Strasbourg in Spring

The excitement of October, the settling-in blues of November, the comfort of December and the stress of January. It all has passed. Winter in France has now truly come and gone, and spring has sprung, as it does, with flowers in bloom, sunny afternoons and a distinct lack of winter chill in the wind. The air is soft again, and it has been a glorious month or so.

I think this has got to be the best part of exchange. We are now at home in Strasbourg, we have our close friends and our wider circle down pat, we have gotten through the language and culture shocks of the first semester and have come to terms with the fact that sometimes the French way of doing things, well, it’s du grand n’importe quoi. But we don’t mind, because we stick it out, we lean on each other and we laugh about it, because it’s all part of the experience. We have the hard stuff behind us but we’re not yet at the goodbyes- it’s a perfect in between filled with good times and not (too) much studying.

This past month has been a bit of a lull, but a happy, comfortable one. I travelled a bit, studied a bit, but mostly just enjoyed being here. In fact, I think it has been one of my best months in France so far. Everything is familiar, but I’m still discovering and thanking my lucky stars I got to live this experience.

And this never more so than on a beautiful spring afternoon like we had yesterday. I finished class at 2pm, grabbed a baguette and then spent the better part of two hours chilling with friends in the sun outside of the university. Reluctant to go indoors, I then took the long way home- pedalling slowly and stopping in a few places to take some pictures of Strasbourg in all its sunny glory.

And this on my beloved vélop- my bike in the city that made me love cycling again.

I started my ride home at the IEP, with cherry blossoms and the church steeple in front.

My route back from school then takes me down boulevard de la Victoire, which is one of my favourite streets because it is a bike/pedestrian lane with tram tracks on either side and then a lane for cars on the edge, as if they were an afterthought.

I then ride along the river Ill, which is the main river in Strasbourg, and in which the center of the city is basically an island.

And then, 15 minutes later, I am home.