Strasbourg
So, last weekend I ventured into a foreign country. Now, you may say that I have been in a foreign country for the last 2 months. But I don't really consider Germany foreign. Not anymore, at any rate. Here, I have a basic understanding of customs, rules, culture, food, and, especially, language. This weekend I traveled to Strasbourg, France. It was my first time ever being in a country where the extent of my language ability was "bon jour", "orevoia" and "merci" (and, no, I didn't spell "orevoia" right, one more example of how non-french speaking I am). Plus, I was there alone. I was at the mercy of the people around me.
Fortunately for me, K had been there the week before and was able to tell me a really good piece of advice: do some research before you go. As Strasbourg is in France, it is not in my Germany guide book. So, I hopped on the internet and found very little about the city. But what I did find out turned out to be very helpful.
Now, before I get to far into this, you should know that on Thursday I got a cold, and that by Friday I was so sick that I barely was able to get to school, and then only stayed long enough to "teach" registration and homeroom (take them to an assembly) and then be back home in my bed asleep by 1. After my nap, I felt much better, and decided I still wanted to try to go to France. So, I changed my plan of a one day trip leaving early and coming home late to a 2 day trip, where I could sleep in on Saturday and then go to bed early on Saturday night, and sleep in on Sunday again. I figured, I could sleep in France as well as I could sleep in Germany.
At 11 I boarded my train to Strasbourg. I was a little surprised that they never checked any sort of ID to travel between countries. On the ride, I read Orwell's 1984. By 1, I was in Strasbourg. I first tried to explore the layout of the train station because I would have to know where to get my ticket the next day. I could already tell it would have been easier to buy my ticket round trip in Stuttgart so I didn't have to attempt to communicate with a french speaking ticket office. Oh well. Leaving the station, I began looking for a place to stay. I found a hotel Ibis by the station, but their rate was 65 euros for one night. I knew I could find something better. I found one of the main streets from the Hbf to the city center and wandered down that for a little, paying attention to the side streets. I finally found a place for 32 euros for a room with no toilet or shower. That was fine by me. It was a quaint room, on the 4th floor. I loved it. I left my back pack there and set out on my adventure.
Knowing only the general direction of the Cathedral (and thus the main tourist office), I worked my way through a maze of streets and ally ways. I happened upon many Christmas markets along the way and slowed to take in the stalls. The buildings were all decorated for the season, not in lights and red and green as would be in the US, but with fake snow covered branches and chandeliers. As I rounded a corner, I suddenly found my eyes drifting upward, to the peak of the Strasbourg Notre Dame. All around its feet were Christmas stalls selling food, homemade goodies, Gluewein, and herbs. I decided I would look at this later. My first stop was the tourist office to rent an audio guide of the city. I had to return it by 7 that evening, so everything else went on hold as I began the tour. It took me into the cathedral, past the astronomic clock which was amazing, to the river, through "la petite France", and back to Guetenberg strasse and the Cathedral again. I learned of the city's unique history and some of the cultural aspects of this region. It was a good introduction. I wandered around the christmas stalls, and then decided to explore some more. As the cathedral rose above all other buildings, it was impossible to get lost for too long.
By 5, I found myself sitting on the steps of a large building overlooking a square filled with a Christmas Market. My feet hurt, and I really wasn't feeling well. After resting for 10 or so minutes, I began my trek back to the hotel. Upon reaching my room, I flopped down on my bed and closed my eyes. I didn't sleep, but I didn't move for an hour. Finally I decided I had to go get something to eat, even though my stomach rebelled at the thought of food. I had only had some cheese bread something or another from one of the stalls along my tour and I knew I would be hungry if I did not eat. I finally got up the energy to leave the hotel and try to find something small to eat. I happened upon a Doner place and figured that was as good as any, especially since at that moment I was feeling lucky enough to keep down what was inside me already. There was no reason to spend money on French cuisine. Inside the Doner place, I knew that I would not be able to ask for what I wanted, so I only walked to the counter and said "Doner Kabap" like I would here in Germany. The man (not french, probably turkish) immediately asked me if I was German (in german). I explained to him that no, I was not, that I was from the US. It was kinda cool to be mistaken as a German, though. It took us a few tries, but between his french and my german and english, I finally got my order. When I finally got back to the room, I decided to try a few bites, and sure enough, suddenly I was starving. I finished it, only to have the sick feeling come back to me. I crawled into bed at about 7:30 and read until I was able to fall asleep (which happened to be the same time that I finished 1984).
The next morning, I woke up early by weekend standards, but late by my 6:30 wake up time, and went down for breakfast at the hotel. After leaving my bag in the luggage closet, I went out for a walk on the river. I have decided that I want to live in a city that has a river that runs all the way around it. That would be really cool. I loved walking along the river, watching the joggers with their dogs, the fishermen, and the chatting women stroll along it's banks. It was nice to just have time to enjoy the sights and think. I found myself admiring the architecture as I walked. I'm still convinced that you could drop me anywhere in Europe or the US and, without being able to see or hear any language, tell you which place I am in, simply by the architecture.
