A Day Downtown

Day Four
The weekend began enjoyably with Saturday morning free time, which I used to walk through the few acres of the Chateau's park with a group of friends. We walked the trails taking pictures of the beautiful greenery and making a mostly unsuccessful attempt to use a map to locate the artwork scattered around the park. Some of the art we saw included large sculptures of ears in a forest, a pipe that twisted over a rock, and a painting inside a large tree trunk. 

After the relaxing walk, the whole group headed into downtown Strasbourg for a boat tour of the city. I was expecting it to be exciting, but unfortunately the resulting two hour trip was severely disappointing. The boat had a plexiglas domed top making it impossible to take pictures without glare and reflection. In addition, the combination of summer weather, boat with no A/C, and a tape recorded voice droning in my ear about the number of bridges in Strasbourg caused me (and most of my classmates) to fall asleep. My first downtown experience quickly improved when I went to a museum full of Alsatian artifacts (Alsace is the region Strasbourg is located in) and walked through a beautiful Cathedral afterwards. 

Things I Noticed In Downtown Strasbourg:

• There is a separate lane for bicycles apart from the sidewalk
• The city is planned in smart growth style meaning that there is a focus on density and resident interaction: the city is walkable with wide sidewalks and shops are set up right against the street to foster a social and lively downtown atmosphere
• All the cars driven are small and compact. There is no land used only for parking. All parking is either on the streets or sidewalks. 
• It seems like French people are more relaxed. They take their time when eating a meal, interact more with each other than we do in America, and have a "work to live" rather than the "live to work" attitude we have in the States. Possible causes may be that they look at schedules more flexibly (store hours not always guaranteed), have enforced thirty-five hour work weeks, and are given five weeks of vacation time. If only we had that luxury in the U.S

Peace, Love, and Strasbourg ~ Naomi 

Pictures of the Day

Adam and I in a piece of art that represents a tribal fire circle

A piece of art I have entitled "pipe on top of a rock"

Back of the chateau from the park

 Listening to a forest full of ears

Cathedral in downtown Strasbourg

The less-than-enthralling boat tour of Strasbourg

French Torah in the Alsatian museum

Hebrew written in French colors in an attempt to assimilate and avoid exile 

(never does seem to work out that way does it?) 

 

Carousel in the middle of the city

Young French girl dancing to the band 

Anne says "We're back!"
 

Merci Beaucoup

Day Three
On Friday, we dressed in our business attire and headed to the European Parliament for a tour and a lecture, both of which were fantastic! The building is a beautiful glass structure with an open central courtyard and trees planted on the top to create urban green space. Using glass represents the parliament's transparency, since all the debates are open to the public. It is located on the Rhine River next to the buildings for the Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe. The inside of the ground floor is lined with smooth rocks and green vines stretch from them up to the ceiling. The main staircase is a double helix and is called the Staircase of Honor and its design is based on a staircase in Chambord Castle designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Our group was able to sit in the main chamber of Parliament and had a guest speaker who worked for the EU Parliament as an administrator.

Interesting Facts About EU Parliament:

• With 27 member states and 751 seats (including the president) it is the largest chamber in Europe. 
• The members sit by political party, not by nationality. 
  
• Romania and Bulgaria were the last two countries to join in 2007.
• Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, and Iceland are current pending applicants.
• The parliament rotates between Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg (administrative).
• There are two official parliament languages: English and French. 
• Twenty-three different languages are spoken by members and each is allowed to speak in their native tongue.
• This requires 500 translators, which make up 1/3 of the organization's employees

After touring the Parliament, we headed across the river to Germany to do a company visit at the Rhine Center for Dow Chemical Company. We were given a presentation about the vision regarding environmental and community goals by a speaker who was in charge of community relations for Europe and specifically Germany. Afterwords, we were given a tour of the plant, which produced liquid latex. I thought the tour was interesting, but there was not much to be learned about government policy there. I asked the speaker how much waste was produced by the company per year and she responded that she didn't have that statistic. I wasn't surprised but was slightly disappointed that she wasn't forthcoming about the impact that a chemical production company has on the landscape.


