Strasbourg eats - Drinking hot chocolate in a cold autumn afternoon

There is nothing better than drinking a hot chocolate in a cold day, be it autumn or winter. Of course drinking anything hot in cold weather is always wonderful. But hot chocolate is especially more heavenly due to its sweetness and chocolate-ness (yep, I created the word). Another reason is that I can't drink tea or coffee, meaning that hot choc is virtually my only choice.

While I was walking around Le Petite France, I came across this little coffee shop. It looked so lovely and cozy inside that even though I walked past it, I went back a couple minutes later. It also helped that I was thirsty and a little hungry at the time. Well, time for a sugar intake, I guess.

The cafe was decorated with books, porcelain tea sets and beautiful wallpaper. It is a very typical European coffee shop in my imagination. And I love it so much. There were seats upstairs, where you have to climb through a wooden stair. But as I had had an ankle sprain less than 2 months ago, I didn't want to risk my leg to go up. So I sat downstairs, by a window, looking at tourists walking by and enjoy a quiet afternoon in Strasbourg. Sadly I didn't have a book with me, and all the books and magazines in the cafe were in French. If there were, I think I would spend much more time here.

I ordered a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of flour-less chocolate cake. The drink was nice but not really special. In fact, it was better than most of the hot chocs I had had in the States the trip before. But compared with the one I had in Brugge later, it was just normal. And the cake was nothing to write home about. It was too sweet, even for a sweet-tooth like me. And I didn't like the texture of the cake either. I guess I understood why their tiramisu was sold out so quickly. But I did have my sugar intake for the day. Yep, just for the day as I only finished one third of the cake.

As usual, here are some shots of the cafe, the food and drink.

Strasbourg attractions - Le Petite France

Imagine this. It was in fall, the weather was cooling (at around 10 centigrade degrees) but it was sunny. And you were in Europe, what would you do? A walk in an area with medieval half-timbered houses and baroque sandstone buildings, perhaps.

So yes, that was what I did. I took a stroll around Le Petitie France. The scenery was so beautiful and picturesque that I just wanted to get lost, to wander to some hidden alleys, to breath in the gorgeously crisp but cooling fall air. Of course I didn't get lost since this place was as touristy as you could get. But amazingly, it wasn't that crowded even though you could see lots of tourists. I still managed to capture some shots without people or with a lone man walking.

No word could describe my experience but it was what Europe in autumn should be in my mind. Leaves turning yellow, the weather getting cooler but without the biting chill of winter, people in pretty coats walking around (even it is tiring to wear such coats all day long), plus beautiful half-timbered houses. All the stresses would disappear in a instance.

I have no word but plenty of pictures to show you. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.


You could see this scene in at least half of the postcards about Strasbourg


Maison des Tanneurs, famous for being an attraction and a great restaurant (regretfully I didn't dine here)


Of course I didn't give a miss. This was how I had imagined myself if I visited a European country


Another shot beside Maison des Tanneurs








Gorgeous half-timbered houses blending beautifully with quiet canals


Another shot of myself in a sunny autumn afternoon


A house covered with red vines, which I had only seen it on photos and TVs before


An alley with a lone man walking, whom I guessed was a local






Restaurants in Le Petite France

Strasbourg eats - An Alsatian lunch

Since Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in northeastern France, it seems to be compulsory to have at least one Alsatian meal during my visit to the city. Well, at least that is what I think now. My research on food for this trip was extremely lacking, partly due to my ignorance in European history. The reasons I chose Europe over North America were the availability of air ticket, Vietnamese food in district 13 of Paris and the low exchange rate of Euro. So yeah, that sounds quite a bizarre and random set of reasons, but that was what drove me to Europe.

Anyway, I did do some digging on where to eat in Strasbourg, but for some reason, I just tried one place. The rest was just ignored. And I just chose randomly when it was time for lunch or dinner. Maybe I was too tired (due to the time difference and the change in season) to walk around looking for all those recommended restaurants.

I stumbled into this Alsatian restaurant on the last day of my visit. I was attracted to the place by the cute duck sculptures in front of the door. It was a very small restaurant with just one cook and one waitress. But the decoration was very homey with warm lighting and wooden furniture. It offered me warmth which was extremely welcomed on that day, when the weather was super cold for an autumn day.

Alsatian cuisine, strongly based on Germanic culinary traditions, is marked by the use of pork in various forms. This was reflected very clear in my lunch, Choucroute Garnie. There were sausages, fatty cut of pork meat, diced cabbage, potatoes, etc. The taste reminded me very much of German food I had had in Singapore previously. In a way, I felt I was eating German dish, and personally, German cuisine was not my most favourite food in the world. Luckily, I also ordered Crème brûlée for dessert and it helped to lessen my disappointment in that lunch. Again, I don't want to say that the food was bad, it was not just my cup of tea.






A small restaurant with a homey feeling

Table settings

Lovely plate which I would love to bring back as a souvenir

Warm bread for appetizer

Choucroute Garnie

Crème brûlée which I am craving for one now

Strasbourg attractions - Shop signboards, a pictorial

This is a re-post due to Blogger acting up the last time I logged in and wrote about this. And now I have lost my muse. Guess I just make do with photo post, which I try not doing as I'd love to jot down what I experienced when travelling.


Somewhere around Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg


Poterie d'Alsace


Signboard of restaurant in Le Petite France


Restaurant on rue du Maroquin


Pâtisserie Christian Meyer

Strasbourg attractions - Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg

It's the first Roman Catholic church I visited in Europe and I've gotta say it's truly magnificent. And among the churches/cathedral I've been to, it's the most beautiful. Even when compared to Notre Dame de Paris. If you are in Strasbourg, this is the one place that you must visit.

I'm not a Catholic, but since I used to dream of having a church wedding (blame it on all the movies I'd watched since young), I've had some fascination with churches. And even though I can't really differentiate which religion a church belongs to, I'd like to admire it for its gorgeous architecture. And I really envy those are lucky enough to get married in this church.

I came here around noon, right at the time its astronomical clock having the procession of the 18-inch high figures of Christ and the Apostles. It was an very interesting experience and the geek in me thought of all the mathematical equations that were created to build this mechanism. It was definitely worth the wait, the queue and the ache of my neck (as I needed to look up to see the whole happening).

The Astronomical Clock inside the Catheral

Beautiful details of the clock

After the procession, the visitors were allowed to mingle for a few minutes before they close the church to outsiders. It was a weekday after all. And I couldn't help but gasp in wonder when seeing its grandeur. It was my first visit to a cathedral in Europe, you can't really fault me for being charmed by its beauty, right?

Pillars with pain-taking detailed sculptures

Stained glass windows from 14th century, or even before that

Richly ornate ceiling

If you think inside is beautiful, I think you will be lost for words when looking at the church from the outside. It's so big that I couldn't take a photo of the whole church with my poor point-and-shoot digital camera. Unless I take it from afar, which I forgot to do. But still, without that, with a few below pictures, I guess you can figure out yourself.

Now, take a breath and enjoy the wonder that's called Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg.

And of course, there's also an obligatory shot of myself in front of the church.