Traveling through a foreign country can be humbling. When you are out of your own element the easiest conversations can be inconvenient at best and disconcerting at worst. I have spent the last 12 days cramming in vocabulary and phrases in my head to get by in Germany just so I won't look completely rediculous ordering a beer or gummi bears. However, I was excited today because we would be heading to our third country on our tour - France. No longer would I be some tourist with no understanding on how to pronounce letters that don't exist in english like this - "ß". After all, I am Canadian and I do belong to a bilingual country. Unfortunately I grew up in Alberta, so that means my exposure to french culture was limited to "CBC - Ici Radio Canada" (which still has the best jazz program) and my seven years of non-immersion French. It may have been since 1985 since I conjugated a verb but I was looking forward to at least being familiar with what an accent ague was. Finally my french education was going to pay off.
On our way to Strassbourg, the tour took a short trip to Castle Neuscwhanstein, the famed Cinderella's castle that Disney used in their iconic logo. I was pretty excited to see it as well, because I had never been to a castle before. After a significant climb up the hill we shared a lunch of traditional German dumplings and sauerkraut. It was here too that my German language skills really paid off as I was able to fake my way through the entire lunch without English.
Inside the castle itself no pictures were allowed but it did not diminish the interest of seeing this amazing monument. The castle was built by Ludwig II, Bavarian King and lover of swans. Throughout the swan motif is prevalent, from door handles to bedposts, and the opulence was likely why Ludwig is most famous for bankrupting Bavaria. The highlight for me was the throne room and the Byzantine chandellier that was shaped like a crown. I suppose you could say that his was a family business that ended with him - another historical lesson in succession gone awry.
We arrived in Strassbourg as the sun set and we had the evening free to explore; the next day we would take a boat tour of the canals of the city. Strassbourg is particularly famous for a cathedral that dated back to the 7th century to the time of Charlemagne. Some of us decided to see it first hand by paying our 3 euros and climbing up to the top of the building. A rapidly spiraling staircase with over 300 stairs led us most of the way up to 500 feet, we were awarded with a beautiful view of the entire city.
Strassbourg has the added fame of being the centre of the Alsace Lorraine area of Europe, a historical hotspot for political intrigue that was most recently at the centre of attention in WWII. As part of the reperations, Germany gave up the lands of Alsace to France. I learned not to mention the Lorraine part (I was told the French don't appreciate it) but you can still see the significant German influence in architecture and culture. During our boat tour where the Ils and Rhein (or Rhine in English) rivers comingle we saw building after building of Bavarian style.
In amongst the history, the churches and the canals exists another wonder within Strassbourg - the European Parlaiment. As we traveled by bus to its home I wondered whether this too would be housed in some ancient hall or cathedral long since transformed to another purpose. But I was definitely mistaken. The European Parlaiment was as modern and interesting a building as was the BMW headquarters - rich with symbolism and artistry circa the 21st century.
On our way to Strassbourg, the tour took a short trip to Castle Neuscwhanstein, the famed Cinderella's castle that Disney used in their iconic logo. I was pretty excited to see it as well, because I had never been to a castle before. After a significant climb up the hill we shared a lunch of traditional German dumplings and sauerkraut. It was here too that my German language skills really paid off as I was able to fake my way through the entire lunch without English.
Inside the castle itself no pictures were allowed but it did not diminish the interest of seeing this amazing monument. The castle was built by Ludwig II, Bavarian King and lover of swans. Throughout the swan motif is prevalent, from door handles to bedposts, and the opulence was likely why Ludwig is most famous for bankrupting Bavaria. The highlight for me was the throne room and the Byzantine chandellier that was shaped like a crown. I suppose you could say that his was a family business that ended with him - another historical lesson in succession gone awry.
We arrived in Strassbourg as the sun set and we had the evening free to explore; the next day we would take a boat tour of the canals of the city. Strassbourg is particularly famous for a cathedral that dated back to the 7th century to the time of Charlemagne. Some of us decided to see it first hand by paying our 3 euros and climbing up to the top of the building. A rapidly spiraling staircase with over 300 stairs led us most of the way up to 500 feet, we were awarded with a beautiful view of the entire city.Strassbourg has the added fame of being the centre of the Alsace Lorraine area of Europe, a historical hotspot for political intrigue that was most recently at the centre of attention in WWII. As part of the reperations, Germany gave up the lands of Alsace to France. I learned not to mention the Lorraine part (I was told the French don't appreciate it) but you can still see the significant German influence in architecture and culture. During our boat tour where the Ils and Rhein (or Rhine in English) rivers comingle we saw building after building of Bavarian style.
In amongst the history, the churches and the canals exists another wonder within Strassbourg - the European Parlaiment. As we traveled by bus to its home I wondered whether this too would be housed in some ancient hall or cathedral long since transformed to another purpose. But I was definitely mistaken. The European Parlaiment was as modern and interesting a building as was the BMW headquarters - rich with symbolism and artistry circa the 21st century. The European Parlaiment was the final educational stop of our Tour. We had finally closed the gap from where we started in corporate governance, traveling through family businesses both large and small to the overriding political power that ensures that laws between nations are both fair and upheld throughout a complex mix of nationalism and tradition. Being in a parlaimentary system I think our German administrator was surprised by our knowledge of how their system operates. On the other hand the EU is a marvel of democracy and bureaucracy and it is amazing that it even works at all.
As we traveled back to Germany, I am looking at the photos I took and reflect back to the memories of Strassbourg. France will be on my "must return to visit" list for certain.
