Top 5

Five things I hate about Strasbourg.

1. Caca. The French seem to love their dogs, but here they don’t know how to use a pooper scooper. There is crap literally everywhere. No matter how careful you are you’re just bound to step in a pile sooner or later.

2. The language. I like the actual language, it flows quite beautifully from a native tongue. The problem is it just gets stuck on mine. I’m trying to learn to speak French, but mostly I’m just frustrated.

3. Traffic. So many of the drivers here are just nuts! They drive incredibly fast, and pay no attention to traffic laws even though the roads are narrow and windy. Not to mention they park anywhere and everywhere.

4. Weather. It’s nice one day and cold, damp, and drizzly the next six. It can never just rain here, it’s got to drizzle for days on end. I don’t know how many times I have opened the blinds to see some sunshine only to walk down to the street five minutes later and find the sun completely covered by dark clouds.

5. The Euro. This is less about my dislike for the French currency and more about my lack of them. The dollar is worth less than the Euro so all my savings before I came comes out to much less than I hoped. We are living without any income from me so we have to live on a lot less than we are used to.

Five Things I Love About Strasbourg

1. Scenery. Strasbourg is a beautiful city. With the canals, old buildings, and abundance of flowers, every day reveals a marvelous view.

2. Doner Kabaps. I’ve already raved about these lovely sandwiches. They have replaced my hamburger cravings nicely.

3. Boulanger/Patissier. Why we don’t have these bread and pastry shops all over the US is beyond me. There is nothing better than a freshly baked baguette or a chocolate croissant in the morning.

4. Eating the tip off of a baguette. Now that it has turned cold it is a miserable experience walking to the store every day to buy a baguette. The saving grace is biting the tip of the bread off as I am walking home. It is so crisp and soft, and WARM! It’s a little piece of heaven.

5. The people. French stereotypes are so wrong. At least from the people I’ve met here in Strasbourg. Everybody has been incredibly friendly and kind. No, not every single person runs up to you to talk or help, but this isn’t fantasyland, it’s not like that in the States either. Sure, a lot of stores could stand a little more customer service, but I have experienced none of the snottiness or rudeness I had come to expect from the stereotypes.

…My plan was to have a top ten of both categories, but I couldn’t think of any other things I hated. I’m sure I will later. I also wanted to have some pictures to go along with it, but haven’t figured out the html with the blogger yet, and I don’t have all the pictures. Hopefully, I will come back to this post, and improve upon it.