Culinary Delights in the Rain

I'm sitting by the window, also enjoying a scone with chocolate, a matcha latte, and a freshly squeezed juice made of apple, orange, carrot, and ginger. I'm already feeling a bit healthier in general.

I'm strolling through Petit France, this time heading towards Barrage Vauban. It’s a sluice bridge, an invention of General Vauban. You can close the openings in the bridge to dam the water, preventing enemies from crossing the area.

It’s drizzling lightly, and I walk around the Museum of Modern Art, admiring the murals and the man in the fluttering black rain poncho riding by on a bicycle, who was probably the inspiration for the Dementors in Harry Potter.

The museum is on lunch break, so I choose capitalism over culture. 🙈 On my way to shopping, I stop at the cleanest public restroom ever, then I pass by a taco place and spontaneously decide to satisfy my craving for avocado.

The saleswomen are so lovely and even speak quite good German. The tacos are super tasty, filled with rice, lettuce, various beans, pickled peppers, corn, and guacamole. The homemade hibiscus iced tea is also very good.

Before it starts pouring again, I’ve already disappeared into the Uniqlo store - for almost two hours 😂

Afterwards, I bring my haul back to the hotel and plunder my snack supplies, watch Arte documentaries on my phone (the TV unfortunately only has French channels), and ponder what to do with the rest of the day. (Spoiler: eat more).

In Paderborn, the cooking spoon is more of a snack bar than a restaurant, mainly known for burgers and grilled chicken.

In Strasbourg, on the other hand, the cooking spoon, or La Cuiller a Pot as it’s called here, is a rather upscale restaurant located south of Petit France.

I had made a reservation via Google Maps and was greeted by name at the door. Up the stairs, I went into a cozy dining room in the old half-timbered house, overlooking the street and other houses. Besides me, there was only one other woman - a reservation probably wasn’t necessary 😅

I relied on the recommendations of the friendly waiter, who also spoke English and German, and mentioned he learned it in school (and that the German border is only a few minutes away, which is why they often have guests from Germany).

And so, upon his recommendation, I had a Blanc peche (sparkling white wine with peach liqueur) as an aperitif, accompanied by a tiny sauerkraut cake as a greeting from the kitchen.

For dessert, I had Fraises a la Melba, which is seemingly the fancy French version of spaghetti ice cream with strawberries (without the spaghetti shape, and with mascarpone cream). Homemade ice cream, with a caramel cookie thing on top, delightful. (And you know if I start raving about sweet food, it’s really good.)

I actually wanted to see the cathedral at night, but it was too cold for me, so I went to bed satisfied, full, and slightly tipsy.