Strasbourg

When a colleague asked me if I´d accompany her and a form of 31 15/16-year-old pupils on a 2½ day excursion to Strasbourg I agreed, I knew most of the boys and girls and expected they wouldn´t be too stressful and I´d been to Strasbourg so many years ago that I felt my memory could do with some brushing up. Strasbourg is only 2½ hours by direct train from the town where we live, we got on the train in Germany and got off in France, just like that, no customs people, no border police with Alsatians checking the train, no changing of money. This is what a united Europe means for us! To imagine that not too long ago young people were taught to see the French as ...

'Let’s go on holiday’ said Ms. M. ‘Hmmm...OK’ I responded (I was probably watching TV) ‘Where shall we go?’ she asked. ‘Hmmm...wherever you want to go’ ‘Would you like to go to Strasbourg?’ ‘Hmmm...OK’ So there it was. We went on holiday to Strasbourg. We could probably have gone anywhere, had I diverted my attention away from the TV for just five minutes. But no, we were going on a touring holiday of Strasbourg. Now you must understand that this was to be a new experience for me – other than the regular visits to my family in France all my previous ...

Strasbourg is in the north east of France on the German border. It is a very nice region called Alsace Lorraine with many charming assets: towns, wine, traditional food, architectural monuments, universities… Like any other place, it has a history to tell: Before becoming Strasbourg, it was called Argentoratum, fishers and hunters village and was an important fortified place during the Roman era. Barbarians and others tried to invade the city that became a German province from 870. After the 30 years War, France annexed the Alsace but the position of Strasbourg was uncertain. But in 1681, Strasbourg was again a French possession. In 1870 ...