I found myself at the Place de la Republique, which is their old center of government activity. I loved the park and the University library building across the square. I saw the spires of a different cathedral in the distance so I made my way there next, always keeping an eye on the river. This brought me to a cathedral surrounded by water on 2 of 3 sides. I don't know its name, but it was beautiful on the outside, in a very picturesque location. I picked up this new river, back towards the cathedral until it met with the other river. I crossed this, to find myself watching a tour boat floating along the river. I decided I really wanted to do this, and must find the place where they depart. As I had almost walked completely around the city by this point, I knew it wasn't too far away. Sure enough, under the next bridge I saw a large group of people waiting at a dock!
About 4 Euros later, I found myself sitting in a tour bout with my own head set that would give me a tour from the water in English. It was a wonderful tour, complete with a more in depth history, and many pictures. We got to go through two sets of locks, once to go up and once to come back down after we had crossed the entrance of the river that surrounds the city. Their defense system was quite creative. They had a way of shutting the water passage off so that the fields all around the city would flood, thus warding off their enemy. How creative! By the end of the trip, my stomach was turning again from a lack of fresh air. I was quite happy to finally be out of the boat after a 1.30 hour trip.
I wandered back up to the Cathedral and did some more Christmas Market shopping, as well as touristy shopping. About 1.30 I decided it was about time for me to think about returning to Stuttgart. I made my way to the train station, and was happy to find a woman behind the counter who spoke German. I bought my ticket for a train that was to leave in a little more than one hour. I then went out to a corner cafe and had an espresso while watching all the people. When I returned to the train station, I went to find my platform, but could not see anywhere on my ticket that had anything that looked like a platform. I was quite confused. My train was on the reader board, but it, too, did not have a platform listed. After observing for a moment, I realized that they only let you go out to the platforms when your train is a few minutes from arriving. I finally got on my train and said good bye to france.
On the train, I did see an officer randomly checking identification of passengers, but that was all. There goes my hope of getting my passport stamped for either France or Germany. When I finally arrived back in Stuttgart, I was so excited to hear German spoken again. Something I understand!!! This weekend I realized just how difficult it is to travel when you don't know the language. I feel very fortunate to know the language here. There, when I would go into a shop, the first thing I had to ask was Deutsch or English. They would then choose which they were most proficient in, and we would be able to construct our conversation, with much French, German, and English in all conversations. It was quite fascinating. Needless to say, I'm glad that I'm back home, although I did love Strasbourg.
Fortunately for me, K had been there the week before and was able to tell me a really good piece of advice: do some research before you go. As Strasbourg is in France, it is not in my Germany guide book. So, I hopped on the internet and found very little about the city. But what I did find out turned out to be very helpful.
Now, before I get to far into this, you should know that on Thursday I got a cold, and that by Friday I was so sick that I barely was able to get to school, and then only stayed long enough to "teach" registration and homeroom (take them to an assembly) and then be back home in my bed asleep by 1. After my nap, I felt much better, and decided I still wanted to try to go to France. So, I changed my plan of a one day trip leaving early and coming home late to a 2 day trip, where I could sleep in on Saturday and then go to bed early on Saturday night, and sleep in on Sunday again. I figured, I could sleep in France as well as I could sleep in Germany.
At 11 I boarded my train to Strasbourg. I was a little surprised that they never checked any sort of ID to travel between countries. On the ride, I read Orwell's 1984. By 1, I was in Strasbourg. I first tried to explore the layout of the train station because I would have to know where to get my ticket the next day. I could already tell it would have been easier to buy my ticket round trip in Stuttgart so I didn't have to attempt to communicate with a french speaking ticket office. Oh well. Leaving the station, I began looking for a place to stay. I found a hotel Ibis by the station, but their rate was 65 euros for one night. I knew I could find something better. I found one of the main streets from the Hbf to the city center and wandered down that for a little, paying attention to the side streets. I finally found a place for 32 euros for a room with no toilet or shower. That was fine by me. It was a quaint room, on the 4th floor. I loved it. I left my back pack there and set out on my adventure.
Knowing only the general direction of the Cathedral (and thus the main tourist office), I worked my way through a maze of streets and ally ways. I happened upon many Christmas markets along the way and slowed to take in the stalls. The buildings were all decorated for the season, not in lights and red and green as would be in the US, but with fake snow covered branches and chandeliers. As I rounded a corner, I suddenly found my eyes drifting upward, to the peak of the Strasbourg Notre Dame. All around its feet were Christmas stalls selling food, homemade goodies, Gluewein, and herbs. I decided I would look at this later. My first stop was the tourist office to rent an audio guide of the city. I had to return it by 7 that evening, so everything else went on hold as I began the tour. It took me into the cathedral, past the astronomic clock which was amazing, to the river, through "la petite France", and back to Guetenberg strasse and the Cathedral again. I learned of the city's unique history and some of the cultural aspects of this region. It was a good introduction. I wandered around the christmas stalls, and then decided to explore some more. As the cathedral rose above all other buildings, it was impossible to get lost for too long.
