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Photo Gallery #64- Strasbourg
After
five days in Paris, I went on to Strasbourg, the capital of
the Alsace
region in the far east near the German border. While I was
there, I had a
chance to see another friend, and explore a completely different
side of France.
Click any of the thumbnails to
see a larger version in a separate window
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To
get to Strasbourg, I took a morning train from Paris,
leaving from Gare de l'Est, East Station.
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I
spent a freezing hour or so waiting in the station concourse. |
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Eventually
the train and track were posted... |
And
off I went, next stop Strasbourg.
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My
ride. |
After
loading up, we were on the way, about a four-hour trip.
The French government is in the middle of building a new
high-speed TGV train line that will link Paris and Strasbourg
by 2007, cutting the travel time in half. |
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About
six-o'clock, we arrived- I met up with my friend Aurélie
at the station, and we went first to the famous Christmas
Market, a great place to do holiday shopping, drink spiced
wine, or simply explore. |
As
you can imagine, finding Christmas decorations isn't too
hard. |
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The
market sits at the base of the amazing Strasbourg Cathedral,
more than 500 years old. |
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main spire of the cathedral looks to be at least 100 meters
tall, although I'm not certain exactly. |
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The
cathedral, flanked by the classic Alsatian-style houses,
similar to Tudor construction in the UK, with wooden frames
on the exterior. |
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A
district known as Petit France, full of souvenir
shops, cafés, and best of all, chocolate makers. |
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also a more modern side to Strasbourg, which is one of France's
largest cities. |
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It's
also one of the three centers of the 25-nation European
Union (along with Brussels and Luxembourg), home to the
EU Parliament, which meets one week per month. |
The
building is supposedly meant to look unfinished, a metaphor
for the still-uncompleted project of European unity. |
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Strasbourg
is also the site of the European High Court of Justice
and the Council of Europe, a meeting place for every nation
on the continent, EU member state or not. |
As
an EU center, Strasbourg is filled with diplomatic missions
and embassies, such as the Romanian mission, seen here.
There's nothing particularly special about it, I suppose,
but the colors caught my eye, as the Romanian and Chadian
flags are exactly the same. |
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