Excursion to Strasbourg
Trip Start
Apr 30, 2006
1
9
12
Trip End
May 12, 2006
Strasbourg,
Alsace,
France
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Once in Strasbourg, we parked in an underground garage at Place Gutenberg, complete with a statue of the man himself, holding a page of his newly printed Bible, with the phrase-in French-"let there be light." There was also a two-story carousel in the square, with a giraffe, a teacup, and other neat stuff. It was dated 1900. We walked to the Cathedral to see the famous astronomical clock (actually the third in the cathedral). After a short wait (when my new cane-stool paid for itself), we were let into the cathedral. A recording in French, German, Spanish, and English explained the clock and then there was a short demonstration. The clock is huge, very intricate, and very impressive. The cathedral itself was huge and beautiful.
It was now lunch time. We walked to another square and found a nice sit-down restaurant. I had liver (probably of veal and very tender and flavorful) and roasted potatoes. Carol had Salad Niçoise and Denise had chicken and mushrooms and pommes frites (French fries-they're called this even in Germany, strange). It was very good and came to €33 (US$42). We then went to the L'Ile River and boarded our bateau mouche (flat boat) for a 70-minute tour of Strasbourg. It was raining, and by the time we got to the boat and got our tickets, we were soaked. We dried out on the boat, which was enclosed, but it made for lousy photographs. (Fortunately, the weather improved later and we were able to re-take some of the locations.) We went past old battlements, fancy homes, areas where people fished and washed clothes, the canal from the Marne to the Rhine, and the buildings of the EU Parliament (which were very modern). Strasbourg has a decent claim as "the crossroads of Europe."
After the boat trip, it was time for shopping. I got a couple of refrigerator magnets (one of a stork and one of a bottle of Alsatian Riesling wine-to enjoy when our real bottle is gone), a hat to keep me dry, a porcelain turtle for my collection, and socks. (When Steve went to Paris, all he bought me were socks. I got one pair that said "Steve" and one that said "Judith.") Later on I added a set of picture cards of Alsatian recipes-we'd eaten most of them. After we'd enriched the French economy, we got the car and drove to another car park. We walked to a little shop that made authentic Alsatian costumes. I wanted a vest for Steve just like the ones the dancers in Niederbronn les bain had worn, but it was too expensive for them to make him one. I bought half a meter of the fabric and will get one made for him. The fabric for the front alone was €65.50 (US$83.50), but that was less than the €500+ (nearly US$650) they wanted for a vest. We went back to get the car and drove to the new central synagogue so Carol could photograph it. It is huge and very modern. Finally, we drove back to Lembach, getting "home" at about 7:30. We were exhausted, but it was worth it.
Denise had made a spaghetti casserole that morning and heated it up. We ate like we'd never seen food before-it was that good and we were that hungry after our hard day. We talked a bit after dinner, then to bed.
