Singing in Lorraine

Welcome to a special edition SDAD blog post! I decided to let (force is perhaps more accurate) my esteemed guest Mr. Erik Nyberg recount the various goings-on of the past several weeks and share his perspective of St. Die/Lorraine. So, with no further ado…

Erik says:

Thanks to our shared love of good food, the events of the previous three weeks have revolved in large part around what to have for dinner. Admittedly, I’m not the best judge of Vosgian culinary expertise, as we haven’t done a lot of dining out since I arrived. We stopped at the best kebab store in town (out of at least 20) tonight, but otherwise there’s been just so much to make, between Julia’s new cookbook and daily cravings for food St. Die lacks. There is a very nice sandwich shop just around the corner, and an Alsatian restaurant that serves kangaroo, but otherwise… A brief list of our cooking adventures: a Valentine’s day pear kugel, gnocchi inspired by watching Top Chef and Big Night at McDonalds, zucchini bread, hot dish, Greek burgers, and so on. Two foods provided by St. Die that have been a staple of my visit: baguettes and beer. Not only are they relatively cheap, they’re unbelievably delicious compared with anything I’m used to in Minneapolis; going home will be a rude shock. One watering hole, Le Cabane au Darou, with a selection of beers from across Europe, in the setting of a country cabin, is particularly special.

Up until the past week, my time was basically split between exploring St. Die (watching a rugby match, checking out the farmers’ market, trekking to the various grocery stores), watching movies/TV (including Singing in the Rain dubbed into French) via the Internet, and killing time while Julia was at class. I bought 30 Days to Great French before I left, but by this point I’m about 20 days behind…

This week has more than made up for the previous two in terms of adventure. On Saturday (the 12^th) we, along with Alex and a pair of teachers, went hiking in the Vosges. It was a beautiful day, with great views of Alsace and Lorraine, followed by a crepe dinner and a benefit concert provided by St. Die’s student bands. Très bizarre.

On Wednesday we took an afternoon trip to Nancy, a pretty, bustling city about an hour away. We spent the day strolling around the city in the sunshine, and found a Toronto-style café serving bagels and cream cheese. Yesterday we completed the week by taking a spur of the moment trip to Strasbourg, the self-proclaimed Capital of Europe. We did see the European Parliament and human rights building (which does legitimize the claim at least a bit) as well as the old town, and appropriately, a bookfair in Gutenberg plaza. All in all, a lot of walking, including the 66 meter climb to the top of the cathedral.

Nancy

Strasbourg

Staying these past weeks with Julia has been nice beyond words, and her roommates are open, accommodating, and very entertaining. Alex is especially welcoming, and I hope I haven’t been too much of an imposition.

Thanks again to Julia for the chance to steal a blog post.