CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE CAPITAL OF CHRISTMAS!

 

My love for the French capital Paris is well known and I have in many of my blogs documented the beauty of the city: https://surajitbrainwaves.blogspot.com/2020/10/bonjour-parisarmchair-travel.html

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Today, on Christmas Eve, I would like to share with you my experience of a small French city Strasbourg almost 400 Km east of Paris towards the German border. We took the TGV train from Paris' Gare de l'Est station and in around two hours we were in Strasbourg.

 

Dating to 1570, Strasbourg's is one of Europe's oldest Christmas markets, and it's in a class of its own. The entire city is transformed with multiple themed markets, concerts, exhibitions and festive vibe that attracts about 2 million visitors per year. Steeped in tradition, the city strives to nurture authenticity and showcase artisans. Christmas markets are usually a commercial fair with faux Alpine chalets hawking mass-produced trinkets. Such markets have sometimes resulted in cliché-ridden affairs with bad music and cheap imports. But Strasbourg is different.

     

A free citywide event features multiple markets in streets and squares in the UNESCO-listed city centre. Each location has something to offer: the market on Place Broglie is dedicated to ornaments and decorations, while the market on Place Kléber has the tallest decorated Christmas tree in Europe. Find gourmet food on the terrace of the Rohan Palace, while the Place de la Cathédrale is particularly scenic, with the centuries-old cathedral soaring over the chalets and half-timbered houses. Customs and rituals are abundant. Families decorate trees and set up elaborate Nativity scenes populated with an entire village of tiny figurines. The Place Kléber shows off Europe's tallest decorated Christmas tree, at more than 100 feet. The national forestry office scouts the neighbouring forests of Alsace, Moselle and the Vosges to find the perfect tree.

 

 An independent republic within the Holy Roman Empire, Strasbourg converted to Protestantism during the Reformation. Louis XIV annexed Strasbourg to France in the 17th century, and the Alsace region became the object of a tug of war between France and Germany until the end of the Second World War. Today home to the European Parliament, the city is a symbol of continental unity. In 1992, the mayor's office launched "Strasbourg, Capital of Christmas," and the market morphed into its current incarnation - a citywide extravaganza with about 300 chalets spilling across squares and streets in the UNESCO-listed city centre.     

 

Night fell early, as if on cue, at 4:30pm. Suddenly the lights blazed and Strasbourg was illuminated so brightly it seemed like daytime. The cathedral bells began to toll simultaneously, resounding across the ville, and we had to stop in our tracks. Star lanterns glowed overhead, spice smells wafted from the cauldrons and laughter trickled over the crowd. Side by side, we watched the canal boats ply the waters in the pouring rain. We had an early dinner in Rohan Palace - Tarte Flambée, is a speciality of the region of Alsace. It is composed of bread dough rolled out very thinly in the shape of a rectangle or oval, which is covered with fromage blanc or crème fraîche, thin-sliced onions and lardons. It looked like a pizza, but the base was thin and crispy and the sauce topping a creamy blend of crème fraiche, Greek yoghurt, salt, pepper and nutmeg. The market has excellent choice of desserts that will surely shatter your will-power of sticking to a healthy diet - local culinary delicacies such as kouglof (a raisin-studded sweet brioche), bretzels (pretzels) and choucroute (sauerkraut) will blow your mind away. With a gift bottle of Champagne from a friend in our bag we were ready to catch the return train to Paris to spend the Christmas there!!