It's got a large german influence, it's pretty, and the weather is very cool for some reason.

More detail:

Strasbourg feels a lot more modern than both Montpellier and Perpignan. There has been conflict over Strasbourg for a very long time; in world war 1, the area was German, then became French with the Treaty of Versailles, then was annexed by Germany again during World War 2 during which it was levelled for the most part, but the city center remained intact.

So, the city has a bit of an interesting history.

I do exaggerate as to the extent of the damage and the reconstruction, but there was heavy allied bombing here and much of the city has been rebuilt. The streets are much wider than Montpellier's and Perpignan's (which is a feature of the Medieval city, according to a guy I met while here). There are dedicated bicycle lanes, which is cool, but you have to watch out for bicycle lights as well - luckily, I read about that in the guidebook before making an ass of myself.

A lot of the rebuilding has gone with the very ornate carved stone or cast concrete which seems to be particular to French apartment buildings. The net effect is that the new apartments are often nicer than their vintage counterparts because they haven't had the time to fall apart yet.

Getting here, though, that was a bit of a headache. I hadn't realized one needed to reserve a train in advance of getting on it, with this particular pass I had; I ended up on the overnight train from Montpellier, which is cool. I can't say that I slept very well - cheap expresso is just about the only thing keeping me coherent at the moment - but I would drift off for an hour or two before being woken up by bad rail. In second class, they keep you six to a compartment, sleeping with your luggage in the couch with you - which has lead me to realize I brought way too much stuff.

Leaving so late gave me the opportunity to explore Antigone with Johannus, though - he's a german dude I met at the hostel. Antigone is a large promenade that extends from the east of the Montpellier city center, built in a roman or greek style. Imagine if the Colliseum arches were filled with glass and it became a mix of hotels, apartments, and restaurants and you would have Antigone. The place ends with a vast curve of student apartments facing the river.

Food there is, surprisingly, slightly cheaper than in the Montpellier center itself, and I got myself a sole papillote, with eggplant, tomato, zucchini, lime and thyme (GOOD combination) and a Tomato tartare - basically, make salsa but go with tomato and mint alone. Not exactly vegetarian, but close enough for me.

Now, since I've got my camera up and working again, and since there are parks about, I'm going to finish this blog post, than practice sum gumdo, then take some pictures. Or whatever. It's a holiday! I'll do what I feel like.