Getting Used to German?

AFTER JUST THREE days in Strasbourg we have realized that we are going to love it here. A lot of that has to do with the fantasic house we're living in (big thank you to the homeowners) and a lot of it has to do with the beautiful area. We haven't even made it to the old section of town yet because we've been settling in, shopping across the border in Germany, riding our bikes around (especially little Henry), watching the Tour de France, and trying to get used to the area. One thing we are finding very difficult is the names of towns around here -- very German sounding, which is to be expected in the Alsace region of France I suppose. An example: the towns surrounding our little suburb have names like Bischheim, Shiltigheim, Oberhausebergen, Souffelweyersheim (seriously!), Niederhausbergan, Reichstett, and --saving the best for last -- Pfulgriesheim. We're not used to the names so we're getting very confused.

Oh yes, then there's the town I cycled through last evening, La Wantzenau, which appears to be a village that added the article 'La' just to make sure people know it's actually in France. We have less than two months to get used to this.

CJS