot.

In order to see the largest cluster of beautiful, wooden-decorated buildings head to Petite France. This is the historical quarter of Strasbourg and holds all of the photo opportunities and sights. The majority of this sector runs along the main river through Strasbourg which completes the setting entirely.

If you are heading to Strasbourg in the summer months then be sure to visit La Corde à Linge. A classic Alsatian cuisine restaurant in a glorious outside setting (Alsatian for Alsace – the region of Strasbourg). Enough tables to seat you all, they surround a grand tree that drapes over you for shelter and located on the river bank. It doesn’t get much more Strasbourg than here.

If you ever plan on travelling Europe, I can assure you will begin to get tired of the same traditional dishes and Americanised restaurants. Whilst we were staying in this city we had definitely had enough of this and decided to go for an Asian cuisine and this ended up being one of the best restaurants we have visited on our whole trip. The East Canteen, tucked away in a side street provides the best pork buns and noodle dishes imaginable. We had large steamed buns and gyoza dumplings for starters as well as our own mains and polished it all off with no bother. Make sure you arrive with your elastics pants on!

Although you may not go out of your way to make Strasbourg your next trip as the city is much more ideal to visit if you are passing through on a Europe exploring adventure; it is still a brilliant must visit and a classic historic French town. One of which there aren’t many few left of.

Peace and love,

Yasmin xo