MY FIRST TRIP TO FRANCE: Strasbourgh, by Silvia González

MY FIRST TRIP TO FRANCE: Strasbourgh, by Silvia González

In the summer of 2019, I was living in Freiburg, south of Germany. This was a good opportunity to meet the neighbor country, France. The easiest choice was to go by train to Strasbourg on the Alsacian part at the east of France. The travel along the Blackforest lasted two hours and I had to switch from one train to another barely close to the border. I was only carrying a backpack with clothes for three days prepared and willing to improvise about the accommodation.

After getting landed and finding the main orientation points to get to know the city, I walked through Place Dauphine and the old city, where I finally found a cheap room to stay on a 7th floor with very nice views of the village.

The next morning I went to see the Notre Dame Cathedral of Strasbourg, the oldest cathedral in Europe, with a very interesting clock and horoscope machinery inside. The streets are very stretched out with little and old houses with a lot of flowers on every wall and balcony.  After a little labyrinth-like and coloured tour, and after crossing a river, I arrived to the Le Petite France hood. This cozy houses between river channels were built in the 15th Century, and the magic of the little bridges and the typical roofs makes you think you are on a fairy tale. Along a river channel I found my way back home, but 2 streets behind there was a concert, so I stayed and had some dinner.

 The next day walking the riverside pathway back I discovered for the first time in my life a sluice system with the boat inside and the process was pretty exciting, this time I had time to enjoy an art gallery in the old courtyards zone. I did a beautiful walk through the Rhin river until I found an Italian restaurant with the terrace on top of the water very close to Barrage Vauban, which was claiming to get sat, and I enjoyed a pizza and a Pignot Noire wine with an awesome view and boats and ducks next to me.

Getting to the starting point and choosing where to go is very easy in this little town, where you can almost enjoy every monument and main interesting areas in just 3 days 2 nights basis. Very medieval style with so many bridges and flowers everywhere. There is an Isle with the oldest buildings dating 13th century pretty conserved, The Palais Rohan and a lot of European interesting spots so as museums and cultural activities.

Really, it was such a good experience that I went back 2 months later and I would like to visit it again and again, I highly recommend everyone to go at least once to this lovely little village with fantastic culinary spaces.

Very amazing trip to France.