We made another trip last week, this time to Freiburg, Germany, and it felt good to be back on the road. We really enjoy train travel, and we haven't really done any since we returned from Italy. (And no, the 11-minute trip to Kehl to buy the train tickets doesn't count!)
When we booked the tickets, we asked about a Bahn card, which entitles you to discounts on all of your German train tickets. We're still not sure if they're only available to German citizens or anyone with a European address. The ticket man, who has come to know our story fairly well, asked if we had a Strasbourg address when we told him where we are living. We were able to get the card, but we think it might be due to the special relationship that Strasbourg has with Germany, Strasbourg being so close the border.
The train trip was short and fairly uneventful. It was the first time that we have used second-class tickets, although not the first time we've been in a second class car, as some trains only have second class. It was not necessarily our choice to travel first class at the beginning of the trip (but it's kinda nice!); however, our Eurail passes could only be purchased for first class. It didn't make much of a difference to us financially when we purchased the Eurail passes last June, as both Mark and I were still working. However, now that we're relying on our savings to buy our tickets, we can only justify first class if it's not much more expensive than second. Most European trains are fairly comfortable, so it doesn't really make sense to splurge for first class, especially on the short runs.
We did splurge, however, on the hotel, and I was in for a surprise when we got there. I discovered that I don't really like expensive, sanitized, western-style hotels anymore. The environment in the room is very sterile, and you don't get any sense of the culture. Sitting in that hotel in Freiburg, Germany, I could have been in any city in Canada or the US, except for the fact that I couldn't understand the TV channels (ok , so I could understand BBC World News!) Prior to this we have rented private furnished apartments, and even though I have often resented hoofing it through an unknown city looking for the apartment after a long train ride, the exercise really does give you an idea of the layout and culture of the place. Contrast that to our arrival in Freiburg , where we got off the train, looked out at the city and spotted our hotel, which was a two-minute walk from the train station. By the time we got to the hotel room, I felt disoriented. Luckily Mark and Cameron took off back to the train station, where they located a transit map, figured out how to get to the arena for the concert that night, and bought us tram/train tickets.
The Riverdance performance was pretty amazing. We've seen it on DVD before, so the element of surprise was gone, but it is absolutely awesome to hear the Irish step dancing in person. The arena just thunders with the impeccably timed sound of the many performing feet. I have a thing for loud rhythmic sounds, so the Celtic drumming also gives me a thrill (must be the Irish in me). At the end of the concert, we missed the train by about 10 minutes, and rather than waiting in the cold and dark station for the next one (about 45 minutes), we took a cab back to the hotel. It's lucky that we have Mark's German to fall back on - and lucky that he remembered the phone number to call - as I'm not sure we would have managed that one in English!
Mark and I got up early the next morning and left the kids in the hotel so that we could go out and explore the city centre. Freiburg has an amazing cathedral, one to rival Strasbourg's. Mark read that you have to climb 328 steps to reach the platform - surprisingly, almost the exact number of steps to Strasbourg's cathedral platform. We chose not to climb it but to save that little trek to do with kids some other time (by this time we'd already decided that we would come back). Another interesting feature of Freiburg is the gutters filled with running water. Legend has it that if you accidentally step into a gutter you will marry someone from Freiburg. Since I'm already married and the kids are far too young to wait around in Europe for marriage, we kept everyone well away from them! (This was not hard since the kids were lollygagging back at the hotel).
The trams are also amazing, another feature that Freiburg has in common with Strasbourg. They are narrower than Strasbourg's, and have a funkier look. Most are painted wild colours (no two the same). In order to ride the train to the concert the evening before, we had purchased 24-hour tickets, so after we gathered up the kids and checked out of the hotel, we hopped the tram and did a complete circuit of the city on two different tram lines. Admittedly, once you get out of the city centre, the view becomes a little more modern, plain and less interesting, but it was still fun to watch the city go by and relax at the same time.
After doing a bit of shopping in the underground boutiques at the train station (Meghan is still struggling to find things on which to spend her Christmas money), we hopped the train back to Strasbourg. Although brief, we all enjoyed it and are looking forward to our return later in the spring.
Contact us: mvieweg @ gmail.com or christinateskey @ yahoo.ca
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Last Sunday (free museum day in France) we made it to two museums; or Mark and I did, as we allowed the kids to "escape" after the first one. The Alsatian Museum is contained within three adjoining historic houses along the Ill River in Strasbourg, and the artifacts are spread throughout many rooms. Mark and I were lagging behind, snapping pics and really delving into the history of Alsace, when Meghan said to me, "You know, I'm interested in this to a point." Her point being, of course, that we were taking far too long and had moved far past her point of interest. After that, the kids went ahead of us and had fun exploring the museum on their own as we all followed the arrows through the maze of rooms.
After leaving the Alsatian Museum, Mark and I decided to take a brief look at the nearby Musée Historique, which details the history of the city of Strasbourg. We thought it would be just a quick visit, mostly because I was hungry (it was lunch time), and partly because we had sent the kids home ahead of us. Two hours later, having rushed through the last two hundred years of history, and ravenous (well, me anyway!), we stumbled out into the crisp winter afternoon sunlight. I was very impressed with the museum and felt that we couldn't just rush through it. Not only was the admission free that day, but we were also given free (English!) audio guides and a place to safely lock our coats during the visit, little perks that encouraged us to stay longer than we had intended. True to French form, though, getting in wasn't totally straightforward: after receiving our free entrance tickets, we were each handed a token which had to be deposited in a turnstyle around the corner to allow us into the museum. Why let one system suffice when two or more can be created to do the same thing? : )
