Visiting a Friend and Strasbourg
OCTOBER 9, 2014
We woke up bright (or rather dark) and early to start on our journey to visit my friend in a small town near Sarreguemines, France. It was time to say goodbye to Paris!
We waited at the bus stop in the early morning hours, the start of our journey to the northeastern part of France.
We took the bus to Gare de l’Est station, where we got on the 7:05 am ICE 9551 train to Saarbrucken, Germany with an 8:56 am arrival time. Saarbrucken was one of the closer stations to my friend’s place. My sister and I had bought our tickets for 98 euros on the DB (Deutsche Bahn) website prior to the trip. We slept on and off throughout the two hour ride, in a sort of dream state. So when the conductor announced that the first stop was approaching, I woke my sister up and told her to prepare to get off the train. She was groggy when we exited the train. We walked around the near empty station trying to spot my friend. My friend had told us that if we didn’t find her because she was running late, for us to wait for her at the coffee shop at the station. We looked and looked for that coffee shop. But all we saw were benches in the middle of the room, the information counter to the left, and a small convenient store to the right. My sister and I stared at each other confused, when a realization dawned on us. We had gotten off at the wrong station! We confirmed this when the Forbach signed stared back at us with mockery. We had gotten off at the Forbach station rather than the Saarbrucken station, one stop too early. My sister glared at me with annoyance and frustration.
We were panicked and were wondering what to do, since we didn’t have a working cellphone. We needed to contact my friend to let her know we had exited the wrong station and that we would be taking the next train out, which was scheduled for many hours later. We spotted a public phone and tried to use it unsuccessfully (one of the negative side effects of living in a technologically advanced society, we forget how to use simple things like public phones and paper and pencil). Our next target was a lady sitting by herself on one of the seats, staring into her cellphone. Cellphone! Yes! She kindly let us borrow her phone to call my friend. Unfortunately, we never got my friend’s phone number. I tried my luck at emailing her and hoped that she would read her email. We thanked the lady for her kindness and went out to the middle platform to wait for the next train. We sat there, in separate areas as my sister was still mad at me, staring at the empty train tracks and the autumn landscape. Although my sister was mad at me, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself and my mistake. For some reason, I had assumed that the train we were on had only one stop. As one of my coworkers had once told me, assume makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me”. But hey, what is a trip without a few things that don’t go as planned?
The empty tracks and autumn landscape at the Forbach station
We heard some yelling in the background, and realized that some man was calling to us. We walked over to the train attendant in uniform, who informed us to wait at the train station. We were confused until his colleague explained to us that our friend had called the train station and asked us to wait for her here. She would drive over to Forbach to pick us up. We thanked the man jubilantly, glad that my friend had received our message and that my blunder was expunged. We stared out of the station window hopefully, getting up to check every time a car drove up. This routine lasted for the next half hour or so, until finally a familiar face appeared.
I had met my friend in graduate school in California. We first met at the school badminton gym and eventually collaborated with each other on an academic project. We went our separate ways, me to another city in California and her back to her home country of France. When my sister and I had agreed on a vacation destination, I contacted my friend after the many years we didn’t talk and here we were reunited again, but in her home country.
In the car, my friend told us her story of coming to find us. She reached the Saarbrucken station before our scheduled arrival, and when the train arrived, she walked out to the platform eagerly waiting for us to exit the train. As the last passengers left and she had not seen us, she wondered if she had gotten the time wrong or was at the wrong station. Then she saw my email come in. She contacted the Forbach train station, and told the attendant that she was looking for two Asian girls. Of course, we stood out like a sore thumb as we were the only two Asian girls hanging around looking lost. That was when the man called out to us in the middle of the Forbach platform. It was quite a funny story and we laughed about it the whole way back to her apartment.
Her apartment was in a quiet town I cannot remember the name of. She had prepared the guest room for us, where we quickly dropped off our things, and we were off on our way to Strasbourg for a day trip. My friend and I caught each other up with the events of our lives, while my sister “pulled a Lynn”. My dictionary states that “pull a Lynn” is a slang phrase and means when one instantly collapses into a sleeping state wherever one is (on the backseat, on the ground) or whatever one is doing (eating a bowl of soup). For example, my sister returned home from a camping event where we were deprived of much sleep. I was talking to my sister as we entered the house, but as soon as I turned around, I found her lying on the ground fast asleep. That is a classic “pull a Lynn”. But I digress.
