Oh La Lauren

Weekend in Reims / Strasbourg

If I don’t write this entry before I leave for Madrid, it will never get done. So here we go!

Saturday morning our group of 40 SBC students got on a bus to Reims, after waiting for Cécile for about half an hour. The bus ride was long but productive, because we made lists of the stuff we still have to do in Paris. First stop: the caves of the Pommery champagne co. The thought of going champagne tasting first thing in the morning was really funny to us. We took a tour of the caves with a Spanish tour guide speaking French—and for some reason he reminded me of the guard at the gates of the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. The caves were really amazing, there are SO many bottles of champagne, and some bottles were the size of 12 regular size bottles. It was really deep in the ground, and they had incorporated contemporary art into the caves, which was—interesting? One room had the most gigantic French flag I’d ever seen, and one had a neon sign while “A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down” played in the background. We tasted champagne and Liza and I bought mini bottles of champagne. Mine is pink. Too adorable.

Afterwards we proceeded to Reims which is currently being TORN UP to build a tramway system. After the typical search that is required to find affordable lunch options in small towns (as we experienced in Caen), Lucy, Iraz, Liza and I came across an adorable creperie. Did I mention the weather was gross? It was spitting and really windy. I could feel my hair knotting up. We took a tour of the cathedral of Reims with this woman who wore frosty pink lipstick, but her true fascination with the building made it really interesting. On the exterior, I found it fascinating that the entryway had been pursued during the revolution: French people had chopped the heads off of the small statues surrounding the doors. They did a really thorough job. On the inside of church, there was a fantastic array of stained glass—some clear, some traditional, this streaked grey glass, and then at the head of the church some windows done by Chagalle. There was also a marble statue of Joan of Arc that was really cool.

After the cathedral visit the SBC bus departed but Liza, Gabe and I ventured over to the train station. We took a 10 minute ride to the Champagne gare and then continued to Strasbourg. While waiting on the platform, we saw 2 TGV trains go by, and I think the only way to describe it is that it was startling. They are unbelievably fast and literally take your breath away. It kinda feels like the apocalypse or something.

We got into Strasbourg in the evening and started walking over to our hostel. The river running through the town is really cute. On the way, we were talking, and some guy shouts “Hey, I hear English! Where are you guys from?” so we stopped and talked to him, while he spewed academic achievements and inquired about purpose. In the end we decided that he was hitting on Gabe—it was really funny. The hostel was super super nice and we got there with no problem. Then we ventured out to find some dinner, which was actually quite difficult. Finding affordable places to eat posed a big problem for us during he trip! We settled on an Italian restaurant (oh, irony) and had some fantastic wine and pizza. After dinner, my friends opened some gifts from Amsterdam under one of the bridges, and I just enjoyed sitting next to the flowing stream.

Sunday morning we had a good breakfast provided by the hostel, left our stuff there (they gave us the key to the baggagerie for…what reason?) and hit up Notre Dame of Strasbourg. During the walk there, various church bells were ringing, we passed a small art market, and picked up a Nutella gauffre to share. Now seriously, this cathedral is HUGE. I think it’s the second largest existing Gothic cathedral in Europe. I mean its HUGEE. It’s that thing in the photo I posted above. We got to sneak in inbetween masses, hearing the organ play and the bells ring. 

Afterwards we walked along the canal some more and went to an Alsacien history museum. The area has a fascinating history (and an unfortunate one for the jews), and the museum was very well-done. We really enjoyed wearing replicas of medieval casques. Probably too much fun with those. Afterwards we wondered over to the Petite France area, but I have this feeling that we missed the essence of it, because it was just kinda mediocre. I mean, really pretty, with the autumn leaves and German-like architecture, but it was not especially lively! We ate an alsacien lunch and were served by this waitress wearing the craziest sparkly jeans and black corset top—she reminded me of this waitress Jean who I worked with at The Diner this summer.

We then went to the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which was meh. Kinda oddly organized. Liza and I then decided to check out the Place de la Republique, which was gorgeous. We stepped on the pelouse (lawn) even though it was interdit (forbidden). But the leaves were just too tempting! We had a fun time tossing them around and kicking them. This neat little square was lined with ceremonial buildings that looked like they could have been imported straight from Paris. 

We went to another nearby park, full of more leaves and funny little children riding scooters and bikes. Saw the very modern synagogue. We hopped on the tramway for a joyride up to the European Parliament buildings, though they were pretty impossible to see in the dark. After another struggle to find affordable dinner, we ate at a Chinese restaurant where we struggled to keep our voices down. We discussed my amazing idea to open an american-style café in Paris, joking about incorporating all the aspects of America that we miss. And of course we had to stop by Macdo for some Daim Mcflurrys before boarding the train. Daim mcflurrys = new obsession. There was a girl shorter than Biki and I in line ahead of us, so we were joking about how we had “competition.”

Sitting in the train station of Strasbourg, I had to wonder why hoards of young people were getting off of trains late on a Sunday evening. It was like an exodus of people my age with small rolling suitcases. I had to wonder, are they from obscure parts of the region, coming to study there? Do they live in Strasbourg, study there, but go other more exciting places on the weekend? What is the dynamic of this town anyways?

Finally, the ridiculous story about our ride home: While Liza and I decided to have our train tickets sent to us via mail, Biki and Gabe opted to pick them up at the train station. However, seeing as our train was departing at 10h20 in the evening, all of the ticket offices were closed, and the ticket machine required french credit cards (those damn chips!). While they tried to explain their situation to the SNCF people and show them their confirmation numbers, the employees refused to accept it. We got on the train home, and Biki and Gabe had to purchase new 66 euro tickets, tickets they had ALREADY bought. I complained to Liza, “this is so european,” and then her neighbor peeped up, asking about the situation. I was embarrassed I made that comment so loudly, but I am fairly certain that an American station would have been more accommodating, or have had an office open. Ohh France, I am continually fighting with you to work on your business hours and teach you the concept of “convenience” and “customer service.”

In the end, it was good to see Strasbourg, but I think that if I studied there I would get bored pretty quickly. However, it seems like a city that you could really live in and be comfortable—like, family-oriented. I also feel like I really got closer with my friend Liza during the weekend, and I noticed how we think alike. I think overall I left the town feeling unfulfilled, like I missed out on something. But in any event, it was a nice place for a day!