By 5, I found myself sitting on the steps of a large building overlooking a square filled with a Christmas Market. My feet hurt, and I really wasn't feeling well. After resting for 10 or so minutes, I began my trek back to the hotel. Upon reaching my room, I flopped down on my bed and closed my eyes. I didn't sleep, but I didn't move for an hour. Finally I decided I had to go get something to eat, even though my stomach rebelled at the thought of food. I had only had some cheese bread something or another from one of the stalls along my tour and I knew I would be hungry if I did not eat. I finally got up the energy to leave the hotel and try to find something small to eat. I happened upon a Doner place and figured that was as good as any, especially since at that moment I was feeling lucky enough to keep down what was inside me already. There was no reason to spend money on French cuisine. Inside the Doner place, I knew that I would not be able to ask for what I wanted, so I only walked to the counter and said "Doner Kabap" like I would here in Germany. The man (not french, probably turkish) immediately asked me if I was German (in german). I explained to him that no, I was not, that I was from the US. It was kinda cool to be mistaken as a German, though. It took us a few tries, but between his french and my german and english, I finally got my order. When I finally got back to the room, I decided to try a few bites, and sure enough, suddenly I was starving. I finished it, only to have the sick feeling come back to me. I crawled into bed at about 7:30 and read until I was able to fall asleep (which happened to be the same time that I finished 1984).
The next morning, I woke up early by weekend standards, but late by my 6:30 wake up time, and went down for breakfast at the hotel. After leaving my bag in the luggage closet, I went out for a walk on the river. I have decided that I want to live in a city that has a river that runs all the way around it. That would be really cool. I loved walking along the river, watching the joggers with their dogs, the fishermen, and the chatting women stroll along it's banks. It was nice to just have time to enjoy the sights and think. I found myself admiring the architecture as I walked. I'm still convinced that you could drop me anywhere in Europe or the US and, without being able to see or hear any language, tell you which place I am in, simply by the architecture.
I found myself at the Place de la Republique, which is their old center of government activity. I loved the park and the University library building across the square. I saw the spires of a different cathedral in the distance so I made my way there next, always keeping an eye on the river. This brought me to a cathedral surrounded by water on 2 of 3 sides. I don't know its name, but it was beautiful on the outside, in a very picturesque location. I picked up this new river, back towards the cathedral until it met with the other river. I crossed this, to find myself watching a tour boat floating along the river. I decided I really wanted to do this, and must find the place where they depart. As I had almost walked completely around the city by this point, I knew it wasn't too far away. Sure enough, under the next bridge I saw a large group of people waiting at a dock!
About 4 Euros later, I found myself sitting in a tour bout with my own head set that would give me a tour from the water in English. It was a wonderful tour, complete with a more in depth history, and many pictures. We got to go through two sets of locks, once to go up and once to come back down after we had crossed the entrance of the river that surrounds the city. Their defense system was quite creative. They had a way of shutting the water passage off so that the fields all around the city would flood, thus warding off their enemy. How creative! By the end of the trip, my stomach was turning again from a lack of fresh air. I was quite happy to finally be out of the boat after a 1.30 hour trip.
I wandered back up to the Cathedral and did some more Christmas Market shopping, as well as touristy shopping. About 1.30 I decided it was about time for me to think about returning to Stuttgart. I made my way to the train station, and was happy to find a woman behind the counter who spoke German. I bought my ticket for a train that was to leave in a little more than one hour. I then went out to a corner cafe and had an espresso while watching all the people. When I returned to the train station, I went to find my platform, but could not see anywhere on my ticket that had anything that looked like a platform. I was quite confused. My train was on the reader board, but it, too, did not have a platform listed. After observing for a moment, I realized that they only let you go out to the platforms when your train is a few minutes from arriving. I finally got on my train and said good bye to france.
On the train, I did see an officer randomly checking identification of passengers, but that was all. There goes my hope of getting my passport stamped for either France or Germany. When I finally arrived back in Stuttgart, I was so excited to hear German spoken again. Something I understand!!! This weekend I realized just how difficult it is to travel when you don't know the language. I feel very fortunate to know the language here. There, when I would go into a shop, the first thing I had to ask was Deutsch or English. They would then choose which they were most proficient in, and we would be able to construct our conversation, with much French, German, and English in all conversations. It was quite fascinating. Needless to say, I'm glad that I'm back home, although I did love Strasbourg.