Strasbourg and Obernai

Saturday - 9/21    STRASBOURG

We only travel in style

Nothing like your average train

I woke up at 7 am this morning to head to the Gare de l'est for an 8h25 TVG train to Strasbourg. There were about 45 of us in total including the profs and their significant others. I believe only 3 or 4 of the CUPA kids didn't go on the trip. We took up just about an entire car of the train. And may I say, in Paris, even the high speed trains are chic. The inside was furnished with über comfy chairs in a multitude of colors and the entrance to the cabins was a touch-sensitive sliding glass door. 

Inside the Gare de Strasbourg

I've arrived!

The train ride was around 2.5 hours long and most of us were snoozing anyways. When we got the the Gare de Strasbourg, the weather could not be more beautiful. One step into the sunshine and I was immediately rejuvenated with energy. From the inside, the train station at Strasbourg looked like a greenhouse, but from the outside, it was like giant glass bubble with the reflections of the city scape. I find it to be a great example of the symbiosis of France's traditional and modern architectures. 

Yes. This is a real picture.

Strasbourg is the principle city of the Alsace region in eastern France. Because it is so close the German border (less than 5 km away from the city center) a larger number of the inhabitants speak German or at least Alsacien (a regional dialect that is a melange of German and French). On the walk to the hotel, I could pick up a little of the heavily accented french that the shop owners were speaking.

So happy to be in Strasbourg!

Our hotel was called l'Hôtel Maison Rouge. With four stars next to its name, it was quite exquisite. Each room was opened with an actual key, not swipe card, and there was only one key per room so when you left the hotel, you left the key at the front desk. I think this is a much more practical way of handling hotel rooms, more environmentally friendly and you run less of a risk of losing your key while out and about. Before the scheduled Strasbourg tour at 15h, we had some time to go out and explore the city. 

Gelato and Sorbets

Fancy soaps

I walked around with some of the other girls from CUPA and there was so much to see. Just two doors down from our hotel was this store that sold fancy soaps. These huge blocks of soap came in all different scents and included ingredients such as tea leaves, orange peels, and some unknown white substance. When we passed by an ice cream shop and everybody's stomachs grumbled, we know it was time to stop and get a little bite to eat for lunch.

Lunch time

Cheeseburger with special sauce

We ate at a little restaurant by the river side called La Corde à Linge with a great view. It was a little on the expensive side, but we were hungry and tired. They also gave us this bottle of water with a 3 inch glass base so that there was barely any actual water int eh bottle. Although we weren't able to quench our thirst, the food was worth it. The girls were craving some good old fashioned hamburgers and were not disappointed. The (much needed) café that I had was delicious as well. 

Me and the girls

Even the undersides of bridges
were picturesque.

Before we were due to meet for the tour that started from the Cathedral in the center of Strasbourg, we walked along the river side and took in all the sights of the quaint little town. 

Quintessentially Strasbourg

One of the many markets

Flea market

When we started walking towards the center of the city, there were lots of open air markets to be found. The products being sold ranged from produce, fish, and cheeses, to artisan crafts and flea market goodies. There was also a book market happening on the adjacent street, but there wasn't enough time to peruse before we had to meet at the cathedral for the city tour.  

It was immense

The grand Cathedral!

The Strasbourg Cathedral is located in the heart of the old city and what a masterful centerpiece it is. The 142 meter tall north tower can been seen from just about anywhere in Strasbourg. The construction of this gothic marvel started in 1015 and was not completely until 400 years later in 1439, with great contributions from architect Erwin von Steinbach. Our guided tour of Strasbourg, lead by a tour guide that was a little too excited about Strasbourg, was both comprehensive and interesting.

The beautiful arches

We started off with a history lesson seated inside the Cathedral. Being so close to Germany, Strasbourg has been in dispute between the hands of the French and Germans. The city has seen prison of war camps, bombs that destroyed parts of the cathedral and other important buildings, discrimination and expelling of the Jews during German occupation, and eventual liberation and restorations.  In 1944, anglo-american forces air bombed the city center to expel German occupation heavily damaged the cathedral. Final reparations of war damages were finished in the 1990s. The stained glass windows in the main part of the cathedral are actually one of the oldest remnants because they were removed and hidden during the war bombings to protect them from being destroyed.

