Recollection: France 2018

You guys, France has my heart.

About a month ago, I posted the first half of my international trip here. In that post, I talk about the time I spent in Germany and a little bit about how this whole trip came to be. After Germany, I hopped on a bus with my class and we crossed the border into Strasbourg, France.

On the first day, we visited the European Parliament. The EU has two main locations for meetings: Brussels and Strasbourg. The members are required to meet twelve times a year in the latter. And let me tell you, I was quite in awe of the EU. Even though Parliament wasn’t in session, we got to go sit inside the chamber where meetings are held anyway.

I’m not into politics like that, but I would definitely love to sit in one of the meetings (visitors are allowed to come and sit in on meetings–how cool is that?). Interpreters are on stand-by, so you’ll be able to understand whoever is speaking. After the tour of the European Parliament, we headed to our hotel; which was a little more in the countryside of Strasbourg.

According to our itinerary, we were staying at the Château de Pourtalès–a freaking castle. I think my friends and I looked up the place prior to our arrival, but I don’t think I fully understood what staying in an old castle meant. As we pulled up the unnecessarily long driveway, I saw it peeking through the trees. In the distance, this magnificent building seemed to literally glow in the sunlight. I was shooketh.

I was going to be staying in a castle for the duration of my trip, and I couldn’t believe that my wannabe-princess dreams were finally coming true. Only took twenty years–no biggie. When we finally parked in front of the castle, I’m pretty sure my entire class was speechless. Like, what did we do to deserve this kind of luxury?

Eventually, after everyone proceeded to take pictures of the entire building, we got our room assignments and–once again–struggled with our suitcases. Like many of the hotels we stayed at in Germany, this castle-turned-hotel did not have an elevator either. Just because the building upgraded to modern plumbing and air condition did not mean they had to get to an elevator. Unfortunately.

After this, we had an early group dinner at the cutest little French restaurant. Once again, the restaurant curated the menu for us–but there were no options this time. We ate whatever they brought out. The appetizer and dessert were fine; however, what was not fine was the main dish. I love sushi, but I don’t like fish. I think it’s a textural thing for me. Fish is just too soft and…ew. But I ate most of the dish anyway.

Once we finished dinner, we did a little grocery run since we were going to be fending for ourselves most of the time in Strasbourg. The good thing about our hotel was the kitchen we could use to make meals. And much like my excitement about the German grocery store, I really loved the French one too.

Something I noticed about European grocery stores was that they’re sustainable. You have to bring your own bags/boxes for your items. They don’t waste plastic bags, and I feel like America is a bit behind on that trend. Anyway, my friends and I split groceries and our whole class walked back to the hotel. Yes, walked.

Walking and Europe are synonymous.

But we didn’t always walk. Since we were spending the remainder of our trip in Strasbourg, we also got familiar with public transportation. If we were going somewhere as a whole class–for like a tour or something–we would take a charter bus type of transportation. However, for the days when we went into the city center–which was often–and if you wanted to travel in a smaller group, public transportation was the way to go.

Speaking of the city center of Strasbourg, I was obsessed. We spent an entire day just exploring Strasbourg’s city center, and everything was so old and cute. There’s an area of the city called La Petit France (Little France). Back in the day, Strasbourg was under German control–hence the super German-sounding name. So, the French who lived here created their own little slice of home. And it was gorgeous.

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One thing I enjoyed about Strasbourg was the fact that I could use the French I knew. I’m not fluent by any means, but I can understand and read enough. In comparison to my lack of German language, I felt much more comfortable in France. I could order food without hassle, and that’s the most important thing.

Also, I had some of the best gelatos of my life here. Let me tell you something, if you ever plan to eat gelato abroad, the flavor I recommend is citron vert (lime). Sis, it was soooo good. Super refreshing and slightly tangy. Literal perfection.

Another pretty standout thing about Strasbourg was the Strasbourg Cathedral, which is also referred to as Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg (Cathedral of Our Lady). It seemed like you could see the tall spire from every part of the city. I remember the lines to get into the cathedral were long; but once I got inside, I was awestruck. I think it was my first time inside a cathedral. Or at least, inside a cathedral from the 15th century.

Fun fact: Did you know that for over 200 years, the Strasbourg Cathedral was the tallest building in the world? Like, how cool is that?

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Our tour guide suggested we should climb the 330 steps up the cathedral tower. 330 steps didn’t seem too strenuous, but I think we all were just so exhausted. We were constantly on the go and jet lag was definitely beginning to catch up. Lowkey, I kind of regret not going to the top of the tower now–I think the views would’ve been amazing.

That same night, a group of us explored Strasbourg’s nightlife; but I won’t delve into too much detail because what happened in Strasbourg stayed in Strasbourg. However, I will divulge that French people know how to have a good time. Like, until the sun rises kind of fun. This is good for them, but ya girl can only take so much socialization.

The next day took on a more serious note. In the morning, we visited the Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp. I thought I knew what to expect because I’ve read countless books about the Holocaust, and I’ve seen so many documentaries about it. However, I don’t think you really understand the magnitude of it all until you’re actually there.

When I say that I had chills the entire time I was there, I really had chills. The emotions rolling through me were honestly indescribable. A part of me couldn’t even speak because everything felt surreal; while another part of me wanted to cry because I felt so sad for what these individuals had to endure.

As we toured the grounds, the guides told us about the awful living conditions and the crazy thing is everything is still there–the buildings, the rooms, the crematorium. It was surreal. I also remembered it was so cold that morning. An ominous fog was gently covering everything; I don’t know what everyone else was thinking, but it felt symbolic to me.

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Natzweiler-Struthof kind of sits on a steep hill. We were able to take steps down to the base of the hill, but the stairs didn’t exist back then. People had to walk–often barefoot–up the slope. And I walked that slope back up to the main area. It was not easy at all. I can’t even begin to imagine how it would’ve been for them–especially during winter.

Least to say, this visit was a life-changing one. I left feeling humbled, blessed, and thankful for all that I had.

Later that day, after having lunch in a town called Obernai, we visited a wine vineyard in Wolxheim and I indulged in my first ever wine tasting. I knew that I would love wine tasting, but it was even better than I thought it would be. The vinter was the coolest dude, and he really made the whole experience great.

Sadly, ya girl wasn’t able to take home any wine–since I wasn’t legal in the states yet, oops–but they were really good.

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Our last day in France was a free one–we could do whatever we wanted. My friends and I wanted to take a train to Paris because train tickets are cheap and it’s only about three hours away. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have that much time since we had a final group dinner that night. Instead, we hopped on a train to Colmar.

It was cheaper than tickets to Paris and only a few train stops away. Colmar was one of the cutest towns. Like much of Europe, it was so colorful and the flowers were in bloom because of Spring. There’s even a quarter in Colmar called La Petit Venise (Little Venice). The quarter had an array of Italian restaurants, and they even had a canal with gondola rides.

After eating a crêpe and enjoying the sights of Colmar, we rushed to catch our train back to Strasbourg and had a super luxurious final dinner in France.

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I’m not even going to talk about the struggles of packing my suitcase or the exhaustion that was the flight back home, but this trip was one of the best trips of my life (aside from some minor inconveniences). Going to France and Germany made me realize that I love traveling. It also made me realize that I want to live abroad. One day, I’m going to live in Europe–even if it’s just for a few months.

And I definitely have to come back here.