Water Bars and Other Fun

Because of all the nuttiness of the NATO conference a couple months ago, the mayor of Strasbourg offered a day of free public transportation and free museum entrances and free music in the streets to the citizens. Oh and a water bar.

I'd heard of Water Bars like the Water Bar Colette on rue Saint-Honoré in Paris (featured above) that offers 80 different waters each with a different 'flavor.'

The water bar in Strasbourg was actually just cold city tap water served by a nice man in a red shirt.

But it was served in a real glass with the mineral/nitrate content breakdown of the city water printed in blue on the side! And we got to take them home!
We visited three museums, too. The Zoology Museum, the Archaeological Museum (wow!) and the 'Musée de l'Oeuvre de Notre Dame' that houses the original sculpture from the mind-blowing cathedral of Strasbourg. An ice-cream was in order after almost being diagnosed with Stendhal Syndrome and a lot of trying on of funny hats in tourist shops. Thanks Mayor!

Where has this City been all My Life?

The more I find out about Strasbourg, the more I think its one of the coolest cities in the world. Not only home to the European Parliament, but also home of a new quest: project ZERO PESTICIDES!
I saw little flags poked into grassy spots near the train station and I looked, expecting to see 'Chemlawn' or the French equivalent written upon them, but instead saw the surprising words: 'Pesticide Free' !
Okay, so I did a little research and found out that by 2010 Strasbourg wants to be completely pesiticide free: (Eva's translation to follow French text)
"La présence d’herbes en bord de trottoir ou dans l’allée d’un parc n’est pas synonyme d’abandon de l’entretien mais au contraire le signe d’une gestion différente de l’espace public. Pour abandonner les pesticides, les services de la Ville et de la Communauté urbaine de Strasbourg accomplissent une véritable révolution culturelle ! Faire de la mauvaise herbe une amie, réintroduire plus de nature en ville, tester les techniques alternatives au désherbage chimique… la démarche se concrétise jour après jour."
The presence of weeds bordering the sidewalks or in the walkways of parks is not a sign of lazy city maintenance anymore. On the contrary, its a new way of looking at public spaces. To leave behind pesticides, the town and community of Strasbourg is accomplishing a true cultural revolution! To make weeds our friends, reintroduce more nature into the city, use safer alternative methods to keeping the city looking great, with each passing day this dream is becoming more and more concrete.
I think I'm going to cry.

Escargot Dejeuner for Two

Madame Sutter went to the Snail Farm Niederrott yesterday and brought back three dozen snails prepared with garlic and butter ready to heat and serve. She said the snails on the farm had tall grasses to eat and mature in six months. They cling to boards placed on the ground and the farmers easily pluck them off, taking home the harvest. It was a lunch that made an ordinary Thursday feel like a special occasion. And these were by far the best snails I've ever tasted.

A Curious WWII BIrd Toy

Pierrot is Madame Sutter's, my mother-in-law's, boyfriend. He's lived through world war two and has many stories to share about this experience. He brought over a toy he found today. It was all dirty in the back of a drawer when he found it, but he cleaned it up and remembered what it was exactly. He said there was a building just behind where his parents lived in Selestat, where he grew up, that housed prisoners of war. Pierrot remembers there being some prisoners from Poland there at one time. He would sneak out at night when the German guards were away and pass bread and cakes to the hungry Polish prisoners through the metal bars covering the windows. The Polish men were so happy that they carved him this bird toy. It still works. You just tug the string and the birds' heads go up and down like they're pecking at grains of millet. The names of the prisoners are still clearly etched on the bottom:
Gefangenen Polen, Zum Andenken and Stanislaus und Joser.

Monday means the beginning of the work week....?

I haven't associated Monday's with the start of a work week for a while now. I've been on what's felt like an extended bacchanal weekend. And I'm glad I've gotten a taste of what being a suburban French house wife is like. This Monday, however, my life is going to change. I'm setting the alarm: not to get hubby's slippers and prepare his lunch box, but to catch the 8:24 train to the big Metropolis of Strasbourg where I'll be putting in my nine to five. Not really. More like attending an orientation and putting in three hours of actual classroom work. Previous thoughts of: should I iron the doilies today or polish the silver? have turned to: What triggers can I use to start some stimulating student debates that will force an English vocabulary rich and varied? and, gee, I hope my colleagues will like me. And speaking of change, I hope to have more of that rattling around in my pockets.
I'm putting my etiquette books away and blowing the dust off of my Thesauruses, my copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People and my workman's rights guides, and joining the Monday morning forces with courage and a smile. Uncle Sam doesn't need me this time, its Marianne.
Stay tuned for further work story fun and other artistic endeavors.

Mountain Cottage

Daniel saw in the newspaper that a farm was for sale in Saint-Croix-aux-Mines that sat on 17.25 acres of land. We thought we'd take a look. We booked an appointment with Mr. Jacob of Landis Immobilier Realty and were in for an interesting visit. The farm is situated at an altitude of 500 meters and the car ride up to the top was treacherously steep and rocky.

This wasn't the only obstacle. The second obstacle, for me, was the 'dry' toilet. I know, I know, its supposed to be the best ecological choice, but come on. The third obstacle was the second story's low ceiling. Daniel couldn't stand upright and had to uncomfortably walk with a crooked head. The forth was noticing that everything in the farmhouse was functional. Beauty did not have its place. But, if the farm was lacking, the land it sat upon and view were not. We had a magnificent view of castle ruins, little farmhouses, sheep grazing, and cherry trees heavy with fruit. We felt refreshed from the fresh air and breadth of vision. But, sadly, we couldn't imagine owning it.