Astronomical clock

Another of the prized possessions of the Cathedral is the astronomical clock located in the south transept house. The first clock was built in the mid-1300's and worked until the 18th century when the clock that can be seen today replaced it. This clock was built by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué and has unusually accurate astronomical data relating to the exact date, leap years, equinoxes, sign of the zodiac, phase of the moon, position of several planets and calculating computus (the date of Easter in the Christian calendar) following the Gregorian rule, which is difficult to achieve without computers and requires specialized mathematical knowledge. During certain times of the day, one of four characters, ranging from child to old man crosses in front of a skeleton sitting in a chair. This represents the people's acceptance that death can occur at any moment in life; dying was not yet synonymous with old age. 

Riverside of "Le petit France"

Once outside of the Cathedral, we passed by a very lively bakery with lots of twisted pretzels hanging in the window. Fun fact: Amish people come from Strasbourg! The three things they are known for bringing to the United States are timer houses made without nails, pretzels, and something called une tarte au formage blanc (AKA cheesecake!!!). We also passed by an area called "Le petit France" where the poorest of workers lived. In the olden days, this was the slums: poor, dirty, and smelly. The mortuary was located in this area, and without modern preservation techniques, rotting bodies can be quite a handful. 

Love this girl!

After the tour, I met up with a close friend from high school who is studying abroad for a semester in Strasbourg with a Syracuse University program. In middle school and high school, we saw each other everyday and she lived only a 5 minute drive away from me. After going our separate ways in college, I only got to see her every few months while we were home on breaks. It was amazing to be able to spend an afternoon catching up after 4+ months apart. Who would have guessed that our next meeting was going to be in France?! 

Random sculpture

We met at the Cathedral and walked in the direction of the universities on the other side of the river. Because we were more focused on our conversation, we didn't really pay attention to where we were going exactly, but that didn't stop us from stumbling upon some great finds. As we were walking along the river, we happened to see a sculpture of a giraffe dressed in a button down and slacks on the other side of the river. We saw the European parliament, the building where my friend takes her classes and the University of Strasbourg. 

Bird at the outdoor zoo

An adorable monkey

We also passed through an outdoor zoo with lots of really cute animals. In the Jardin de l'Orangerie, we witnessed a pretty exuberant wedding photo shoot with what seemed like the entire extended family plus bridesmaids and groomsmen. Taking their cue, we took this chance to take a couple photos ourselves.  All too soon it was time for us to part because I had to go back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. However, she did tell me that she was coming to Paris sometime in November for a class trip so chances are high that I'll be able to see her again in Paris.

My menu for the evenin

Restaurant for dinner

Dinner was at Maison Kammerzell at the NW corner of the Cathedral square. Even though I have been looking forward to the dinner for an entire week, it was a little underwhelming as a whole. We waited around for an hour before the bread even hit the table. Plus, the quality of food was well below expectations.

The menu for the evening is as follows (my choices are listed first) :

• Appetizers : Onion tart, creamed leeks ; Resling wine

Onion Tart

Chilled Reisling

Creamy Leeks

• Entrées : Chicken with spaetzle, salmon with sauerkraut, vegetable risotto ; pinot noir

Squash risotto with vegetables

Roast Chicken

Salmon with sauerkraut

• Dessert : Kouglat glacée = brioche ice cream with creme anglais, fruit coulli, and biscuit base

Kouglat glacée

Cheers!

Kouglat is an Alsalcian specialty brioche bread baked in a mini bunt-like mold. Hence what this ice cream was based off of.

Sunday - 9/22      OBERNAI

A foggy sunday morning

Sunday morning we started the day off with a delicious breakfast at the hotel. There was everything from bacon and eggs, to pastries, fruit, yogurt, nutella, jams, coffee and fruit juices. We were supposed to catch a bus at 9h30 to go to Obernai, but it was running a little late so we had 40 mins to walk around in the area. Just yesterday, the city was bustling full of tourists and markets, people everywhere, but this morning it was so serene it was like a completely different place. 




Obernai is a teeny tiny little village located just 30 mins to the southwest of Strasbourg. We arrived just 40 minutes before our rendez-vous at the Hôtel for our wine-tasting course and gourmet dinner prepared by a michelin starred chef. The town was just small enough that we were able to leisurely walk around and see most of the sights by the time we got the RDV across town. Today also happened to be the day of a town festival so parades, tourists, and merriment were all around us.

Cathedral of Obernai

A festival awaits!

Cemetary 

Wine-tasting awaits!

Introduction to wine-tasting where we tried four different kinds of white wines. When you think of wine tasting, I bet you imagine some one swirling a large goblet of wine, sipping it gingerly, and swishing it around in their mouths. Congratulations, you aren't too far from the truth. However, real wine tasting is a little more refined, and a little less pretentious than that. It is actually quite a precise art where you have to consider everything from the color and viscosity, to smell, taste, and frankly personal preference. 

