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Abroad, France, Guests, Strasbourg

Adventure: Gergana Angelova in Strasbourg

posted by Dario
Nov 21, 2017 1556 0 0
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Strasbourg – history, art and… tarte flambée

Strasbourg is situated in Alsace, a region with an atmosphere that isn’t typically French. Divided between two cultures, the French and the German, the city has its own charm and while walking down its streets you may think that you’re in a fairytale.

Coming here for the first time four years ago the cultural shock came over me. The weather – cloudy. August. Rain. People from different races and religions. I came with my parents and I couldn’t admire the beauty of the city. Everything seemed so dull in comparison to Bulgaria. I stared at the plane ticket to Sofia with teary eyes. I sobbed until I fell asleep, left powerless. I wanted to go home. On the next morning I opened my eyes and the warm French sun illuminated me, caressing me with its warm rays. The regret was gone and then came the excitement. And I found out right then and there that Strasbourg was going to become my second home.

My adventures in Strasbourg are in the museums, the grand cathedral, clouded in legends from ancient times, leering scarily over every small person looking at it; the restaurants and the small cafés, hidden in crooked streets. Strasbourg shelters a lot of different cultures and races. The city is home to Italians, Russians, Bulgarians, Africans, Indians, Americans… I cannot count all the people coming from every end of the world, the city is that colorful. The University of Strasbourg is the biggest in France with over 45 000 students. The campus is huge, but the buildings look like the work of a lazy socialist architect. But no, I’m exaggerating. In the middle of the campus there is a beautiful green garden where the students sit down to read or to talk with their friends. Some play the guitar (the faculty of music is right there), others fill the air with their laughter…

The young people go out with their friends to drink beers or eat tarte flambée, which is one of the most famous dishes in this region. A lot of people describe the tarte flambée like a thin pizza, but regional folk are offended by this comparison. The dish is made by a very thin layer of dough, sour cream, onions and lardons, this is the classical flambée, after that there are many variations. One of the most visited places is Au Brasseur and Flam’s where prices are cheaper, their most ordered dish is indeed the tarte flambée. Another famous dish is la choucroute, very fine cut cabbage with meat (which I’m in love with). I won’t continue praising the food of Strasbourg, because the text will resemble more  a recipe than impressions of the city.

In Strasbourg the museums are a lot and one of my favorites is Palais Rohan, situated next to the cathedral Notre Dame, where Marie Antoinette lived, and Napoleon visited and later accepted guests. There are three wings – art, archeology and the apartments of the aristocrats . People can visit all three and admire the beauty presented by renowned artists like Gustave Doré, who’s born in Strasbourg, Sandro Botticelli, Monnet, Renoir and many more. Other museums who can be interesting for the visitors of Strasbourg are The Museum of Modern Art, The Tomi Ungerer museum, the historical museum (a labyrinth of facts, pictures, decorations, clothes and jewelry), The Alsacian museum and a lot of others that I haven’t visited yet. Every month there are cultural events and competitions in different ends of the city; some are organized by the students of Université de Strasbourg.

The bars of Strasbourg are many and always full. Most of them are small and closed, but have their own charm, like La Taverne française, bar Berthom, L’Alchimiste, Académie de la bière, etc. All of the restaurants propose the famous tarte flambée and choucroute, les escargots are a luxury and the beer is mandatory. Some excellent restaurants are Au Canon, with a beautiful view of the river and the top of the cathedral, Le Tire-Bouchon, which is a little pricy, but the food is amazing and Au Quai de L’Ill.

Winter is the most anticipated season. Strasbourg is famous as the capital of Christmas and le marché de Noel attracts millions of tourists from all over the world. Warm wine (vin chaud) is flowing on the stands, typical Alsatian food is sold, as well as souvenirs, Christmas cookies and decorations. ‘‘’Le marché’’ is open for a month and the holiday spirit is hidden in every corner.

The cathedral Notre Dame is one of the biggest cathedrals in the world, finished in 1439, and looks down upon its visitors with its 143m, who can go on top of it and admire the beautiful panorama. An old Alsatian legend says that the cathedral is the windiest spot in Strasbourg because the devil’s grandmother lived there. And when he came to visit her, he got stuck between the sacred place and the outside world. Therefore every day he tries to escape his prison and the winds hurl in front of the cathedral.

Alsace is a one of a kind region, divided between France and Germany. The people are joyful and warm. The elders speak Alsatian, the street musicians are on every corner and the students fill the city with life and joy. Situated on the border with Germany and Switzerland, people occasionally visit the other countries. The city is a symbol of the diversity of nations and races, symbol of the splendid Alsatian cuisine, of the art, the literature and the music. The architecture is unique and can only be found in this region of France and every person visited the heart of Alsace rests amazed after the meeting. There’s always going to be a place in my heart for Strasbourg, I’m sure Strasbourg will always has a place for me as well.

 

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Travel Blogger

Dario Dionisi



If you want to know something more about me – my soul is a traveler, my origin is Italian and my true essence is a faithful friend. I am always open to new ideas and will be very happy if you want to contact me at dario@beyondsofia.com

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Dario • Exploring beyond Sofia
Grateful to had the opportunity to go to so many p Grateful to had the opportunity to go to so many places this year, sharing some of my favourite snaps of #2022 , can’t wait to see what adventures are awaiting me during 2023 🤩

#yearoftravel #europe
Oh my god, is it already the end of the year! This Oh my god, is it already the end of the year! This year was full with surprises from our beautiful planet. In this video I gathered some of my most favourite nature spots and moments that I had the luck to record. And seriously there is no better caption to describe them than OH MY GOD 🤩

#ourplanet #ohmygod #momentsthatmatter
Life edition #2022 Life edition #2022
Welcome to the Vaticans wonders ✨ #Vatican #mus Welcome to the Vaticans wonders ✨

#Vatican #museum #wonders
The eternal city slaying since 751 BC #Rome #Ital The eternal city slaying since 751 BC

#Rome #Italy #eternalcity
“Good afternoon passengers. This is your captain “Good afternoon passengers. This is your captain speaking. I’d like to welcome everyone on Rightwing Flight 86A. We are currently cruising at an altitude of 10.000 km above sea level at an airspeed of 645 km per hour. The time is 3:25 pm. The weather looks good and with the tailwind on our side we are expecting to land in Rome approximately fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. I’ll talk to you again before we reach our destination. Until then, sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of the flight.„

#Rome #Italy #fly
Golden Athens since 508 BC #Greece #Athens #Sunse Golden Athens since 508 BC

#Greece
#Athens
#Sunset
Living the Ancient Greek way | Series two Let’s Living the Ancient Greek way | Series two

Let’s be honest, living during the ancient times of Greece was probably cool.

They had so many different and creative crafts that most of them we can witness until nowadays.

A good example for this is the new museum of the Acropolis. A modern building representing the exactly same proportions of the Parthenonas.

In the museum you can see fundamental artefacts picturing the believes and life from ancient times.

But probably the best part for me was the chance to see by myself all the perfect details crafted on different surfaces.

#Greece
#Athens
#History
Living the Ancient Greek way | Series one The hil Living the Ancient Greek way | Series one

The hill of Acropolis
- Parthenon since 432 BC
- Erechtheion since 406 BC
- Theatre of Dionysus since 520 BC

#Greek
#Ancient
#History
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