The boys and I had a lovely day exploring the area of Strasbourg called "Petite France." A diverging river is criss-crossed by little bridges alongside traditional Alsatian houses with dark wood criss-crossing white plaster. It's beautiful, even in winter!
I enjoyed the sunset while the boys enjoyed a local playground. Then we explored the Alsatian museum full of traditional household items from this area over the last few centuries. There were gorgeous hand-painted wardrobes, a typical farmhouse kitchen from the 19th century along with traditional wooden interiors complete with feather tick beds. Of course, the boys got a kick out of the real anvil on display from a local forgery at the end. They joke enough about the anvils of cartoon legend, now here was the real thing!
My personal favorite tidbit from the museum was the following legend about the inspiration for creating glass Christmas tree ornaments:
"Situated on the border between Alsace and Lorraine, Meisenthal is a large glass production center, exploiting the fine, pure sand of the surrounding area. Until the 19th century, Christmas trees were decorated with very red apples (Chrischtkindelsäpfel), and appetizing nuts. According to legend, the appearance of glass balls followed the great drought of 1858. There were no apples or nuts to decorate the Christmas trees. A glass-maker from Goetzenbruck, near Meisenthal, had the idea of replacing them with glass apples. This was such a success that craftsmen subsequently created a profusion of glass ornaments. Nevertheless, production stopped in the 1960s when faced with competition from plastic decorations. Since 1992, the International Glass Art Centre in Meisenthal has revived this tradition by producing a new designer bauble every year."
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