Tartes Flambees and Christmasing

We loaded up the bus and headed to Strasbourg from Frankfurt. On the way, we stopped for lunch in the wine country of Lorraine, on the French-German border. Traditional food in Germany is all meat, particularly pork, and the lunch in this winery was no different. It was quite delicious, but after six weeks in Europe, which ALL loves pork, I was getting pretty full of pork. And I don't drink wine, so the lunch was not as fulfilling as it could have been.

We arrived in Strasbourg, which is so beautiful and perfectly German it was like walking in the town from Beauty and the Beast. Not much to do there, but it certainly was quaint. We went out to dinner, and had some Alsatian food. In particular, I had a tarte flambee, which might be among the top meals I've had in Europe. Those crazy Europeans, with their pizza without sauce and full of fat. Delicious. Then several students when to catch the premiere of the fifth Harry Potter movie, while I went back to the hotel for the night.

The next morning, the group from the human rights class attended a trial at the European Court of Human Rights. It was incredibly fascinating, a case of an immigrant accused of terrorist conspiracy was opposing the order to be deported. The issue was not whether or not he was guilty, but the fact that were he to be deported (any immigrant who commits a felony is subject to deportation) he would certainly face torture. Members of the Council of Europe are obligated to never knowingly subject any person to torture, which would occur should he be deported. However, the interesting aspect here is that because he is a terrorism suspect, the country involved argued national security trumped the torture concern. So the court has to balance the life and integrity of one person versus the potentially threatened lives of many. But what precedent should it set--human rights violations are sometimes acceptable? Fascinating. And the students liked it too.

After the trial, a few of us walked through a nearby park with a tiny zoo, and ate lunch overlooking the park--pretty good food, too. After lunch, the group reconvened for a meeting at the Council of Europe, but I was pretty tired by then, which unfortunately means I paid less attention. Just like the undergrads.

Before dinner at the same restaurant from the night before (still delicious), K and I went to this great Christmas shop in the old town area. Strasbourg is known for its Christmas festivals, and even though it was July, there's a Christmas shop, where I of course spent more money on myself and family members than I should have. Most of you will know, I do so love Christmas. So the trip involving a Christmas haul could never be in vain.

Bruxelles

We headed to Brussels next. I'd been there before, when studying abroad my junior year of college. It's a beautiful little town, and I think I liked it more this second time around. It's not the most wonderful place in Europe, but it's quite charming and lovely. It has a really nice downtown area, and the architecture is quintessentially Low Country. It's a nice place to exist.

We spent the evenings in local bars tasting Belgian beers while we could get them for cheap. (Let's be honest here...I didn't drink any beer. But the others did.) On our first full day we had a long briefing at the European Commission. After a terrible lunch on the Grande Place, we went to a briefing at the US Mission to the European Union--a discussion on US strategic relations in EU. It was kind of nice to be around Americans in an abnormal situation.

We played drinking games at the bar. I tell you what, whenever at the bar with my friends in the US, we never play drinking games. But the undergrads can play them like crazy. I learned all kinds of new games. Yikes. I'm going to attempt to erase that part of my memory.

The next morning, we visited the European Commission's Executive Committee for Finance. I took the afternoon off.

A few students and I spent Saturday in Brugges! It's among the most beautiful places I've ever been. I just love it there, and I'd love to visit it every year. Gorgeous buildings in a precious little town. Canals snake through the streets. It's perfect. We ate mussels and took a boat tour of the canals. And there's a Christmas store!! Clearly, I spent more money than I should have. That evening we drank in a 1920s bar and then ate at a restaurant with all kinds of Central Asian food. After too many waffles, the trip was a wonderful success.

The next morning, before heading to Frankfurt, I had breakfast with my mom's former French teacher and her son and cousin. She's a fantastic, kind person, and I love to see her. She took me to a huge flea market which was crazy. Blankets were laid edge to edge to edge in this large square such that we could barely walk between blankets, and the blankets were covered with things for sale. Crazy.