Ellert:
*whiny voice*"But I don't wanna go to France!"
Me: "Hey, in your country you can drive 1 1/2 hours and be in a different country, in mine, you can drive for hours on end and still be in the same country and even the same state. Buck up, son."
It is is a mere 11/2 hour drive to France from Schönaich.
Allow me to give a short review called:
Driving in Germany
Most of the vehicles here are Fiats, Porches, Mercedes, Peugeot, some Japanese models and BMW's.
Each license plate looks the same style/shape, with the left corner of the plate sporting the EU stars and the initial of the country (we have a D for Deutschland.) In the middle it has the seal of the district and the town you live in.
Of course, we got there via the Autobahn. Once, 3 cars with Swiss license plates cars flew by and passed us. We were going a modest 85, they must have been going at least 120 mph.
As far as roadside food here, Burger King is even more popular here than McDonalds for some reason (maybe the king part appeals to Germany' monarch past? ;)
Besides the ever-present Burger King, rest stops are very VERY nice and the food service area is crazy good. There are even tables and a playground for the kids.
Southern Germany is very hilly/mountainous, with villages dotting the hillsides. When you cross the Rhine, BOOM! and you're in France.
Straßbourg= German name for the city
Strasbourg=French name for the city
While we were walking out of the Parking Garage, Embla and I played Guess the Plate where we tried to guess what country the car was from before we walked past. One had an "I" on it and we were stumped as to what country that was, until we remembered that Italy was part of the EU.
My jaw dropped when we approached the street where the cathedral was. It was HUGE. It was stunningly detailed, and I think it was even more awe inspiring than Notre Dame, which I have also been to. It is celebrating its 1,000 year anniversary this year (1015-2015) so yes, it's rather old.
But before we enjoyed exploring the Cathedral, we ate lunch at a little outdoor French cafe called Au Caquelon. We sat on the street as one does in France and it was just lovely.
I ordered for Aunt Rachel, and she wanted a burger with no bun (she's celiac.) The waitresses' eyes got big and with an expression of confusion she said "....a burger with no bun? But....that's not a burger?"
I think we succeeded in setting our waitress *off* a little with our weird no-bread burger request, but whatever. I call it the French Indifference treatment.
The food was fantastic, and I got a pretty little salad with shrimp, salmon, grapefruit (pamplemousse) and sesame dressing.
It is a very unique place, this border town, because what language should you speak? French, German, or English? At one point I was buying my friend a postcard or two (BETHANY, if you're reading this, I got you some sweet postcards!) The guy was French and being in the habit, I said "Hallo" to start off the transaction, so he assumed I was German. Then Aunt Rachel came up and said something to me in English and he said "oh you're American," so the last part of the transaction was in English.
Anyway, it's rather amusing, cause it seems that no one has decided what language to use here. This is one of the few places that you can be speaking German in France to French people who speak German, but I'm actually a native English speaker. Confusing, right?
At the table, Ellert and I we were joking about this very thing and I was trying to say "I am not French" in French and what came out was:
"Je suis nicht-"
The kids burst out laughing.
*facepalm*
I don't know how people, let alone kids, manage 2 or 3 languages. For me, I get all mixed up between English/French/German.
Or you could just mix 'em up like Erla does fairly often: "Thank you schön!"
After lunch, we took Erla for a walk while the adults finished, but she decided to throw a fit of epic proportions before we we had gone very far. Not even my pointing out the appearance of a "kleine, kleine baby hunde" could appease her anguish. We returned her back to the adults and continued on alone. We walked around the block and by the time we got back they were ready to go.
We perused a beautiful candy shop that sold many French cookies, lollipops, and caramels. I got each of my family members a gourmet lollipop. Salted caramel or framboise (raspberry) flavored lollies, anyone?
And I got these stupid "olives de chocolat." By stupid, I mean good. Too good to be carrying around all day. The name comes from the fact that they are dark chocolate covered almonds dipped in reddish or black or greenish color to look like olives. Doesn't sound like anything remarkable, but boy, they are good.
Anyway. Back to more important matters that are not related to chocolate. Inside, the cathedral rivaled the main portion Westminster in both size and detail. I was just in awe. This place was built in 1015 and it is just staggeringly beautiful- stained glass, sculptures, vaulted ceilings. Pictures can't begin to do it justice.
Today is Memorial Day, and I thought it touching to see this memorial:
After walking around, Embla and I sat on one of the many chairs and talked for a bit. Being girls and all, it was only natural that we turned to a discussion of how amazing it would be to get married there when a group of tourists,
who were trained singers, began to sing a Medieval ballad in four part harmony in the front of the church. The sound carried beautifully and oh my goodness, it was incredible. Immediately got chill bumps.
A group of Catholic school students began to sing Ave Maria. It was eerie and beautiful (aaaand I promptly got the song stuck in my head and I was humming it for the rest of the time at the cathedral.)
There was a small store selling rosaries, postcards and such inside the church to the left of the main hall. Humming to myself the aforementioned song Ave Maira had me in such a mood that I was just eyeing them rosaries. I especially liked the one that looked like Bob Marely went Catholic. But in the end, I didn't buy one, because I am sure the Saints that are buried beneath the cathedral in the catacombs all roll over in their graves every time someone swipes their Visa.
;P
We got an espresso caramel eclair (how could you pass that up?) and of course it was divinity itself. We walked by the water a bit too.
My tiny camo umbrella came in handy :)
Got back to our car just as the ran began to fall. Typed out the above post on the way home and I got smashed in a game of virtual chess by Embla.
Arrived home and prepared for sleep. Our ten day extravaganza begins on Wednesday and so I better try and sleep as much as I can. My German teacher wakes me up around 8 each morning. ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment