Another bloody Valentine

1347. The Plague. The Black Death. In Strasbourg.
Who's fault was it? Not the rats. Not the lack of hygiene. No, it was the Jews, they certainly poisoned the wells and rivers!
So, what to do? Let's go to the ghetto, just next to the cathedral (the good fathers needed to keep an eye on THEM...), and let's burn them!!! This is what the good christian people of Strasbourg did, on February 14th, 1348. Not forgetting to baptize the children, before throwing them in the fire.
It happened in the jewish cemetery, in what is now called rue Brulee, burned street. In Alsatian, Brandgass means street of the great fire.
2000 children, women, men... The few survivors escaped, and joined the ghetto in Venice, Italy.

The Bosses

One of their meeting places, next to the European Parliament.
Oh yeah: Strasbourg is the official capital of Europe.

First summer days

This morning in Strasbourg... 26 degrees C, balmy! We did it, we survived this weird winter.

Look what the cat caught

This is almost (modern) art

5.40 AM

Wishing you all a happy TGIF! Don't forget to check out Skywatch Friday, right here. And Saturday Silhouettes are here.

Un air de printemps - An air of spring

After a cold and wet April, spring finally arrived here. Today, sunny, 20 degrees C, going up to 25 this weekend. NICE!!!

What's for dinner, dear?

-Oh you're right, dear, I'm positively starving myself! Chinese?
-Oh, we had chinese yesterday... Boring.
-What about those japanese tourist, don't they look particularly scrumptious tonight?
-Okey dokey, one each then. Fries and coke with them?
-Don't be silly, deary! Rice and soy sauce, and a sake!
-Waiter!!???

True colours

Some colour amidst the usually grey-brownish buildings.

Ancient scents

An old photo, taken by my wife, some ancient perfume container, at the perfume museum in Barcelona

There can only be ONE

May day, theme day. Smell, is the theme. Easy. No pretty flowers, no expensive perfume, no stinky socks or cat litter... No. What gets me going, what keeps me going is the smell (and the taste) of a good cup of...

Click here to see what my friends from the CDP family did.

Light

And back to the cathedral, with it's never-ending photo opps.
The big chandelier in the St Laurent chapel

Asperges d'Alsace

Despite of the s....y weather lately, the asparagus season has started. 30 years after Chernobyl, I wonder if they are ever so lightly radioactive... Ah right, I remember: according to the french government, the radioactive cloud stopped at the french-german border. Right in the middle of the Rhine river. STOP, POLICE!!!

Ah, the smell!!!

The theme day is almost upon us! You guessed it: the smell. C ya all on May 1st!

s' Gaenseliesel

A common sight in many german towns, s' Gaenseliesel, little Elisabeth taking the geese to the market. This one is in the Orangerie park since 1898, when Strasbourg was, once again, part of the German Reich.

Not a shy beggar!!!

Still at the Orangerie park... A hungry bird, a cotton candy lady. The bird seems to be a regular customer, as the lady was feeding him no candy, but mince meat. Which is not usually used  in cotton candy (oh well, what do I know... Different countries, different customs. Lol)

?

I have seen this flower before, but... Anyone knows it's name???

Ecureuil

I am used to big grey squirrels, the not-shy-at-all kind. But what we have here is very different, smaller, brown, shy and much faster. A lucky and rare shot.

A weekend reflection

More greenery from yesterday's walk in the park, for the Weekend Reflection meme. Which is right here.

Chlorophyll

 Well, I needed some of the green stuff today, together with other colors. So I went to the Orangerie park, to visit my feathery, furry and scaly friends.

Schoolbus????

Hold on tight, kiddo!