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Nouveau et Vieux

January 16, 2018 by tigermucha 3 Comments

Nouveau et Vieux – French for New and Old – or so I am told by Siri on my iPhone when I asked her so politely.  Nouveau et Vieux describes so beautifully what we encountered when we visited Strasbourg, France as part of my Viking River Cruise with friends in 2014.  I have already told you how we started our day in Germany and how we began our tour at the Ponts Couverts before we headed into La Petite France, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage center of Strasbourg situated on part of the Grand Ile, the historic island that makes up the center of the city. This is where we would spend our day visiting much of the Vieux, while capturing some glimpses of Nouveau here and there.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Nouveau et Vieux

As we walked along the canals of the River Ill we saw centuries old half timber structures alongside new construction which I am sure was being done to preserve and protect rather than replace old structures with brand-new.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Half Timber Pair

These houses along the river were so charming! We loved all the windows and shutters.  And yet as old as they were, there were modern amenities like TV antennas.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | The Aqua House

But we never saw any air conditioning units in the windows.  We rarely saw any screens, either.  From what our guide told us, the climate normally did not require air conditioning and bugs were not an issue.  But the shutters would be used in inclement weather.  I am not sure these shutters would be much use since they appeared to have seen better days.  But I loved the aqua color on this house.  It was not a common color for the houses that we saw so it stood out with the brown shutters and wood trim.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Strasbourg Balconies

There were other types of architecture that were not as old as the half timbered buildings.  They were still grand and old, with balconies and beautiful flower boxes.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Strasbourg Balconies Open and Closed

And lots of windows and shutters to keep out the sun or let it in, depending on the circumstance.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Speed Graffiti | Strasbourg, France

And then right in the middle of all this Vieux a piece of Nouveau would hit you right in the face, like this Speed Graffiti in a small alley between two buildings. It’s a little hard to tell in this photo that I added filters to, but the door is definitely a twenty first century addition to a sixteenth or seventeenth century dwelling.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Herbs and Succulents | Strasbourg, France

Many of the terra-cotta window boxes would have herbs and succulents along with flowers.  I love the lavender topiary in this window box.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | AN 1742 | Strasbourg, France

Just look at this dwelling!  The date on the door is 1742.   And it is just full of old world charm!  In this part of France, the builder of the house would carve their initials and date into the dwelling.  So someone with the initials AN built this 1742.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Windows and Doors | Strasbourg, France

Those windows, the shutters, the planters by the door, the lichen and moss on the steps and porch! Such character!

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Half Timber House | Strasbourg, France

The roof on this little house even had moss!  And it was rippled in places, like it had sinking spots where things had shifted over the years. Oh, what about that little single window that was added in on the third floor? So many interesting and cute little details in these houses. Did you notice too how each new level of the house extends out farther than the other? It is a term called Jettying.  Each upper story is built with large horizontal beams supported on cantilevers so that the weight of the walls on the upper floors can be properly supported.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Canal in Strasbourg, France

Here was another house where the upper floors extended out past the main floor. And it appeared you could just dock your boat right at your door!  Notice the flashing light in the foreground – modern safety at work, keeping canal drivers safe.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Canal View | Strasbourg, France

We could not get over how romantic and charming La Petite France was and we were only just beginning our visit!

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | La Petite Alsace

I love this painted and stenciled wall!

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Maison des Tanneurs | Strasbourg, France

As we crossed onto the island we arrived at the famed Maison des Tanneurs – a half timbered house built in 1572.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | La Maison de la Choucrout | Strasbourg, France

The house is named for the House of Tanners.  This was the working class part of Strasbourg centuries ago and this was the Tanner District, where those that worked in that industry lived.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Masion des Tanneurs | Strasbourg, France

In 1927 this building was added to the historic registry.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Masion des Tanneurs | Strasbourg, France

Here is my friend June posing by one of the painted signs on the side of the building.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Masion des Tanneurs | Strasbourg, France

It looks like they were in the process of painting the actual building while we were there, as evidenced by the paint around the lettering. And, as you can guess from the sign, the building is now a restaurant.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Masion des Tanneurs Window Boxes | Strasbourg, France

Just look at those window boxes – geraniums on top and evergreens on the bottom.  So charming!

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Maison des Tanneurs | Strasbourg, France

This shows how the upper floor extends out from the bottom floor.  This was the corner of the side facing the street. The house was not built on a square foundation.  It followed the street and the river so it had an odd bunch of angles.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Maison des Tanneurs | Strasbourg, France

And it was still a few days after Easter, so there were still a lot of Easter decorations everywhere we went.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Maison des Tanneurs Flower Trough | Strasbourg, France

June captured a good shot of that huge flower trough in front of the building. We all wanted to take it home to put in our own gardens.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Maison des Tanneurs | Strasbourg, France

Here is another shot of the upper floor that faced the street, showing you the odd angles.  And those sweet flower boxes and planters.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | Maison des Tanneurs | Strasbourg, France

And here is a better shot, showing the crazy corner where the Maison des Tanneurs sits. Hard to believe it has been here for over 400 years!  And you can see more Nouveau mixed in with the Vieux.  But were were marching on with Claude, our guide, to see more of La Petite France.

THREE LITTLE KITTENS BLOG | La Petite France | Strasbourg, France

 


This is not a sponsored post.  
This is my experience from my trip with Viking River Cruises. 

Email me to find out how you can save $100 when you book your
first cruise with Viking through their referral program.

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Filed Under: Europe, France, Strasbourg, Travel, Viking River Cruise Tagged With: 13th century, 1572, aesculus x carnea, allemagne, alley, alsace, alsatian, antennas, aqua, arch, arches, architecture, art, artificial hybrid, balconies, balcony, bloom, bokeh, Bridge, building, canals, cantilever, cathedral, characature, character, clouds, construction, cottage, defensive, digital art, door, doors, easter decorations, europe, eyes, face, floral, formal, france, french, frilly, german origin, germany, grafitti, grungy, half timber, hat, herbs, hidden, historic monuments, home, house, jettying, la maison de la choucroute, la petit france, la petite france, lavender topiary, leaded glass, lips, maison des tanneurs, male, man, metal, modern, monument historique, new and old, nose, nouveau et vieux, old meets new, open and closed, planters, ponts couverts, porch, railing, rebuilding, reconstruction, reflection, remodel, repetition, restaurant, rhine river, river, river ill, riverboat, romantic, shuttered, shutters, sky, speed, spring, stone porch, stone wall, strasbourg, street art, structure, succulents, suit, tanner's house, tanners district, terra-cotta, texture, tower, tree, trough, Unesco World Heritage Site, view, viking river cruise, Walk, water, window boxes, window panes, windows, wrought iron fence

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