It was our last day in Strasbourg and there were a few sights we wanted to visit still and plenty of eating to be done. It was the warmest weather we’d had in awhile – a 6 degree start and we even got to a top of 9 (briefly!). There were no beanies or gloves for some of us, something we didn’t get much of for several weeks after this.
We were all up by 7.30am and ready to make the most of the limited daylight. Kim and Alan were keen for a day with less walking so we made plans to meet up later in the afternoon. Anto, myself and the kids were off to tick off as many sights as we could.
First stop was the walk down to the Gallia tramstop to buy the tram tickets for the last 24 hours in Strasbourg. We had been religiously buying public transport tickets and hadn’t yet come across an inspector, but lucky we did as we ended up with ticket inspections on the tram to the European Parliament building. Kim and Alan also apparently had theirs inspected on the trip into the Grande Île.
The European Parliament Building
We were off to the European Quarter to see the impressive European Parliament building. The complex is not too far from our apartment and the entire complex is huge with the parliaments 6 different buildings, including the Palace of the European Headquarters, the Council of Europe and the Palace of Human Rights.
It’s free to go into the main parliament building, and even watch plenary sessions on the days they are sitting. Despite having ‘need ID’ written on our planning sheet we’d forgotten to take our passports with us that day. Something about generally not carrying our passports out and about due to a rain vs passport situation in Luxembourg in 2012, that caused all sorts of dramas. Unfortunately our Australian drivers licences weren’t accepted (although the security guy was very apologetic about that). This meant no entry to the building but we could check it out from the outside at least. The security guard was trying to convince us to come back the following day with passports, but the Swiss Alps were calling…… Maybe we’ll get inside next time.
We did get a chance to pose with the Strasbourg sign and so far we did indeed love Strasbourg!
Parc l’Orangerie
Next we did a short tram hop to Parc l’Orangerie so we could show the kids. Anto and I had visited a couple of days earlier while the kids were having an afternoon rest in the warm and thought they’d enjoy seeing the park and the resident swans.
There is a 2.2km track around the park that is popular with joggers and walkers. The gardens are pretty and the kids enjoyed looking at the Christmas decorations.
When we made it to the pond the friendly swans were still there, with the local who we saw feeding them earlier in the week. The kids had a go at feeding them grass which the swans enjoyed.
We also found the giant ducks, that we’d seen in Germany. Maybe they are just giant by our local Canberra duck comparison. We found their size amusing. Googling suggests they are Egyptian geese/ducks but maybe some bird experts will know.
Neustadt (New Town)
With blue(ish) skies, it was a lovely day so we were getting through plenty of sights without being cold! Next on the agenda was a trip to Neustadt (the new town). We’d been past here plenty of times on the tram but not stopped to walk through the parks. We Caught the tram back to the Republique stop and much to theer delight the kids had a tram ride next to a dog Zinnia had been patting. The outfits the animals get dressed in to keep them warm were often fun!
Republic square, between the Grande Île and Neustadt has a number of beautiful buildings we’ve trammed past many times. In a small area there is the Rhine Palace which was built as a residence for the emperor, the National Library (the second largest library in France) and the National Theatre of Strasbourg.
The Grande Île
It was then a short walk back towards the Grande Île to check out the beautiful buildings along the canals in directions we hadn’t yet explored.
Some of these buildings are houses, some are hotels and others are cathedrals and even the Town Hall. There was even a High School that resembled something out of Harry Potter.
Back to the markets….
After the kids had had enough of me taking photos of canals and buildings, we walked back into the Place Broglie Christmas market to buy some handmade stollen we’d been eyeing off since day 1. The markets were definitely less busy today. Obviously Monday before lunch is a better time to be touristing without crowds!
There were still plenty of tourists in the streets surrounding the Notre Dame, but we could definitely walk around admiring the decorations a lot easier. Strasbourg definitely has the most amazing decorations in their streets and on all the building facades.
An Alsatian lunch….
It was now 12.30pm so we figured we should get lunch before the lines for restaurants go too long. In previous days by 11.30am there were people lining up waiting for lunch service to start. We found a place that was happy to have us ‘sans reservation‘ and had some local fare.
Anto got his pork knuckle he’d been after for several days. The kids menu had the options of grilled salmon or vol au vents, so the kids tried both between them. I opted (against my better judgement) for the vegetarian option over a tart flambee without lardons, and then regretted it as it was too healthy!
The kids menu also included an amazing chocolate mousse, which was to die for.
On the way out of the restaurant Zinnia and Soren had to have a ride in the reindeer sleigh 🙂
Christmas jumper shopping and a trip across the border…
Having ticked off our sight seeing goals for the morning, we thought we’d indulge in a little retail therapy and try and find some more Christmas jumpers (Anto and I didn’t yet have ours). Strasbourg had a good array of shops and we figured they were probably cheaper than Switzerland, where we were next headed.
The H&M and Primark didn’t have anything we really liked and while the Uniqlo was fun it wasn’t as cheap as the one we’d visited in Tokyo a couple of weeks earlier. We’d have to keep hunting for the right jumper.
We thought then we might catch the tram across the border to Germany. Our apartment is about 3km from the border and for Australians the novelty of crossing borders and changing languages never gets old. At home you can go 3,000km in a straight line and and then have to catch a boat or plane to do such a thing. On the tram we went and we were off to Kehl, which is on the other side of the Rhine to Strasbourg. The tram did indeed swap languages as we crossed the river and the happy French announcements turned to serious German music.
We were hoping Kehl would have a Christmas market, as advertised but no such luck. After a short walk through the town area we were went to the Aldi and Lidl supermarket to stock up on cheap German groceries before our impending departure to the Swiss Alps. Both supermarkets were very cheap and from previous experience those in the Swiss Alps are not. The kids were planning to eat a lot after their days in the snow, so we loaded up our backpack and were on the train back to France by 4.30pm.
As we crossed the Rhine back into France we saw some river cruises in dock. The other half of our traveling party where currently Christmas market cruising down the Rhine, and would be in Strasbourg in a few days but they were likely not going to be doing supermarket runs across the border!
Our final Strasbourg evening….
After dropping the kids, and our heavy backpack of German food, back at the apartment with Kim and Alan, Anto and I made a run to the nearby giant French Auchan to buy all the supermarket items the French do better.
It was now getting well and truly dark and cold, but we were enjoying our last wander through the Strasbourg streets. On the way back to the apartment we made sure we stopped past one of the patisseries near our apartment. I had not had anywhere near enough French patisserie during our French stay so we had to rectify that with some tasty treats – eclairs, tart poire and a chocolate concoction!
After a dinner of left over Alsatian pies and sauerkraut, and delicious French pastries, we had the dreaded late night packing up to do. We had all clocked up over 20,000 steps for yet another day, so earned those pastries but the kids legs are going great guns.
We have thoroughly enjoyed Strasbourg and I’d love to return another time, perhaps in warmer weather as it was pretty bike friendly, so without the Christmas market crowds and cold we would have grabbed some city bikes to roll around. It was definitely a great place to visit at Christmas and a fun few days. The kids were beyond excited about the next stop though – the Swiss Alps!
Up next……
The mountains are calling and it was a very long although (as always) scenic trip into Switzerland and up the beautiful mountain village of Mürren.
