The last night of our Spring break tour we arrived in Strasbourg, France. We didn’t get there until late in the afternoon and since our hotel was not right near the sites we decided to eat an easy meal and save our site seeing for the morning.
We picked a parking garage right in the center of the historic areas and headed out following the directions given by the GPS. The route took us down back alleys and what seemed to be pedestrian only thoroughfares which were probably completely illegal for driving. After a good fifteen minutes of dodging pedestrians and bicycles we came out onto what looked like an actual street. At out last turn towards the garage I laid my eyes upon my very first marché au puces (french – Flea Market.) The kids let out a groan but I could not believe our luck. It was ten o’clock on a Wednesday morning and the street was lined with vendors. Nirvana!!!
The kids accepted their fate and went along without too much complaint, so we started our hunt. I found a few small goodies to take home with me but the real treat was my husbands find, a “lovely” taxidermy badger holding a lantern that actually lights up. Oh dear, you see the look on his face, that ugly badger was going home with us. The little French woman began touting the badger’s selling points in broken English “it lights, yes!” Little did she know there would be no selling required, Chuck wanted that badger! I however wanted no part of that badger so I left him to negotiate. I returned to badger swaddled in plastic and ready for transport. YEAH! (okay so that was a little sarcastic, just a little.)
While Chuck took “Fat Badger” back to the car the kids got a little reward for being such good sports at the flea market. Since Strasbourg also had an Easter market we took a break for rides and snacks. Fresh crepes and churros all around. Yummy!
Our next stop was the Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre-Dame, known as one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in Europe. I cannot argue with that, this by far is one of the most dramatic churches I have seen in Europe so far. The detail of the carvings and stone work are amazing!
After walking around and exploring the city our last stop was something the whole family would enjoy. Just down from the Cathedral we boarded the BATORAMA and open air river boats that takes you on a 70 minutes discovery tour through Strasbourg. If this is your first trip to Strasbourg and you plan to be here a few days I highly recommend taking this tour first thing. The boat travels all around the city pointing out different points of internist via a personal headset (available in 12 languages.) This is a great way to see the highlights of the city and plan where you would like to go to spend more time.
The kids absolutely loved this trip. The headset recordings even provided a child friendly option.After our tour it was getting late and time to head home but I could have spent several days in Strasbourg. We had amazing weather and a super time. We will have to plan another visit soon since Strasbourg is an easy drive from our house.
As for Spring Break I think every one had a lot of fun including the “Fat Badger.”
Hello 🙂 I’m french, i live in Strasbourg, i’m glad you enjoyed my city, there are so many things to see, you must come back for another trip 😉 Sorry for my very bad english !! And give a huge kiss to the beautiful badger for me lol :p
Thanks so much for stopping by and your English looks just fine to me. We definitely plan to return to Strasbourg. As for the beautiful badger I am told I should probably not kiss him since he may contain dangerous chemical instead I will have to just love him from a far 😉 But I will be sure to give him your regards.
Hi, I actually live South west of Strasbourg, and I like the eye of foreigners on what I know…. Good description.
Glad you stopped by Tania. I loved our visit to your city. I am from New Orleans,La which has a very strong French influence so I will admit I felt much more at home in France than here in Germany. I would love to hear your recommendations on must see places to see on our next visit!
I have been to Strasbourg during christmas 2012.It was really very beautiful and i can’t forget my stay there
I’m glad you liked our city ! Funny because i’m dreaming of visiting New Orleans ! Swap ?? ^^
You definitely have to come back and visit us more. I have been to Nuremberg and the similarities with our city were just to much except for the much larger Nuremberg. I enjoyed it though.
Take care of your lovely family and yourself.
I’m also french and a Strasbourg blogger ! 😉 I’m in love with my city. Thank you for your post.
Nice to see how much you enjoyed my hometown! Yours pics are awesome, and lucky you, you visited under a very sunny weather…
Just a little word to say we enjoyed as much yours, where we spent last Christmas
Though it was’t such a big trip for us, since we live now in Houston, Tx 😉
Make it a great day!
Best
Laurence
Hi,
if you want to see some more about Strasbourg, feel free to go to http://strasbourg840.eu
It’s a cool tool to discover (again ?) and explore the city, and maybe to help you prepare your next stay there !
bye !
Amazing video!! Thanks for sharing, it’s like being there!
I can’t believe the badger came home with Chuck…
I can believe he wanted it, but I can’t believe it will now reside in your lovely home. As Allison used to say, “Scary me!!”. LOL!
MERCI….
Vue quíl y a pas mal des fraçaises ici.. je vais habiter strasbourg mai et juin.. conseils?? quelque chosse lieu banlieu ville proche restaurant magazin a ne pas rater?
Merci beaucoup!!
Pour habiter : quartier de la Krutenau, Faubourg de pierre, Neudorf. Pour sortir la liste est longue, je te conseil de jeter un oeil au magazine ZUT (tu peut le trouver sur internet c’est gratuit) qui a une rubrique dans chaque numéros où il liste des endroits sympa sur Strasbourg.
Hi Maggie. I live in California, and I’m so jealous that you can pop over to France for a vacay. Beautiful blog. Hope to chat in BYW class.
Thanks so much for stopping by. We are enjoying our time in Europe so much, it has been such an experience for the whole family. See you in class!!