Some Interesting Facts About Dow Chemical Company:

• It is the #1 chemical company in the United States and #2 worldwide behind BASF in Germany.
• They produce 5,000 products at 185 sites in 35 different countries.
  
• Dow offers students a paid apprenticeship where they prepare young people for a career while they are still in school. 
• It was founded in 1897 in Midland, MI.
  
• In 2010 they saw $53.7 billion of sales.
• Each chemical production company has a signature color and Dow's is light blue.

After returning to the Chateau, Sven planned a movie night and we watched the film L'Auberge Espagnole about a student doing a study abroad program called Erasmus in Barcelona and living in an apartment with six other students, all from different countries with different languages. Of course, while we watched indulged in bread, cheese, and wine. We are in France after all!

Peace, Love, and Strasbourg ~ Naomi

Pictures of the Day

 Naomi in front of EU Parliament

Flags line the entryway to the building

EU Parliament Open Atrium

Urban greenspace growing on the building

Vines lined inside of the building and stretched up to the top (not real plants though!)

 Staircase of Honor originally designed by DaVinci

EU Parliament Chamber 

Safety first for the Dow Chemical Tour!

Ready to go see some latex in my hardhat

Bonjour a Strasbourg!

Day One
Technically, I spent my entire first day on an airplane. I went to my final class of the semester at noon last Wednesday and went straight from GSU to the Atlanta airport for my flight to Paris. The flight at eight hours was probably about seven hours too long, and of course I got the dreaded middle seat next to a friendly but large British woman who was constantly searching for her neck pillow and had apparently decided that she owned all the armrests. Thank goodness Air France served wine and champagne with the meals/snacks because that was the only thing making the flight bearable. We landed in Paris around nine A.M., took a second much shorter flight from Paris to Frankfurt, Germany, then a two hour bus ride from there to the Chateau de Portales in Strasbourg, France.

Day Two
After arriving at the Chateau, the group was given some free time to go up to our rooms and unpack our things. Unfortunately, there is no elevator in the Chateau (which I probably should have suspected) and I was stuck hauling my forty-nine pound suitcase up three flights of stairs to the top floor. Even more unfortunately, my roommate Christa did not have to haul anything since her luggage (along with six other member of the group) was left in Paris and would not be reunited with her for a day and a half. After resting we were given a tour of the Chateau by our guide Sven, a young German with a blonde mowhawk.

Interesting Facts About Chateau De Portales:

• The Chateau is 300 years old and was originally a hunting lodge for a wealthy family
• In the 1970s it was converted into a university and then the study abroad program began 10 years ago
• The reception area of the Chateau is use for weddings and fancy events. It is booked a year in advance.

After the tour, we made our way down the path of the chateau to the entrance where a small french restaurant is located right outside the gates. The food was delicious (and pictured here by request of my boss Mike) and I talked to Sven about the food in Germany. I learned some interesting things like the fact that organic produce is the same price or cheaper than normal produce and that they had always been strict on food in Germany. Before the EU there was no artificial color allowed, which Sven said meant "no gummy bears." Afterwords I walked to the grocery store with a friend and bought some chicken, vegetables, and wine for the nights that we are on our own for meals. Unlike the United States, the grocery store does not provide free plastic bags. Instead, people bring their own bags or can buy a reuseable one at the store for one euro. I think this is a great idea to help the environment, reduce waste, and save money! Another environmental difference I noticed was that all the lights are on timers, so that they don't waste energy by being on if no one needs them. In my opinion, this really should be implemented in the U.S. The night ended with a group of students sitting outside and drinking wine before heading to bed. Just as a night in France ought to be in my opinion!

Peace, Love, and Strasbourg! ~ Naomi

Pictures of the Day 

The Chateau de Portales

Gate to the hotel attached to the chateau 

Chateau ballroom for weddings and events

Courtyard outside the Chateau

Welcome to France champagne toast 

Dinner appetizer of tuna and rice (for Mike Robl!)

Roommate Christa eating our first European dinner

Entry gate to the chateau

Entrance walkway

Lamppost