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Post by bjd on Dec 11, 2016 7:08:17 GMT
The Christmas decorations and cheer definitely look better in Obernai than they do here. Of course, there is nothing similar in Toulouse other than the Christmas market but even that feels and looks out of place.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 10:08:17 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Dec 11, 2016 13:42:34 GMT
Yes, Hanukkah street decorations are definitely an American thing. A French Jewish friend was quite astonished when she first saw them.
I'm thrilled to learn that she is still alive and overall, well, as she had to wear the yellow star as a little girl in Paris (and the family survival is quite a story) so obviously she is far from young. We met at a seminar for Italianistas in Perugia...
I take it that you bought some of that country bacon. And yes, that tofu was really out of place in the flammekueche. There is cream anyway, so not vegan; there were other varieties without visible meat that looked foar more appetizing.
And the usual question: do you know if Obernai was relatively spared from War damage, or was it meticulously rebuit?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 14:09:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 14:12:27 GMT
And the usual question: do you know if Obernai was relatively spared from War damage, or was it meticulously rebuit? I think that just about all of the Alsatian villages were spared from war damage since they were invaded immediately and thereafter "protected" as part of "German" heritage. Only the cities were damaged later, mostly by Allied bombs.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 14:25:04 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 17:32:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 17:37:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 17:46:38 GMT
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Post by bjd on Dec 11, 2016 19:37:39 GMT
The only things that I would be tempted to buy are the paper maché balls. They are really pretty and not too "Christmasy".
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 19:55:44 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 20:03:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 20:38:45 GMT
The trip back to Paris was almost without incident, although we were delayed by reports of a person inside the tunnel under the Vosges. We had to crawl through it with a reported delay of 35 minutes (yay! another refund!), but once we got back to normal speed, we made up some of the delay and were only 24 minutes late -- no refund. Oh well, it was a nice trip anyway.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2016 0:49:45 GMT
I'm so glad about those sensible rail legs of "airline" journeys. I remember having to fly between Brussels and Amsterdam, which is ludicrous as both airports have a railway station and it is such a short flight.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 12, 2016 3:04:07 GMT
I absolutely hate eating hot street food in freezing weather. You either have to gobble it or accept to eat most of it cold. Ditto! I saw quite a few witches for sale in a number of places. I must investigate the reason for this. I'm pretty sure that those witches are supposed to represent La Befana. This is an old industrial zone and all of the buildings have been totally transformed How very nice to see an entire area repurposed in that way. One thing I failed to see in Strasbourg was the "Off" Christmas market. Something for next year? This is the new médiathèque. That is the new name that has replaced bibliothèque, since printed paper books are becoming secondary. It is great that the building itself celebrates the written word. Obernai used to be one of the major places with stork nests on the chimneys. It continues to live off this legacy. I can truthfully say that I never in my life saw a stuffed stork before. I'm pretty sure that these are beehives down along the river. What a great stroke of luck that you glanced down there & saw those. Interesting! played with my camera as I sat waiting... I'm glad you did -- really good evocative pictures. I hardly know what to say about this thread, since I could easily go on and on about how beautiful and happy it is. Now I can see why you like Strasbourg -- so much variety and it seems as though it might be lively all year. Obernai is quite lovely also. Your inclusion of personal memories really enriched the thread and all of your photos were completely wonderful, not only the story-telling ones, but the lovely shots of frost, rivers, ranks of bikes, etc. -- all that caught your eye. Thanks for this Christmas treat.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2016 10:38:24 GMT
I like Strasbourg too, but unfortunately was only there on very brief visits. Also because it has been, or remained a cycling city long before the resurgence in utilitarian urban cycling in Lyon, Paris and other French cities. People used to say that it because it was "Germanic". Strasbourg was also a leader in developing a modern tram system. We had a pleasure of a lecture here from the former mayor Catherine Trautmann on urban mobility. www.ibikestrasbourg.com/2016/11/guide-de-survie-du-cycliste.html Strasbourg cyclists' survival guide during the Christmas markets - in French www.cremtl.qc.ca/catherine-trautmannAnd such good white wine in Alsace, and on the German side of the Rhine! And no, it isn't all sweet.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 12:09:40 GMT
People still get confused about that, though. If you say "Riesling" to an American, it is assumed that you are talking about the sweetish German wine rather than the dry French wine.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 12, 2016 14:00:07 GMT
There is also bone-dry mineral Riesling from the Rheingau, on the German side. There are also fine dry whites from Pfalz, across from Alsace.
Don't want to generalize or stereotype, but some Americans also think Champagne is produced in the US. Silly, as there are fine sparkling wines from California. The best go by their own regions' names.
We know that where each of us live, there are also generalizations and stereotypes about other places. One funny was a young man from Savoie who was my train-seat companion thinking I lived in the outdoors, surrounded by forest. Yes, there is a lot of forest - though far too much of it is clear-cut. But most people live in urban or suburban areas.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 20, 2016 7:41:09 GMT
This report on the Christmas markets in Strasbourg and Obernai has been truly fantastic. It is almost too much to review in one hit so I will go over the photos quite a lot.
All I know of Strasbourg is the view from the train window as it pulls into the station for a few minutes on it's way to Paris from either Frankfurt or Munich ( I don't recall exactly). I do remember seeing the island in the middle of the river. This year when going to Switzerland one of the group was very disappointed we were not stopping in Strasbourg for the night, but instead it was Metz. I saw little of Metz and am sure the same would have been for Strasbourg. It has got to be a stop off in the future even though there will be no Christmas markets.....but it will be warm!
Thank you for this terrific peek into the colourful world of the annual markets!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2016 23:09:16 GMT
You know how you go somewhere and you look at all the stuff and decide that you shouldn't buy it and don't even really like it? Well, in the last two days, I have found myself craving the gingerbread cookies of Strasbourg, the stollen, and some of the other edibles, and none of them are available in Paris except in the specialised pricy places.
At least I will know this ahead of time if ever I return next year to the markets of Alsace.
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Post by mich64 on Dec 23, 2016 2:10:06 GMT
I like this thread very much. I particularly loved the night photos along the river such as 5,6 & 7 in reply #33. Sharing your knowledge and experiences through the years in the area was enjoyable to read.
If I were shopping, I would buy some cookie cutters and it would take a few trips back to the stall to pick one of the table runners and a table cloth. The ornaments are beautiful but I am pretty sure they would not make the voyage home no matter how careful I tried to be. I think what I would do though is I would take some close up photographs of a bin of them and enlarge and frame the photos and switch out some of my wall art with during the holiday season. Some of the candle holders were exquisite as well.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 23, 2016 9:51:20 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 22, 2020 18:05:14 GMT
The Strasbourg Christmas market was cancelled today. Considering the situation, I imagine that just about all of the Christmas markets in the big cities will suffer the same fate this year. I know that some of the German markets have also been cancelled.
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