Strasbourg and Schiltigheim

After an amazing week in Paris, I was off on the train again, this time with a companion. Julie and I were on our way back to Strasbourg, France where she is currently studying abroad. I had heard a lot about this area of France/Germany before travelling here and I have to say that, for the most part, it is very much how I imagined it.

There is a different pace of life here; very different from the Parisian modus operandi. Situated on the edge of the German/French border, Strasbourg is the product of hundreds of years of sharing and mixing cultures. As you walk through the city, this blend is anything but subtle. The city's people are as varied as the architecture and the speed of life here seems to be kicked down just a notch from what I had grown to love in Paris.

Just outside of Strasbourg is the the small suburb of Schiltigheim where Julie's host madame lives. The neighborhood is a striking contrast to the ornate and carefully thought out architecture of the other French cities I had visited. It screams suburb. The shapes of the residential buildings blend into one, separated only by the varied, and actually very nice, exterior color selections. The windows, instead of shutters, have an unrolling metal cover--similar to the metal covers that are pulled over sity storefronts at night--that you hoist up in the morning to let in the light. After watching "Talk to Her," a movie set in Spain, last night, it seems that these metal window covers are standard issue for European suburbs.

Yet again, I do not have any pictures ready to post, I am writing all of this from a computer in the basement of the Univ. of Syracuse building while my laptop remains at home in Schiltigheim.

I am hoping that by this time tomorrow I will be able to feed my laptop some wireless and get more photos online for all of you following along with my journey.

Also, just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who reads this blog. I am finding out everyday that there are more and more of you and it really means a lot; it is what keeps me posting.

Coming Attractions: I'll be heading to Greece on friday for a week, I can't wait, should yield some good photos.