This weekend I visited a friend in the Stuttgart area of Allemagne (Germany). I got to try the local Swabian cuisine, including spätzle (pasta dish with cheese sauce), schupfnudel (potato-based noodle served with mushroom sauce), and of course- pretzels! Yum!
Considering I was only in Germany for the weekend, I got to see many sites:
Esslingen am Neckar- A town famous for its Christmas market that includes a medieval-themed market. Workers dress up in period costumes, and visitors can buy medieval-inspired crafts, make their own candles, and try archery.
Burg Hohenzollern- A beautiful château (castle) near
the Schwäbische Alb mountain range. It is still privately owned and
displays the only remaining Prussian crown that is fully intact.
Tübingen- I got to see this beautiful town at night with its vibrant Christmas market.
What a weekend! Looking forward to heading home for the holidays!
Today I went to the Capitale de Noël (Capital of Christmas)- you guessed it - Strasbourg!
There are twelve Christmas markets around the city, which make it a great day trip for shopping. I went with two other friends, and I would say we successfully wondered the streets and markets of Strasbourg. The German influence on the architecture and food found throughout the city is obvious. The highlight of the day was definitely getting food from the vendors who sell traditional French and German delicacies and slowly walking though the chalets of goods. It is definitely worth trying vin chaud (hot wine).
Fun fact: Every year a different country is invited to participate in Strasbourg's Christmas market, and this year it was Georgia. There was a special Georgian market that sold goods ad food from that country.
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
Sapin de Noël (Christmas tree) at Place Kléber
Strasbourg Cathedral
Georgian market
Welcome sign to the markets
Decorations
Needless to say, Christmas is a big deal in Strasbourg!
My second trip of December was this past weekend to the second/third (depends on who you ask) largest city in France, Lyon, for the annual Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights).
Here is Lyon on a map:
The origins of the festival go back to about the mid-seventeenth century. Since a plague threatened their city, the people of Lyon made offerings and light candles to the Virgin Mary, praying that their town would be spared. Fast forward to 1852- the Lyonnais sculptor Fabisch finished his statue of the Virgin Mary, which was to be put next to the Basilica of Fourvière (a church that overlooks the city). Due to multiple weather problems, the inauguration of the statue was postponed from September 8 to December 8 (Festival of the Immaculate Conception) to finally December 12, 1852. From that time onward, the Lyonnais pay tribute to the Virgin Mary every December 8 by lighting candles in their windows. The celebration has grown enormously since that time.
I was one of the 4 million tourists who visited Lyon during this event, so needless to say, the crowds were ridiculous. In fact, after I was temporarily separated from my group in the massive crowd, one of my friends bought all of us light-up bunny ears so that we could easily see each other the rest of the night. Those ears worked! They worked so well that many people wanted to steal them from us. My roommate had to chase down a guy who had stolen my friend's lapin (rabbit) ears- luckily she got them back with no harm done.
Here are some highlights of the festival:
Parade of Animals
Can you see the dragon?
Light show at Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste
The Fête des Lumières was really a magnificent festival to attend. For future goers, be sure to reserve your tickets and lodging well in advance because all the accommodations go really fast! (My friends and I had to stay in a medieval castle about a 25 minute train ride away from Lyon because everything was booked- not that I'm complaining about staying in a castle!)
Today I did some spontaneous traveling with a friend to the lovely city of Colmar in Alsace, which is about a two hour train ride from Nancy. Fun fact: Colmar is the city where Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who created the Statue of Liberty, was born. For those who are into geography, here is a map of the Alsace region:
We walked around the five different Marchés de Noël(Christmas markets), and enjoyed seeing the beautiful holiday decorations all around the old town.
Christmas Markets
Little Venice
Little Venice
As a lot of other assistants who are Disney fans have mentioned, Colmar reminds us of Belle's town in Beauty and the Beast, especially with the timber trimming on a lot of the buildings.
I hope to visit Colmar again when the weather is warmer!
To start off the school week, the CP classes had a sortie (field trip) to the Parc Sainte Marie today. The students had a guide who told them about how trees and animals prepare for winter. The children were pretty attentive considering that it was- snowing!
It snowed until the early afternoon, but the neige (snow) has now turned into slush.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Saint Nicolas is the patron saint of the Lorraine region. Nancy is perhaps the biggest French city that celebrates Saint Nicolas Day (December 6). In fact, each year Nancy has a whole city-wide festival during the first weekend of December in honor of Saint Nicolas.
Here are some highlights from this year's Saint Nicolas festival, whose theme/title was "Saint Nicolas: L'effet renaissance." As Nancy is undergoing major developments in 2013, the city is going through a rebirth of sorts.
Spectacle pyrotechnique (Pyrotechnical Show) on December 1:
This is my shorten video of the half hour long pyrotechnical show. The show told the legend of Saint Nicolas and how he saved three children from an evil butcher. The show integrated video, fireworks, and music. It was very cold that night, but the show was totally worth seeing!
Les feux d'artifice (Fireworks)
The three children from the Saint Nicolas legend
Lights!
Saint Nicolas!
Le défilé (parade) on December 2:
My friends and I braved another cold evening to see the Saint Nicolas parade today. The parade included floats from the neighborhoods/villages surrounding Nancy.
The wicked boucher (butcher)
Saint Nicolas!
In sum, Nancy is the place to be the first weekend of December!
