Escapade to the east

We had s credit note with a budget airline company that flies to small and mid-size cities in Europe. I wondered how we could use it, where we could go and when.

The answer was a brief escapade to Strasbourg.

Our flight was at 8:40 on Sunday morning. It takes an hour to get to the airport by tram. The 30" shuttle doesn't start running till 7:30, so we got up at 5am and scuttled out. We arrived at the airport at about 6:30. The airport was pretty well deserted. We got through security in seconds. Thankfully the cafe was open, so we bought some drinks and sat in fine but grubby armchairs looking out on the silent runway. Boarding was simple. The flight was almost full. The flight was comfortable and we landed just after 10.

Near the central railway station in Strasbourg is a café run by a church. The café looks quite anonymous and there were no signs that a church was meeting. We arrived perhaps 20 minutes late for the service but we had been told not to worry, so we went in and found the back room where the church was meeting. I counted about 60 to 70 chairs in the air-conditioned room with maybe 50 people present. It was great to be there. The church is doing a series for Advent on the words "Wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace". The sermon talked of humankind's quest for wisdom, referring to the Larousse definition of wisdom, and to a book written by three friends, one a psychologist, another a philosopher and the third a Buddhist monk, then to Christ as the wisdom of God, and the Spirit's role in the Christian's life.

After the service we found one of the "good addresses" we had been given and began our gastro-tourism - we began with potato-pancakes (galettes de pommes-de-terre). Hearty.

Strasbourg proclaims itself the Capital of Christmas, and much of our time was spent wandering round the beautifully decorated streets and browsing round the Christmas markets. As Christmas markets go, this was wonderful. There was little absolute tat, and lots of hand-made crafts being sold by their makers. Also lots of vin chaud (red or white), hot chocolate, waffles, crêpes, bretzels, choucroute, etc. etc.

It was also bitterly cold. On Monday it snowed.

We indulged ourselves by taking a boat-trip in an air-conditioned boat from which we could watch the people on the riverbanks as they shivered.

We managed to visit the cathedral - the queues to get in on Monday were enormous and we assumed there was an admission charge, but we got there quite early on Tuesday, the queue was short and admission was free. I was captivated by the stained glass. No wonder Hitler wanted it to become a monument to the German people. (The absolute rotter)

Our gastro-tourism included choucroute - I cheated by having confit de canard served on a bed of choucroute. I'm OK with eating bacon, sausage and so on, but there is a limit, so I was thrilled when I saw duck on the menu instead. at chose chicken with spaetzles - Alsacien pasta.

Yesterday we had an evening flight home, so after our visit to the cathedral we bought a little pottery house for someone. The stall-holder congratulated us on our deliberation - it was our third visit to the stand. "You have to think before buying a house", he said. Then we went back to our first "good address" for flammekueche, or tarte-flambée. It's essentially a pizza on a very thin base, with crème fraiche instead of tomato sauce. We chose to share one garnished with garlic and chives.

Strasbourg is a fine city with a fascinating and troubled history. We were impressed by three initiatives.

Firstly, two christian cafés. Both are run as speciality coffee shops, by which I mean they have proper espresso machines and baristas who draw flowers and swans on your cappuccinos, lattes and flat whites. Both are linked with churches. One is actually the church premises. Both run various workshops, including English and French classes. Both are substantially bigger than our café here in Bordeaux.

The third was something we came across in the street - La Petite Cantine - a restaurant participitatif. The idea is that you book your slot and go and prepare the food with others. Then you pay what you can afford. The idea is to tackle problems of loneliness and to help those who don't eat properly, perhaps because they lack the means, skills or will.

We loved our little escaapade to Strasbourg, and we're glad to be back in Bordeaux.