Visiting Strasbourg in one week - help!

Hello everyone,

I am going on a University trip to Strasbourg next week, and am dreading how I will get by food-wise. There are ten of us going, for ten days on a minibus, travelling around Strasbourg, Bruges, Freiburg. It's going to be a struggle to please everyone for food, and I imagine a lot of the time we'll be dining in service stations/french bistros where the word 'vegan' doesn't even exist. Everyone else on the team are big omnivores, and actually enjoy waving meat in my face. I respect other people's opinions and don't like being 'awkward' so I don't usually protest. However, this makes me worried as to how sympathetic they will be once we are there. I have considered lots of options, which include packing a loaf of bread, jar of peanut butter and lots of packets of fruit/nuts and living off these for 10 days. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions? I don't want to starve!

Thanks
Kat :meow:

That sounds a great trip, food apart! Are you going to be studying anything in particular?

Taking emergency supplies is a good idea but I expect if you're going to be stopping at service areas etc you will be able to buy more stuff as I would think they sell fruit and so on. And you could always skip the odd meal to go shopping if necessary.

I have found I do best in French bistros by trying to order off the menu - they often have things like tomato salad which are reasonably safe, and especially if you're with a crowd they probably won't mind if you just have that. I haven't generally found French waiters terribly accommodating about adapting things by omitting ingredients. In Belgium and Germany they may be a bit more accommodating.

Hey! Yes it should be great, going to the european court of human rights to argue a case (i'm in to human rights as well as animal rights!) - so extremely nervous! Getting a little holiday after though so will be nice to relax and visit some new places. Will take your advice and try to order from the menu. Might try and learn some simple French/German phrases also just in case things get difficult. E.g. 'please may I have a simple salad, or pasta w/tomato sauce' etc. Will bring some provisions in my bag in case all else fails. But hopefully won't end up living on peanut butter for 10 days!! Thanks!

Sounds brilliant - hope you have a lovely time and win your case! Definitely worth mugging up a few phrases, although in France they probably still won't take any notice :devil: (I'm half-French so feel entitled to be rude!).

In Germany they have wonderful organic supermarkets so if you can get to one of those you can make up for lost time. French supermarkets are quite good for vegans too.

There are various old threads here about eating in France and Germany (not sure if I've seen one about Belgium) if you need more tips.

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Kat_90

living on peanut butter for 10 days!!

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harpy

Sounds brilliant

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Sure does!!

Sorry, don't actually have anything to add here. Good luck!

Thank you!! Those assigned to 'catering' on the trip are off shopping now to buy lots of peanut butter, jam, cereal bars, nuts and seeds! Should be sorted! Eating out may be an issue but will have to cross that road when it comes.

I'm digging this thread from the grave to suggest an address to those who would like to visit this town. I went to Strasbourg two weeks ago, for christmas shopping and general tourism.

It's a small very casual restaurant called Bistrot & Chocolat. It's located 8 rue de la râpe, a street very close to the cathedral, which is where the main (and in my opinion the most interesting) christmas market is.

They have a small menu, with plat and dessert du jour. The prices are reasonable, especially if you take the day's menu (plat du jour+dessert du jour + hot chocolate : 15 euros), and the quantities are good. They also make killer hot chocolates, for every taste (dark, milky, even white chocolate). You can ask it to be made with soy milk.
I personally tasted the Andoa hot chocolate, which is a strong dark chocolate, made "à l'ancienne", which means you eat it with a spoon rather than drink it. My favorite kind !:o

The downside may be that's a vegetarian restaurant rather than a vegan one. I wanted to allow myself one restaurant during my small trip to Strasbourg, and it's the one restaurant that served something other than the typical choucroute, and had a somewhat vegetarian tag.

You have the possibility of shopping in an organic shop for veg options (it's a chain store called Biocoop, and it's located 6 rue Sébastopol, careful it's closed on sundays and mondays). There is also a Naturalia shop (other chain organic store), but i don't recommend this one, i'm afraid it's one of those shops that never evolved since the 80s.

Here's the website of the restaurant : Bistrot et Chocolat. The website is in french only, you can click on the third picture (from the left) for the whole menu.