"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go..."

Even though the weather here is still grey, dreary and wet, I'm finally starting to get in the Christmas spirit. And that is due, in large part, to the Strasbourg Christmas market. Danielle and I both have Fridays off and decided to head up to check out the holiday festivities and it was certainly something! During the day it's just a crowded, outdoor trinket mall but just wait until the lights come on at night!! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

After an early and interesting train ride we arrived in Strasbourg, which is a fairly large city on the border with Germany. Street signs are all written in German and French, signs are in both languages and everything involving the Christmas Market was in both, as well as English. We had read about the Astronomical Clock in our tour guides before we left and decided it was something we definitely wanted to see. The cathedral in Strasbourg is famous for the clock. It was built in the 15th century but has been perfected throughout the centuries. It "plays" every fifteen minutes, but runs through a special performance at 12:30pm so we decided to see that one. The church actually has the audacity to close the entire cathedral and charge entrance for the performance but we got suckered in. It was actually really cool! Here's what the clock looks like.

The clock does about a million different things all at once when it rings, but Death there rings his bell in response to the angel's bell (see below). But at 12:30pm Death rings his bell and then an old man rings his. After that the 12 apostles walk in front of Jesus, turning to bow their heads to him as he lifts his hand in a gesture of peace. As this is happening a rooster flaps his wings and lets out a terrifying "cock-a-doodle-doo". The entire performance takes about 5 minutes. I have a video of it, if you'd like it just let me know.Here's the aforementioned angels. The one on the left rings its bell and the one on the right turns the sand timer to remind everyone that time is running out, and to use it wisely. It was actually really cool to see everything and if you're ever in Strasbourg the 12:30 performance is definitely worth the wait, and the crowd.
And to all the people who were behind me muttering under their breath in French: A) I speak your language well enough to know when I'm being talked about moron. B) It's not my fault I'm tall. Deal with it. C) Stop griping about how you "have no view". I offered to let you go in front of me and it's a 40 foot tall clock, if you really can't see any of it I'd say that's a problem with your eyes, not my height.Outside we explored more of the town. Every free space, alley, square and shop is totally outfitted for Christmas. Here's a mailbox that goes straight to Santa!! And if you drop a letter in before December 24th he'll even write back to you!Like I said, the markets aren't really all that exciting in the day, but Danielle and I did our fair share of shopping and then decided to take a boat cruise around the city. Strasbourg's main city is surrounded by a river, so there are plenty of boat companies willing to show you around. This particular one even gave us a pastry that is traditional of the Alsace region, where Strasbourg is located. Danielle thought it was pretty good.
Even the boat was decorated for Christmas! On the boat tour we got to see some of the European Union buildings, specifically the one dedicated to human rights. Really neat architecture.By the time the cruise was done it was dark out and the city seemed totally different. Now every street was lit. I think it may have been brighter at night than it was during the entire dreary daytime.
Strasbourg invites a country to be their "guest" every year and participate in the Christmas festivities. This year the honoree was Quebec. And yes, the pamphlet did describe Quebec as a country. Innocent mis-translation or harsh political statement?

The markets looked even more enticing when they were lit.And finally the Sapin de Noel! The Christmas tree! This one was huge and beautifully lit. The decorations on the tree were partly inspired by Quebec, but the red ones had pictures of children from around the world on them. And this square was still selling things, but for different charities and there were places to leave things for charity gift-giving, like Toys for Tots or something. It was a neat "Village of Sharing" as the pamphlet described it.Overall we had a great day and got a load of Christmas shopping done! One day was the perfect amount of time to spend and it got both of us in the Christmas spirit. Hope everyone at home is feeling Christmas-y. Though I'd imagine it's easier with snow...

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Just like the ones I used to know..."