INTERESTING MOMENTS/ PHOTOS IN 2017

We went to so many places and saw so many things this year but here are a few photos that didn't get onto the blog earlier. Reims with its beautiful cathedral and amazing champagne caves.

Margaret and Justyn in front of Reims Cathedral.

Margaret on a significant step ascending out of the Veuve Cliquot Champagne cave.

We had some very cold weather in January. The canal was closed for a week as it was completely frozen over. As soon as it opened again the commercial barges started coming through. The ice cracked and large pieces of ice moved slowly and hit us with a huge resounding noise just like a large gong. This was followed by strange squeaking noises as the ice blocks slid over each other.

A commercial barge breaking the ice just next to us.

Later in the year we went down the Arzviller inclined plane which is an amazing feat of engineering taking over from 17 locks which would have taken a few days to navigate rather than 20 minutes.

Soraya descending the Arzviller inclined plane.

A very rare birds eye view of Soraya.

Two things that have dominated our travels are food and drink!!

Amazingly presented food and this was just the amuse-bouche (appetiser).

Many stops like this for coffee and, of course, a glass or two of wine.

STRANGE BEASTS

Around the city strange beasts are springing up in shop windows in addition to the normal festive offerings of this season. There must be a silent competition as to which brand/shop produces the most extravagant or strange. A few that caught my eye are:

Rabbit by Louis Vuitton. Sorry, rabbit with Louis Vuitton handbag.

The rabbit is not to be messed with at about 2 metres tall. Moving onto the Diesel shop sheep/humans, or should I say sheemans or humeeps, had taken over all the window displays. Not sure about the red hair and hooves.

Sheep? Or are we crossing species boundaries.

Someone had to go sci-fi, it was Prada. Quite an elaborate offering and again about 2 metres tall. Odd though as none of there products were to be seen. Well it's all a bit of fun and does make a change from the usual fashion shop window displays.

Prada all a little bit futuristic.

THE CABBAGE AND CHOUCROUTE MUSEUM

Yes someone had to do it. We saw it advertised in the local tourist information office and put the idea of a visit on the back burner. Guests gone for now we thought we'd take the plunge. In the car to find 'La Maison de la Choucroute!' It's interesting to note the flyer puts an exclamation mark after the name. No problem finding the house and innumerable large warehouses and tanks in the middle of clayey fields. Cabbages like clay soil, I suppose it's Rhine valley flood plain.

You can't fault the catchy advertising. The flyer was cut out to be cabbage shaped.

We parked in the waterlogged muddy car park. Margaret looked bemused, I couldn't blame her. How do we get in? No obvious entrance. We eventually found it around the back and surprise, surprise despite it being within their advertised opening times it was closed and locked!! 

Margaret wondering why we were in the middle of a muddy field at cabbage central.

All was not lost, a lady arrived and opened up for us, yes we were the only visitors. Lights on and into the shop for, we did not know. I expected a tour around the factory and a video. No, that is only available for pre booked groups. So perhaps we would like a degustation? Choucroute at 11 in the morning. Oh!.....go on then it would be rude not to. We did and we bought. We decided to go for a red cabbage and prune choucroute. I hear you groan. It's still in our fridge looking at us. Walking back to the car I did hear 'Do you think we could get a coffee anywhere round here?' No chance.

That's what we came for, the 'Veritable Choucroute d'Alsace'.

Interesting observation when we said to Martyn that we were going to a choucroute museum, he said 'You must be getting short of material for the blog.' I don't agree, but he does have a point!!

ALTERNATIVE MARCHÉ DE NOËL/DECORATIONS

There is definitely a mainly traditional feeling to the Christmas market. There is also an alternative undercurrent. Along with the stalls there are impromptu performances. The group below were great fun and rather bonkers, excellent. What they were trying to say in the performance is anyone's guess as the language + accents + music made it unintelligible.

Dancers from? I think it was Hungary, not much information provided.

There are always interesting details. I liked the idea that a tree had been harvested, made into skis, the skis had been used and at the end of their useful life been turned back into a 'tree'. Of course not quite true as most skis are now man made composites but wood is making a comeback.

So that's what you do with old skis, make a Christmas tree.

Elsewhere apart from the Father Christmases, the teddy bears, the lights, the white sticks, there is the odd pike. Yes pike. Pike is plentiful on the watercourses around Strasbourg and is a favourite in local restaurants. Best to be served with 'beurre blanc'. It's the first time I have seen pike used as a Christmas decoration. Everyone to their own.

Brochet (Pike) house decorations.

The shop windows can often be fun. This beauty salon decided to go for lips. The scale was huge, each lip being about half a metre. Certainly made a splash or should I say kiss.

Colourful lips, shop window decorations.

Hope you've had a good Christmas and we wish you a fun and happy New Year.

MARCHÉ DE NOËL

For a Christmas market lover this is the place to be. The market is all over the old town with every square filled with stalls and the space between the stalls filled to overflowing with people. Getting around is difficult.

Jan and Margaret about to take the plunge. Andy and I plunged into a bar.

There are stalls/kiosks selling everything and yes in my view a lot of tat. That aside it is very colourful and atmospheric. Especially after a couple of vin chauds. As we have recently had a stream of visitors, all good fun, we have seen quite a lot of the markets. It is noticeable that there is a division by sex as to who likes the market stalls and who likes the local bars! I'll let you decide the division. All I can say is that it resulted in Margaret spending a lot of time in amongst the thronging masses and myself sat in the warmth of a local pub chatting with one of our guests. Strange!

Figurines, by the thousand.

