Or, how do you say that in French? Our fourth morning in Strasbourg and I am happy to say that I woke up in the morning and not afternoon. Somewhat of a slow day today, doing laundry, writing on the blog, waiting to pick up Joe (father in law) and Joe (brother in law) Havlick. They are flying Icelandic Air from JFK to Frankfurt Germany with a quick stop in Keflavik to check on the melting glaciers. They are taking (we hope) the same airline bus from Frankfurt to Strasbourg that Ginny and I took. A quick three hour jaunt (see how I am getting my french words into the conversation).
I think I realize why my Norwegian and Spanish is helping me to communicate here in France. I approach someone and try to ask a question using my french studies (all two months worth) and unintentionally, I lapse into Norwegian with a bit of Spanish for good luck. The people I am talking to think that it is just butchered french so they appreciate my efforts and they help me out. I haven't found a single person in Strasbourg that doesn't try to speak English. From two grandmothers walking their dogs to the guy in the cell phone store they all take great joy or pride in helping me and then giving me a little french lesson to boot. By the time we are finished here, I should be able to speak English and maybe a little french.
Yesterday we took a little boat tour around the city of Strasbourg. It was very nice although Ginny and I both had to fight off falling asleep due to the gentle rocking of the boat and the mellifluous tones of the pre-recorded tour guide in the headsets. Judging from the prices, ice cream must be very rare in Europe. About $7 for three small (I really mean melon ball size) scoops of ice cream. It is enough to make you scream but I don't know how to say this is outrageous in French.
We saw the main cathedral in Strasbourg yesterday but didn't take a long tour. You can walk to the top in one of the towers but again, didn't have the time and didn't know the number for a counselor to get me over my fear of cramped spaces and Ginny's fear of heights (sort of amazing that we get into airplanes at all). The reason my fear of cramped spaces is a problem is that the stairway up to the top is one of those stone spiral staircases like you see in the movies when they are taking someone down to the dungeon. Very short and very narrow and I don't know how many stone stairways you've been in but the ones I've been in don't tend to have any give or flexibility. Now I know why the hunchback of notre dame was hunched over, it was the only way he could get up the stairs. Well I'm going to give it a try never the less. Look for the headline "American tourist in France gets stuck in stairwell 300 feet up in a cathedral". By for now, I'll be in touch (or touche as the french might say).
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Nice to meet you Al Sace and Lorraine
Ah... France in August. Not bad. We are staying in a house (former Prussian Officer Quarters from around the early 1900's) in Strasbourg. Ginny made all the arrangements (of course) and I made whatever business arrangements that I could prior to coming over. It is great to mix business with pleasure as I never feel right just taking vacation. We flew over from SFO to Atlanta to Frankfurt Germany. Didn't sleep much on the way but I was so glad I got a hard neck brace before flying. Didn't loose feeling in any limbs while spending 12-14 hours in an airplane seat. Got to Germany 7:30 in the morning and then went about finding a way to Strasbourg. We settled on an express bus that only took about 3 hours. When we arrived in Strasbourg, it was about 31 or 32 degrees...I thought maybe I should have brought a parka....until I figured 32 Celsius is about 91 or 92 degrees F. So I'm sorry I didn't bring shorts but if I had brought shorts, I probably would have sparked another French American war.
So the first night we didn't go to sleep until about 2:30am which somehow means we stayed up for about 48 hours with a couple hours dozing here and there in the bus. Then I made up for it. I slept for 12-14 hours and still wanted another 12 hours but couldn't get away with that. The boss is on this trip and she saw to it that we got out and about the town to see what is out there. We had dinner in "little France" which sounds romantic until our tour guide today told us the story of how it got that name. I'll tell that story when all the kids have gone to sleep and aren't reading this blog. Nevertheless, we had dinner right on one of the rivers or canals that runs around and through Strasbourg. Then we took a walk along the river to get a close up view of "little France". We drove home after dinner which is no mean feat. You see Strasbourg has probably been around in one shape or another for a thousand years but certainly since the 1300's. No one back then was thinking "how can we make sure there is room for automobiles in our little city". I don't think there is a road, street, boulevard, or rue that goes more than three blocks in a straight line. By law, a street must bend, turn, twist, or dead end within 2 1/2 blocks of a straight away. Some roads don't connect to anything, you accidentally get on one and find that it has barriers as the other end and it is one way???? I'm sure there is a secret that they keep to themselves. Oh and another tip the potential traveler to France, they speak French here. Almost all the words are different from ours. Oh sure, you can sort of figure out the connection for instance I will pay is something like jais payee but it isn't crystal clear. I tried for several months ahead of time to listen to French lessons on tape (audio) because I thought I KNOW SPANISH AND NORWEGIAN, HOW DIFFICULT CAN IT BE??? Now I humbly know the answer to that question. I was told once today that my French is good but that was after I said merci. He thought I was thanking him, I was begging for mercy. More to come, we will be here a while.
So the first night we didn't go to sleep until about 2:30am which somehow means we stayed up for about 48 hours with a couple hours dozing here and there in the bus. Then I made up for it. I slept for 12-14 hours and still wanted another 12 hours but couldn't get away with that. The boss is on this trip and she saw to it that we got out and about the town to see what is out there. We had dinner in "little France" which sounds romantic until our tour guide today told us the story of how it got that name. I'll tell that story when all the kids have gone to sleep and aren't reading this blog. Nevertheless, we had dinner right on one of the rivers or canals that runs around and through Strasbourg. Then we took a walk along the river to get a close up view of "little France". We drove home after dinner which is no mean feat. You see Strasbourg has probably been around in one shape or another for a thousand years but certainly since the 1300's. No one back then was thinking "how can we make sure there is room for automobiles in our little city". I don't think there is a road, street, boulevard, or rue that goes more than three blocks in a straight line. By law, a street must bend, turn, twist, or dead end within 2 1/2 blocks of a straight away. Some roads don't connect to anything, you accidentally get on one and find that it has barriers as the other end and it is one way???? I'm sure there is a secret that they keep to themselves. Oh and another tip the potential traveler to France, they speak French here. Almost all the words are different from ours. Oh sure, you can sort of figure out the connection for instance I will pay is something like jais payee but it isn't crystal clear. I tried for several months ahead of time to listen to French lessons on tape (audio) because I thought I KNOW SPANISH AND NORWEGIAN, HOW DIFFICULT CAN IT BE??? Now I humbly know the answer to that question. I was told once today that my French is good but that was after I said merci. He thought I was thanking him, I was begging for mercy. More to come, we will be here a while.
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