We arrived at the town of Strasbourg, and took a train from a parking structure to the main part of the city.
A statue we passed as we walked from the train to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg.
Our first destination was the beautiful and intricate Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg (Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg). It was situated in the middle of a plaza with other smaller buildings surrounding it. My friend explained that some of these buildings still had bullets and bullet holes in them from during World War II when Britons and Americans bombed the area. Based on the outer façade, the Strasbourg Cathedral was my favorite cathedral of the entire trip. The building is of Gothic architecture, with distinct vertical lines running along the length of the building, and is built of sandstone giving off a pink hue. Inside is an astronomical clock, where at each hour of the day a character comes into motion. We spent some time absorbing in the calm of the cathedral before heading outside for lunch.
Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg
The distinct feature of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg are the lines that run the length of the building.
We chose to eat at Aux P’tits Crocs Restaurant right in the plaza. We wanted to experience being a true European, and decided to sit outside in the patio area. My sister ordered a wine-marinated pork dish with fries, I ordered a pork dish that had a fancy name but turned out to be just ham, and my friend ordered potato pancakes with salad. The food was okay, but what was most memorable was the suffering we experienced breathing in the strong smoke our neighbor was blowing towards us. I observed that so many more people smoke in Europe than in California, and my friend agreed. It was quite a bother to me during the trip.
Wine-marinated pork and fries
Ham and salad
Potato pancakes and salad
We strolled along the quaint streets of the area of Strasbourg known as La Petite France, and I felt transported back into the time of “Hansel and Gretel”. The houses were positioned side by side, touching each other, of different pastel colors, and had wooden lines decorating the outer walls giving them a characteristic fairytale feel.
The “Hansel and Gretel” houses of the La Petite France area of Strasbourg
The “Hansel and Gretel” houses of La Petite France
Strolling along the quaint streets of La Petite France
There were waterways that cut through Strasbourg, and we walked on the streets above the waterways and below the streets at the water level. We came upon what is called a lock. I had never heard of this term before, but my friend explained that it is a device used for lowering and raising watercrafts between areas of different water levels. In the near distance, we spotted a boat approaching the lock. We watched as the boat entered the chamber, and the gate on the lower water side of the chamber closed. The gate on the higher water side then slowly opened, allowing water to enter the chamber and raise the boat. It was amazing to watch and we were lucky to be at the right place at the right time.
Strasbourg houses along the waters
Scenic view of Strasbourg
The boat had entered the lock, and one of the gates was closing.
We spent the rest of the day enjoying the feel of the small town, taking pictures and talking, visiting a souvenir shop where my sister bought a mini musical box, and walking along the cobblestone streets lined with small local shops. As we were walking back to the train, we were enticed by an ice cream/frozen yogurt cart called Jeff de Bruges. My sister chose a strawberry yogurt while I decided on a mint chip ice cream. Wow! This was the most amazing ice cream I had ever had in my life. Seriously. The ice cream was so light and refreshing with the mint flavor. I just cannot describe how incredibly good it was. I really wish that they sold this in the states.
We walked along the cobblestone streets lined with small shops.
The best ice cream I have ever eaten!
After the delicious treat, we grabbed a baguette from a bakery and headed back to my friend’s apartment. It was time for dinner when we reached her place. My sister and I showered and freshened up as my friend and her boyfriend prepared dinner for us. This night, we had an authentic homemade five course meal where we were introduced to many new dishes. I always love to try new foods. First course was bread, with foie gras pate (duck or goose liver) used as a spread. The bread was delicious, but the foie gras did not fit my palate. I don’t like liver in general, because of the texture and taste, so mushing it into a paste did not make it any better for me. Second course was the main dish which was a meat pie. It was delicious, buttery, flaky, and flavorful. Third course was cheese and wine. She bought us six different cheeses to try, each with its own distinct flavor. We have had cheese in America, which we enjoy alright. But the French cheeses had a much stronger taste and sometimes pungent smell to them. We tried one-centimeter-squared pieces of all the cheeses, but I ended up liking only one or two of them. My sister didn’t like any of them at all. Fourth course was applesauce for dessert, which my friend’s boyfriend made. The applesauce was the perfect sweetness and the perfect texture. Yum! The fifth and final course was chocolate to ease our fullness.
Cheese plate as our fourth course of the night
Applesauce as our fifth course of the night
We were greeted with such genuine hospitality. We really appreciated my friend’s effort in bringing us a great meal and enjoyed the French dining experience. It was a great end to our last day in France.
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