Friday, June 17th — Day 1
Hi, this is AJ! After traveling from Oxford, the Dins were greeted by our host families at our train platform in Strasbourg, France. From there, we went our separate ways to get settled in. My host father Emmanuel and I took a tram (free for the day as a pollution control measure!) out towards Illkirch-Graffenstaden, a nearby suburb where they lived. Once there, I met Sarah, my host mother, their youngest daughter Candice, as well as two extremely fluffy cats. We had snacks and drinks out in their backyard, and later ate a delicious home cooked meal. Some Dins who lived closer to the city center went for a walk in the evening and caught a beautiful view of the city adorned with lights; others, like me, were quite tired and turned in for an early nights’ rest.
Saturday, June 18th — Day 2
Good morning! I had a lovely breakfast with my hosts before meeting up with the rest of the Dins at the Place de la Republique, one of the large monuments in the Grande Île, the center of Strasbourg. From there, we were led around the city by Vivienne, our incredibly knowledgeable tour guide and longtime friend of the Dins. We learned so much over the next few hours, including the incredible history of Strasbourg as a long fought over territory and cultural bridge between modern France and Germany, and how to tell the stylistic differences between the French and Germanic influences in the amazing buildings all around us. She also guided us inside the magnificent Strasbourg Cathedral. Started in 1015 and built over three centuries, walking through the cathedral is an incredible journey through time from Renaissance to Gothic to Romanesque architecture. Especially striking was the massive clock inside the cathedral, an impressive feat of engineering and astronomy from the sixteenth century. I was so glad to have Vivienne guiding us—I appreciated the cathedral so much more because of her expertise.
Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at a classic French restaurant. We ate “tartes flambees” and were joined by members of Americans in Alsace, the expat organization that was coordinating our visit. Following lunch we roamed around the “Petite France” neighborhood (and we did a little bit of busking!)
After a long day of exploring we arrived at City Hall for a performance. It was a beautiful venue, with an audience including Americans in Alsace members, U.S. Consulate representatives and local dignitaries. We were opened by Gospel Kids, a phenomenal (and cute) gospel choir composed of grade-schoolers. After a great performance, it was off to dinner and bed with our host families.
Sunday, June 19th — Day 3
Samson here! On our third day in Strasbourg, Americans in Alsace was hosting a garden party in celebration of (an early) Independence Day. It was at a beautiful outdoor venue with catered American-themed food and drink (think burgers, ribs, and all the other fixings one might expect at an American cookout). The Dins provided entertainment in the form of a brief musical set—then, we were free to mingle and enjoy the party! It was a pleasure talking to expats and learning about life abroad as an American.
Following the garden party, my host Mark picked me up. He was kind enough to take a quick detour across the Rhine River into Germany on the way back—just so I could cross another country off my list! After looking around Strasbourg’s German suburb of Kehl, we returned to France and back to the homestay. That evening, my host family invited some friends over for a dinner party (meeting their friends was a great time!) After the dinner party, I called it an early night.
Monday, June 20th — Day 4
Today, Vivienne kindly took us on a tour of Obernai. Obernai is a small Medieval town about 30 minutes from Strasbourg—it’s an idyllic place that’s typical of small-town Alsace. Vivienne met us at the train station and spent a couple of hours showing us around (*after* a quick stop for coffee, of course). She told us about the historical economy and governance of Obernai (it had been a wealthy guild town in the Holy Roman Empire); she pointed out architectural details; and she took us on a hike up in the nearby Vosges mountains.
Perched up on a mountain, there is an artist’s gallery. It’s been owned by three generations in a family of artists. The gallery specializes in woodworked portraits—elaborate works that look like oil paintings from a distance, but are in fact intricately shaped wood carvings pieced together like a jigsaw. The artist showed us around and offered us some postcards to take home. Of course, we repaid him with a song to show our appreciation.
Following our excursion to Obernai we returned to Strasbourg. One of the hosts held an outdoor barbecue for many of the Dins—I hear it was a blast! Mattheus and I had a quiet dinner with our own host family (on their beautiful balcony, no less) then joined the rest of the group to explore Strasbourg nightlife. It was a great conclusion to our time in this amazing city.
