Our next stop finally took us into Alsace: Strasbourg, the capital of Christmas. They have one of the largest Christmas markets in the world at the base of the cathedral, and sell gluhwein (warm spiced wine) on every street corner. We ended up here for New Years Eve and it was obviously a huge destination for foreigners—every third person we saw on the street was pulling luggage and speaking German. The main tourist area is called La Petite France and is a neighborhood of old wood timbered houses that line the canal, formerly occupied by tanners.
It is so unbelievably picturesque.
The Rhine river runs through the city…
…making an excuse for loads of adorable bridges and walkways.
Wrapped up like a little sausage, Sawyer prepares to ring in 2010.
Chris starts things right with une petite coupe de vin chaud.
Place Kleber, the main square, with its impressive Christmas tree.
Buying Gateau de Noel at the Christmas market.
‘Les Illuminations’ really bring the city to life at night.
Every little square has its own special installation.
One last look at the canal before heading back to the hotel. There were a lot of celebratory shouts and explosions around midnight, but overall, a pretty quiet night. I went out the next morning for breakfast and saw nary a trace of the festivities in the streets, unlike the tiny city that we visited next.
1 comment:
what can I say? I had to enlarge every picture it was all so lovely.
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