On the morning of Nov. 18, Hamilton in France students embarked on a train leaving Paris for Alsace, Strasbourg, located in the eastern part of the country. This weekend-long excursion is the third of this semester following a trip to Fontainbleau in September and another to La Loire in October.
On Saturday afternoon, the group visited the Cathedral of Strasbourg. With a height of 140 meters, the cathedral was considered the world’s tallest building between the 17th and 19th centuries. The group was accompanied by a guide who explained the architecture of the structure and its importance in French history. Departing the cathedral, the guide walked the group around Alsace, highlighting the significant cultural and culinary destinations.
Hamilton in France is a Paris-based program that allows students to study for one or two semester(s) of their junior year. It was founded by the College more than 50 years ago.
Strasbourg is known for its choucroute, a dish composed of fermented cabbage with a mixture of sausage and salted meat, as well as for its tarte flambée, a thinly-rolled bread dough with cheese and a variety of ingredients atop. Allowing students a chance to consume local food is part of the intensive cultural immersion to which Hamilton in France is profoundly committed. The students shared two meals as a group, with members of the program’s administrative team, and exchanged conversation, exclusively in French, about life in Paris.
On Sunday morning, the group paid a visit to the Museum of Unterlinden in the city of Colmar, located to the south of Strasbourg. In the afternoon, the group headed to the village of Riquewihr for a visit to Zimmer wine cave followed by wine tasting. Professor Roberta Krueger, resident director of Hamilton in France for the academic year, said that the history of wine cultivation in France goes back to the Middle Ages, making it necessary to offer students a chance to learn about this aspect of French culture.