Wine #1

Wine production as well as wine consumption are two very specialized fields. The quality of grapes vary wildly from place to place and year to year. The specific plot of soil that the grapes are planted on have a huge effect on the quality of grapes and the taste of the wine. Even within the same plot of land, different sections may have different levels of sun exposure and soil quality including nutrient content, minerality, and water retention. 



The first thing to do when tasting wine is actually just to look at it. Important things to note are the color, clarity, and viscosity. These are all related to the age of the wine as well as sugar content. When the glass is tilted at a sharp angle you can see the disc or the meniscus. If the disc is thin, this usually means a finer, more gentile wine. A thick disc means the wine will have more volume and body. Also, if the wine leaves thick streaks down the inside of the glass when tilted, it is more dense and will be sweeter. 

Next comes the smelling of the wine, which is two-fold. First, without swirling the wine, you stick your nose just inside the opened and inhale in three quick successions. Only after doing this a few times do you This is because some chemicals in the wine are more volatile than others, the less volatiles ones needing the aid of a few quick swirls to release them in the air. The aroma of the wine may change with aging and can also be affected by sunlight and the cork taint. May dry white wines have citrus tones to them while dessert wines have sweet berry aromas. 

Round 2

When ready to taste the wine, you first savor the flavor by holding it in your mouth for a few seconds and letting coat your tongue. Then, take a small amount in the front of your mouth, slightly open your lips, and inhale air over the wine to kind of roll the wine in your mouth. This releases more esters from the wine and give a fuller profile of the wine. I found it surprisingly hard to identify some of the flavors in the wine. Maybe I have an undeveloped palette or I am just inexperienced  but at least we were all in the same boat. When the sommelier went around the room and asked us to identify flavors in the fourth wine, there were some interesting answers. Supposedly there are no wrong answers; people have their own preferences when it comes to wine and each is reminded of different flavors when they taste it.  

These are the wines that we tasted in order form right to left

Fancy sparkling water

We're ready to eat!

Lunch was at Le Caveau de Gail and the chef at the restaurant actually holds a michelin star, a very high prestige as many of you foodies may know. The service today was infinitely better than it was last night. There was bread and butter served right away with four bottles of local sparkling water as well. The staff was also super efficient as well as friendly. I might go as far as to say that this was the best meal that I have ever had (in a restaurant setting). 

Bread with the most amazing butter

There were a far greater number of choices for each course in today's meal. As an added bonus, the sommelier who hosted our wine tasting had special pairings to go with each dish. They also came around with sign up sheets to buy the wine that we tried in the tasting class. I bought the refreshing, citrus-y one that is a specialty of the Alsace region.

The menu was as follows with the first one being my dish:

• Appetizers : Smoked salmon with horseradish, chicken terrine, foie gras

Foie gras

Smoked salmon

Chicken terrine

That smoked salmon dish was to die for. The house smoked fish, with lovely marbling of fat throughout, tasted of the sea in the best way possible. The horseradish cream have just enough kick where it woke up your sense. Even the two little capers that added a fun pickled saltiness to the bite were a joy to eat. Why they even bothered putting the salad on the plate, I'm not quite sure.

• Entrée : Sauerkraut with three fishes, bouchée à la reine, lamb stew

Fish with sauerkraut

Lamb stew

Bouchée à la reine

Even though I doubled up on fish courses, it was well worth it - my entrée was swoon worthy. Three pieces of fish that I got (which I believe were salmon, halibut, and cod) were cooked to soft, flakey perfection. The surprisingly yummy sauerkraut added a bite of texture and acidity to the dish. The beurre blanc sauce was smooth and unctuous, pairing beautifully with both the fish and pickled cabbage. I didn't even think the potatoes, while soft and buttery, were even necessary. I got to try a bite of the lamb stew, which was equally as tender and delicious. 

• Dessert : nougat glacée, peach crème brûlée, chocolate mouse, cheese plate

Nougat glacée

Peach crème brûlée

The nougat was like an ice cream mixed with nuts and jellies. The crème brûlée was warm and creamy with large chunks of peach throughout. The chocolate mousse was definitely the best. It was light and airy, but had a deep chocolate flavor. I finished off my meal with a cup of tea. 

Chocolate Mousse

3 types of munster 

Petit fours for our tea and coffee

On the train ride home, I was both awake and had a window seat so I could look out the window and see everything zooming by at light speed. The weekend felt like it had gone by in a whirlwind, but it was also exactly the right amount of time. When we get back, it will be the start of classes and time to get down to business. 

To finish off a wonderful weekend of gastronomy, Missaratou made cream of broccoli soup and african tilapia in a creamy vinaigrette sauce.