I would hate to be the figurine stall holder setting up this lot. There again I'm sure they love it or they wouldn't be doing it. Presumably the rest of the year they are selling non Christmas figurines, or do they make enough at Christmas to last them the year? I didn't see anyone buying a figure/model, may just have been a quite patch.

Christmas lights. Not for people prone to epilepsy. 

Of course there is food of every, well almost, sort. Food for instant consumption and for presents.

Food by the kiosk load.

Of course there is a Christmas tree and as Strasbourg is Capitale de Noël they have a big one. It is big! It's a huge job felling it, bringing it into the city centre and erecting it. This year the efforts were exceptional. Earlier in November the tree was up ready for decoration. Then one day it was gone. I was at the European Parliament and I asked the guide did he know what happened to the tree. Yes he said, great problems. The tree developed a huge structural defect and had to be taken down for safety reasons. But!.....that was not the whole story. The tree I had seen was the 'third' tree. Hence the tree in the photograph below is the fourth. In all the years of erecting a Christmas tree in Place Kleber they have never had a problem. This year four trees. It would have been fascinating to have been at the meeting of the mayor when the third tree was found to be defective!

The Strasbourg Christmas tree with Justyn and Geoff.

All in all great fun, did I mention the Kougelhopf. Well as they say - more of that later, if they will allow us back with our navy blue passports!

STRASBOURG-CAPITALE DE NOËL

Well they certainly know how to decorate and celebrate in Strasbourg at Christmas. Hundreds of shops, restaurants and houses are draped in millions of lights, baubles, Christmas wreaths and, very strangely, a large collection of teddy bears. Walking along its streets, the city takes on the form of its title: Capitale de Noël. Everything from the smallest of shops to the vast cathedral are decorated and illuminated for the season. The streets and buildings are all lavishly decorated. So much effort and time must have gone into them. The windows are full of animations, teddy bears making cakes, Santas going down chimneys etc. Great for children and for the adults too!

A typical street in the centre of Strasbourg.

One of the many decorated buildings in Strasbourg.

Teddy bears seem to feature highly in many of the decorations and buildings. They must have some local significance.

Ahh! Very cute.

Colourful and sparkly.

We decided, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Our decorations lighting up Soraya.

FLAMBOYANT FOOD AND A DROP OF GLUHWEIN

The Chistmas Market is in full flow with thousands of people decending on Strasbourg which advertises itself as 'Strasbourg - Capitale de Noël'. They certainly don't penny pinch or should I say cent pinch. As well as the usual tat as in every Christmas Market there are some more flamboyant products, particularly in the food area.There are saussison by the van load, food stalls selling Alsatian favourites, fabulous biscuits and tempting nibbles of every description. We could not help noticing some of the more exotic or flamboyant offerings. A vendor selling madeleines, a firm favourite, decorated to the level of Fabergé eggs.

Madeleines with fine and golden decorations.

In an adjacent chocolate shop they have obviously got carried away with the idea of an edible Advent Calendar. Looks great but how much chocolate can you eat every day for a month? Lots apparently and how do you break, bite off a piece each day?

Chocolate Advent 'wheel'.

In addition to the flamboyant foods there are numerous stalls selling gluhwein or vin chaud. You really have to get into the spirit. Just to make sure you don't run out of vin chaud, after all it's only available on virtually every street corner, there are a couple of itinerant vendors. Well you may have just run out and the next stall isn't for a few yards.

Vin chaud anyone?

POMPIER DE GARE v FIREMAN SAM

The real Fireman Sam exists in France. Recently at the station this diminutive fire engine shot past lights flashing and sirens blaring. Was it Fireman Sam or should I say Pompier Samuel! It was rather amusing a fully working fire engine with 2 firefighters inside but on a very small scale, the fire engine that is, for weaving through the internal areas of a busy station. Whilst I am sure it is very useful and appropriate for the job I'm not sure about the street cred.

Le très petit camion de pompiers.

COLD......NOT ON SORAYA

The weather has been mixed changing daily. The other morning whilst out running a few snowflakes started to fall. By the time I got back to Soraya there was no doubt about the snow. A short period later we were well covered. In fact it was hard to go out as the gunwales were so slippery they were lethal.

Soraya on our mooring in the snow.

Inside Soraya we are very cosy, all systems working well. Did I mention the Isolation Transformer? Well it wasn't isolating. A bit of investigation, a few phone calls, a bit more poking around and all fixed for no cost. Pleased as a new one ~£1000. As the acronym goes for BOAT - Bring Out Another Thousand! 

The snow did not last too long. The cold remained despite the melt. Going out later to a piano concert at the Opera de Strasbourg you had to wrap up well to keep out the wind chill.

Margaret dressed to keep warm. The smile means she IS warm.

SOIRÉE DE SAINT NICOLAS WITH MANNELE

The port de plaisance we are in for winter organises a 'Mannele Soirée' for St Nicholas day (6th December). We did not know there were so many people in the port. Actually some only keep their boat here and are not livaboards. The French contingency of the Rhine river police were there as well as the local pompiers (firemen). Best to keep in with the local agencies. A jolly occasion which tested our French conversational skills as it was quite a loud event with a female singer blasting out the numbers. The word Mannele is what we Brits would call a ginger bread man. Well that's the nearest equivalent. The 'man' is made of a sweet bread dough and is not biscuity at all, with a thin sugar glaze. They are traditionally eaten around St Nicholas day.

Margaret with our boat neighbour Vincent and a glass of vin chaud.

A few Mannele in a local boulangerie.