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Location
The conference will be held at the Église du Temple-Neuf de Strasbourg, in the Espace Tauler. The entrance is from la rue du Temple Neuf at the "Oratoire du Temple-Neuf", around the corner from the main entrance. Getting there... The easiest way to get to Strasbourg is from Paris on the TGV (the high-speed train), which takes less than two hours. You can also get the TGV directly from Charles de Gaulle airport to Strasbourg. From the Strasbourg train station, you can walk to the downtown area in a few minutes. You can find information about the train and make bookings here: www.sncf.com/en/passengers For those coming from London you can take the Eurostar to Paris, which takes about three hours. You can find information about the Eurostar and make bookings here: www.eurostar.com/uk-en. Strasbourg also has a small regional airport if you prefer to fly. Accommodation Strasbourg has many accommodation options that can be found through the usual websites. This includes fine accommodation in the centre, and more affordable places closer to the station that might suit students. Unfortunately we have now sold out of the discounted rooms we negotiated at the Hôtel de la Cathédrale (www.hotel-cathedrale.fr). Exploring the region There are many interesting sights to see in the region. General information is available from Alsace Tourist Information: www.tourisme-alsace.com. Within and close to Strasbourg there are boat tours around the city (www.batorama.fr), visits to the nearby Mont Saint-Odile (www.mont-sainte-odile.fr), or you can also visit Sessenheim, where Goethe conducted his famous dalliance with Frédérique Brion while a law student in Strasbourg, which inspired some of his early poetry, such as Maifest, Willkommen und Abschied, and Heidenröslein (www.sessenheim.net/L-Idylle-de-Sessenheim.html#Memorial). There is also the Alsatian wine trail which can be enjoyed by car, bicycle, and walking trails. There are also tours, including day-tours starting from Strasbourg which might suit someone looking to spend an extra day in the region: www.alsace-wine-route.com. There are also cruises that either follow the Rhine, or a combination of the Rhine and various canals. So you can recreate some of the experiences of the Shelleys and Byron (and indeed Victor Frankenstein and Childe Harold) during their trips on the Rhine, and you can see the Lorelei. There are many options, but two examples with cruises starting from Strasbourg during August are www.croisierenet.com and www.croisiere.net. For those who prefer a shorter Rhine trip, focused on the "Romantic" Rhine area, with the Lorelei etc, there are affordable day cruises that mostly start from Koblenz or Mainz (there are many stops between but they are not so easy to get to by train). You can find info by googling "Romantic Rhine", but you can also find info here: www.european-traveler.com/germany/loreley-valley-rhine-river-day-cruises-germany/, and make bookings on one of the larger cruise-lines here: www.k-d.com/en/cruises/loreley-tour/. The southern practical start point is Mainz. You can get a train from Strasbourg to Mainz, which takes less than two and a half hours with a change at Mannheim. You can book this through Deutsche Bahn here, or the French Rail here. Or of course you can simply rent a car and plan your own trip in Alsace or surrounding countries... Please email Richard Berkeley with any questions (berkeley5000@gmail.com). |
Frédérique Brion
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