Jeune Alsace

Young Alsace~ Yes, this is the same historic Alsace in the east of France that is neither German nor French and at the same time is both.  However, suddenly we find ourselves among its youth.  Sarah, my lovely French friend who is studying at my university in the states (USC) not only graciously invited me to stay with her parents in Mulhouse, but she also virtually introduced me (via facebook) to two of her good friends.  First of all, however, I met up with an old fellow USC student, Caroline, who lived in the "French House" (my apartment complex last year, a living and learning community for those of us interested in French language and culture) with me.  

Caroline and me, with our red coats.  :-)

She was a fantastic guide, showing me everything from:

the Porte Jeune and the Tram

1) the "Hôtel de Ville" (the courthouse of sorts) to 
2) the houses built in true Alsacian fashion (made of concrete and  then painted various colors) to 
3) the tram (built a few years ago and present in Mulhouse, Strasbourg, and some other medium sized cities in France) to 
4) the "Porte Jeune" ("the young door," the mall, constructed in a modern style that I found interesting but that Caroline does not like) to 

bouchée à la reine et spatzlés

5) a traditional restaurant where she introduced me to "la bouchée à la reine" and "spatzlés," a dish that consists of a meat pie with a rich cream/mushroom sauce and then the spatzlés which are a type of potato based pasta and that go quite well with the sauce.

la flammekeuche!

     The next day, I met Anne, Sarah's best friend who dreams of nothing more than to go to the United States and thus was all to happy to practice her English.  This was the first time I had spoken my native language for an entire day since my  arrival in France, but I was happy to find that the transition between the two languages is becoming easier and easier for me as my French improves.  Anne was not there to show me around Mulhouse but instead to accompany me to Strasbourg.  Not knowing the city too well herself either, she had printed plenty of google maps and had a to-do list for the day of "must sees."  Thus we began with the famous cathedral, with its astronomical clock and its tower from which one can see the city (unfortunately, we missed the tower, but it turned out that with only an afternoon in the city, we didn't have enough time).  Hungry from our time in the car and at the cathedral, we then found a restaurant with the shortened name, "Flam," which serves another regional specialty, the "flammekeuche."  Basically this consists of a thin layer of dough, covered by "crème fraiche" (like sour cream that is not sour) and then a variety of toppings... usually cheese, onions, mushrooms, and ham, but we also tried the specialty of the day, which was topped by four different cheeses.  We of course finished the meal with a dessert "flam," in my case, chocolate/banana, which was equally delicious.  
     We then hurried to the touristy boat tour that was nonetheless fantastic.  In a glass sided/topped boat, we travelled the river at the heart of Strasbourg through two locks past "la petite france" (little France- the oldest part of the town), the international council of human rights, the parliament for the E.U., and several churches, the university, etc.  Anne, thoroughly relieved that we had managed to see everything on her to-do list thanks to the tour, drove me back to Sarah's parents' apartment, where we shared an enormous couscous (Nadia: "eat now...diet later!!!") and finally began to speak French again.  

Strasbourg...this is where we had our boat tour

     Finally, the next morning, I met Natasha and Todd who are French and American, respectively.  Todd did his masters in French at USC, so he and I had quite the interesting conversation about professors we had had in common.  They make a lovely couple, and wandering around Mulhouse together, I saw through them what a true Franco/American romantic relationship looks like.  It was beautiful to see their easy transitions between French and English, to analyze with them cultural differences and similarities, and to recognize in them other students of culture, language, literature, and life. 
     I cannot finish without noting, however, the young and old are unanimous in that THE thing to do in Alsace is to go to the Christmas markets.  Apparently they start the first weekend of November, so I just missed them, but as Mulhouse was already decorated for Christmas, I could feel the stirrings of this amazing tradition.  Alsace in particular is known for its mulled wines, sale of local goods/decorations, and fantastic food sold out in the open during the Christmas season.  Maybe someday I will make it back for THE Alsace experience, but my time there was still satisfying, seen from older and younger local perspectives, and ultimately from my own.