Last weekend, my friend and I took the train all the way from Hamburg, Germany, to Strasbourg , France – they’re about 960 km apart. The weather wasn’t ideal, but everything else was great! We visited beautiful corners, met nice people, ate delicious food and had good conversations and lots of laughs. 🙂

Strasbourg sits at the border between France and Germany and it’s the capital of the Alsace region in northeastern France. It’s so charming, it feels more like a town than a city – the type you can easily use up all your phone memory for photos.

Friday, 3 October

We took advantage of the holiday on 3 October, the day marking Germany’s reunion. Total travel time from Hamburg = 7 hours, including station stops. Surprisingly, the Deutsche Bahn didn’t live up to its reputation of always being late. There was only a 30-minute delay on one trip and a couple of minutes in others. I had hoped for some drama that I can talk about later in the office, but it didn’t happen. 😄

We arrived at the hotel after sunset, settled down and had dinner in a nearby restaurant. Soon, it was time for us to rest from the long trip.

Saturday, 4 October

The first thing we did was have breakfast at a local bakery. Bakeries in France are like art museums; you feel the baker is showcasing their array of masterpieces and selling them with pride!

We had planned to visit the cathedral afterwards and see the famous astronomical clock, but public entry was postponed for a couple of hours. So we took the Petit Train Touristique, a type of sightseeing train that tours the city’s main attractions.

It was a really nice ride full of information on the city’s history. The train took us to the narrow alleyways and roamed the entire city centre.

When the train trip ended we noticed that the cathedral, called the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, was now open. The cathedral is impressive no doubt – both from inside and outside-, but what was curious is the astronomical clock on the right side of the trinity chapel.

The clock was massive and pretty remarkable! It dates back to the 16th century, and it was designed to tell the time, the positions of the sun and moon, the date, and even the movements of the planets.

Next was our walking tour and we were lucky to have had a very funny guide. The group was laughing all the way around the city despite light rain – but we also had occasional sunshine.

The old houses are just stunning and so colourful. I’m not the type of person interested in history, so I have nothing informative about that, but there was one thing that stuck to my mind related to the name La Petite France (“Little France”).

It’s the name of Strasbourg’s most famous district and it was called that because of a disease. In the 16th century, the area housed a hospital treating soldiers with syphilis, then nicknamed “the French disease.” At that time, Strasbourg belonged to Germany, but later when it became French, the name lost its negative meaning and became associated with the picturesque beauty of the neighbourhood

The Food…

The long walk got us really hungry, so it was time for food. I usually google restaurants when I’m on vacation, but something told me to ask the guide about the best place for the famous pizza-like dish Strasbourg makes, La Tarte Flambée.

This was the best thing I had there – at Le Troquet des Kneckes. It was so simple but so tasty! Crispy thin crust on the outside – slightly burnt but I loved the chargrilled taste; soft and thin in the middle. Mine tasted savoury-sweet from the combination of white cheese and grilled onions. Heaven on a wooden tray!

The next best thing I had was a vanilla mille-feuille at Pâtisserie Kautzmann. These remind me of the time they became trendy during my teenage years in Jordan. I’ve had them several times, but this one was on another level! Light but also dense, sweet but also balanced, soft but crunchy; the person who made it can only be described as an artist!

Sunday, 5 October

The next day, we visited Colmar – another charming town that’s about one-hour away from Strasbourg by train. One of its districts is called La Petite Venise (“Little Venice”) because of its picturesque canals lined with colourful houses resembling the waterways of Venice.

The houses, the alleys and the restaurants in the district were stunning! The town seemed a tiny bit older than Strasbourg to me judging from the houses. The guide who took us for a walk there told us that a big portion of them are empty; it’s a way to protect them from decay.

And yes! You guessed it! I couldn’t leave without having tarte flambée again. This time with salmon 😋 (P.S. the first one was better).

The evening ended with a great high-end dinner at a restaurant in Strasbourg called the Maison Kammerzell. The house dates back from 1427 and it’s very unique. Inside, the rooms have wooden carvings, spiral staircases and stained glass from bottle bottoms (a special art of window-making in Alsace). The restaurant was really cozy and full of people from all over the world.

Monday, 6 October

Our short trip ended with a calm breakfast in the city. We sat next to the window and watched the people start their busy Monday, walking the streets or riding the tram. It was our way of saying goodbye to Strasbourg.

We then bought some food for the train, and some croissants and bread to take back with us to Hamburg. Half of the time, my friend and I kept saying how beautiful the French language was compared to German! We were feeling nostalgic already 😆