Sunday and Open House Gardens

On Sunday, in between celebrating Mother's Day and voting for our favorite European Union candidates, we took advantage of Open House Gardens. Garden-proud Alsatians generously opened their backyards to the masses and we took advantage by visiting a few. We went to private residences, sometimes difficult to find, in the villages of Kientzheim, Benfeld and Plobsheim. Here are some photographic highlights:

Interesting home with Egyptian touches (obelisks on each corner)

and sphinx guarding the back door.

We met some of the most friendly horses I've ever encountered.

And saw some small ponds that put our bathtub 'pond' to shame.

We also saw some inspiring structures built for plants that climb.

And a reserve to welcome bugs and make them feel at home.

And some weird breed of rusty dog.

Cosmic Vegetables: Drug of Choice

My ideal is to eat what comes out of my own backyard. But, except for our salads, our vegetables for the moment are still adolescents with a lot of maturing to do.
What's second best is having a biodynamic farm just a bike ride away!
To our luck, we discovered a farm on the biodynamic website in the nearby village of Rathsamhausen. And this farm is way beyond organic. Just stepping onto the property, I felt some major stellar vibes.
Its open just Wednesdays and Fridays so we have to carefully mark our calender. Here's what we bought: (pictured above)
2 celery roots (already devoured)
1 head-pointed cabbage
1 red cabbage
2 broccoli
and all of this for just 6 euros and 60 cents!
(at Supermarché Match we pay 6 euros for three little avocados so you can imagine how unbeatable this farm really is for its cosmic quality and value.)
And I'm telling you, People, there's no need to take drugs or your meds anymore. Not only will the taste of these vegetables knock you into some endorphin-induced astral dimension, but also these vegetables are vibrating to some insanely groovy current that after eating them you feel high.
Today I'll be preparing the broccoli for lunch and then preparing to go on a very long cosmic vegetable 'trip' that will last until nightfall. But first I have to pick off all the broccoli worms that had the same idea.

My 1950's French Bathing Suit Featured in Retro Ways!

Yes! One of my Etsy items, a swimsuit from the 1950's, has been handpicked to be featured in a cool blog called Retro Ways: Vintage Fashion and History. Thanks again RealGoneRetro! And thanks again to Daniel's elegant Aunt Madeleine for having given me the swimsuit. (Believe me, I would keep this relic if it wasn't for Daniel who thinks its "horrible!") Check out the article on vintage bathing suits perfect for poolside:
Retroways.blogspot.com

Thanks Johnny A-Seed for Spreading the Booze...

So, I'm reading The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan in French. Its slow going.
But its also fascinating, check it out:
Johnny Appleseed traveled across America planting apple seeds from an old burlap coffee bag just ahead of the pioneers. This way he could sell the settlers his apples once they were settled! Shrewd. What is mind blowing is this:
I always thought that if I wanted a Fuji apple tree, I'd just pluck out some seeds of the Fuji apple I was eating and plant them. Wrong! Each seed from an apple contains new genetic material, an entirely new variety of apple. And many of these varieties resemble the apple trees of old: wild and bitter. So, to get a Fuji apple, I have to buy a seedling that was grafted from a preexisting Fuji tree.
So, Johnny Appleseed was sowing his seeds, and all across the New Country sprouted weird shaped apples that were often so bitter that they were good for one purpose: Pioneer Hard Cider! And I'm sure that sold pretty well, too. Maybe Ol' A-Seed knew all this and did it on purpose!


credits: Michael Pollan The Botany of Desire (2001) Random House

I'm in the Alsace Press!

Something caught my attention in the newspaper yesterday: Me! In an article written about Saturday's Cultural Flea Market, my name is mentioned.

Loosely translated: 'Also present was Eva, an American foreign language assistant who sold some of her books written in English.'
In the same article is also mentioned the infamous Rolling Stones album that caused so much commotion. loose translation:

'Everyone was sure to find some great deals among the 40 odd stands present. If a seller was asking the price of 15 Euros for a Rolling Stones 45, he was met with pleas from potential buyers: 'If you sell it to me for 2 Euros that would be just fine."
I thought I did see a mysterious man out of the corner of my eye with a staring problem, taking notes on a steno pad...

Out with the Old Junk, in with the New Old Junk

Well, we had to replace all the junk we sold at the flea market with something, didn't we? We went to the Hoenheim village yard sale to load up on all kinds of second hand must-haves yesterday. We found a variety of records and a man gave me a crocodile skin purse! Another one euro find was a gilded peach Limoges Royale cup, 70's bug-eye sunglasses, a gorgeous watercolor of 'Ledo and the Swan,' and some crumbly Alsatian weekly journals from 1923!

Destination: Lac Blanc (which isn't 'blanc' at all)

The wind was a bullying menace yesterday. Why did it keep blowing in our ears until we had earaches? Daniel already had a cough. ('No, no, its not The Swine Flu,' we had to reassure a couple hiking in front of us who asked us if we've recently been to Mexico.)
The wind forced us to walk quickly, head down, looking vigilantly at the path embedded with granite chunks and bilberry bushes to keep from falling, and sadly we missed the grandiose view. A romantic, 'Hey, let's go to the mountains to watch the sunset!' turned into: 'This darn wind from Haites! Quick! Let's get the heck out of here!'

Before heading home, we stopped at a favorite Ferme Auberge of mine: Chevremont near Kaysersberg. They have a remarkable hot chocolate made with whole, unpasteurized milk that comes fresh from cows who graze just over the hill. To this milk they add a rather average hot chocolate powder, but the quality of the milk makes up for it. So, we did have our romantic moment after all, sipping hot chocolate on a wooden bench, looking out onto a herd of goats and a chicken coup, three black labs playing, an old man with a red nose and a pipe, and children playing on a swing set. Then, three van loads of people pulled into the drive. Decidedly, we weren't the only ones seeking a little fresh air and fresh farm produce this windy Sunday evening.