Garlands of Strasbourg

Christmas garlands (les guirlandes) are the rule in Strasbourg like at Patisserie Christian.

Look up!

You'll find them hanging above the ground floor (not to be confused with the FIRST floor in French buildings.

Don't ask me why they place them here.

Even a petit chalet in one of the 11 Christmas marches has a garland of hanging balls.

Gold chairs hanging...why? Quit sait.

White is the color of choice generally.

But this stocking shop went for scarlet red.

When in Strasbourg wear RED including your shopping trolley.

Red hanging garlands inside a little cafe.

Traditional evergreen garlands hung outside the little restaurant where I had lunch, Vince' Stub, 10 petite rue des dentelles. I ate roasted magret de canard (duck breast) topped with foie gras + a glass of Reisling. Talk about going over the top. Travel Advisor rates it 10 out of 1,174 restaurants by the way so get a reservation.

After I fell into this ice cream parlor and promptly went to sleep at my table. Zzzzz. I got up, sleep-walked out, leaving my iPad on the table. The nice waiter came running after me. Merci Dieu!

Does a 'garland' of buskers singing in front of the cathedral count?

Inside the cathedral beautiful garland-style decorations hang from the chandeliers.

Hanging decorations inside patisserie Christian's courtyard.

The Strasbourg tree in the main square is the biggest in Europe.

The toy village at its base had this little kiddie fascinated.

Even the Strasbourg train station makes departing a festive occasion.

Bye bye Strasbourg!

Desperately Seeking Guy Untereiner & Tomi Ungerer museum

Friday I ran away to Strasbourg (2 hrs on the TGV).

I went looking for artwork by  Guy Untereiner. He lives tucked away in the tiny town of Drulingen.

Maison Bossert (15, rue des Bouchers) carries his Alsacien images made into tree decorations & whatnots, + his latest Noel book.

I wanted to immerse myself into the biggest, oldest, first (1570) Christmas market in Europe.

What a beautiful town!

Like Amsterdam and Venice, Strasbourg is surrounded by waterways with connecting bridges. For Christmas the streets are all pedestrian - a very relaxing stroll.

Strasbourg's Gothic cathedral fits perfectly into the old town

Inside is jaw-dropping. The height!

As soon as the Christmas lights go on, people come out.

A pleasant family crowd sipping their spiced wine (hot spiced apple juice for the tea totalers). Giant cheesy pretzels 🥨 

crepes, sausages sold at 11 Christmas markets. You'll never go hungry in Strasbourg.

More upscale, the Maison Kammerzel  stand by the cathedral

Foie gras tastes

Foie gras sandwiches inside a pretzel 🥨 b Very YUM!

Endless number of patisseries and boulangeries in town. How did I miss this 'Citron Noisette'?

I couldn't resist a crêpe with sugar and cinnamon inside. Do you remember slathering butter/cinnamon/sugar on toast? Then putting it under the broiler? 

These Alsacien girls, painted on a nearby tea salon wall look so like the crêpe lady.

An Alsacien granny at the extraordinary Tomi Ungerer museum. 

Anything with a bird, I'm hooked.

I celebrated Christmas early this weekend & loved every minute of it. 

Arriving with no hotel - no problem. The tourist office at the station fixed me up quickly. Strasbourg is an easy town to enjoy on your own & on foot🦶 Do it!

If you'd like the recent December map included 

In a 6-pack of Paris maps, just click. 

There are ducks 🦆 on it. 

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Desperately Seeking Gingerbread - Strasbourg

I grew up eating gingerbread men, women, pigs, cats, dogs for Christmas. The rest of the year I got by on gingersnaps.

Naturally you would think Strasbourg in Alsace would be loaded with gingerbread.

You would be very wrong.

Strasbourgundians (I made that word up) are overly fond of anything pain d'épice - a kind of honey spice bread and very soft to boot. 

Bonjour tristesse.

So many festive boulangeries in Strasbourg

Filled to the brim with kuglehopf and other local specialties. And I do mean filled.

Certainly they have the right cookie cutters to make a decent gingerbread man or dog.

These must be from the US since they bear the word 'GINGERBREAD'

They have the essential spices too, but they choose to put them into their steaming pots of mulled wine only. Why is this? Should I move to Strasbourg and open my own gingerbread shop?

I was certain peeking in the window that these were hard, crisp gingerbread. They were not ;(

Pain d'epice usually comes in giant loaves. Franchement I think it a bit unfair to deceive innocents like myself making pain d'epice into santa men shapes. Don't you?

People who live in gingerbread-style houses

Should eat gingerbread! There oughtta be a law. Humph

I was drawn to the creme de la creme of patisseries in Strasbourg, Thierry Mulhaupt

I was drawn to his beautiful passion fruit and citron tartes, but no gingerbread.

I did of course get a small passion fruit tarte for research purposes natch. Yum yum

This patient medieval doggie in the Musee de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame looks like he's waiting for a gingersnap in my opinion.

This rather downcast medieval doggie looks like he didn't get his gingersnap.

I mean do these soft, puffy cakes look tasty to you? Be honest. Where's the crunch? Where's the snap?

OK. Clearly this is a Noodle lady in traditional dress. No one is fooled here.

In the end I did get a gingerbread woman of sorts...

Perhaps the December Paris map is a subliminal homage to the missing gingerbread in my life..

I did hear recently of an American making real gingerbread cookies in the 3rd. I will investigate further and report back Parisbreakfast fans. Fingers crossed.