Strasbourg: Friends and a city improved by time
Today we continued the trip west into Alsatian France, driving through the Black Forest to meet my brother's and my college Sunday school teachers. Thanks to email, the husband has remained a bit of a spiritual father to me. They treated us to a lovely lunch just steps from Strasbourg's impressive gothic cathedral.
We concluded the day exploring yet another Christmas market.
Perhaps given its tourist appeal, the market had a heavier-than-in-past-years police presence.
Because of its location, Strasbourg has an interesting combination of French and German culture. We drank beer and wine at lunch, and I ate a "wild game" - venison - stew, served with red cabbage and spaetzle. Before heading back, we prowled through part of a canal-side neighborhood called Petit France.
Tomorrow we drive into Stuttgart proper, where I'll catch a train to the Netherlands to an exhibit. Wednesday night I'll take another night train to Berlin for some quick sight-seeing before my Friday morning flight home.