04-04-2023 Visiting Strasbourg, France

Deb caught this photo of me toddling along with my little red walker on my first day ever in France

France!  The very name evokes romance and beauty.  Although Italy has been the country that my heart returns to when thinking of romance, history, and beauty, I have never until now been to France.  I was excited to have a day to step into the beautiful town of Strasbourg, on the French side of the Rhine.  

As I write about our visit to Strasbourg, reviewing the photos, and enjoying the memories, I am again amazed at the wonder of this multicultural city that straddles the border between France and Germany.  Deborah has said that Speyer was her favorite, and possibly Briesach which we would visit the next day, but for me, Strasbourg was the epitome of a gorgeous cathedral, fascinating architecture, charming shops, and intriguing restaurants.  

We began our day with breakfast in the sunny Aquavit Terrace, a delightful place to dine when the weather cooperates as it did on this gorgeous day.

This was obviously a "mother!!" moment.  I don't remember why but now it makes me smile.

Gersemi docked on the German side of the river, and our morning excursion by bus to the city began at 8:45 AM.  Nancy made an effort to accommodate the slower people by arranging two excursions, one for regular folks and one for what she called the "slow group".  I decided that I should probably take the slow excursion this morning since there would be quite a bit of walking and our time in town would be longer than usual.  There was also a shuttle bus arranged so that people could have bus services into Strasbourg throughout the day.

International Council of Europe from the bus

From the very beginning of the bus drive the inclusive flavor of the city was apparent.  We passed the Palais d L'Europe, the Council of Europe's principal building.  With flags from many countries lining the main walkway, it was a colorful sight. 

Another bus shot, the European Parliament

Strasbourg is the seat of the European Parliament although most committee activity takes place in Brussels. As we continued along the main roads leading to the center of Strasbourg, our tour guide told us about the many headquarters of multi-national interests.  

The bus was the most comfortable that we experienced on the trip, but what Deb and I loved most were the live cameras that allowed us to see the road ahead of us even though we were not in a front seat of the bus.  Strasbourg is known especially for its storks that return every spring to the parks and boulevards to nest in the many trees.  The camera allowed us to see a stork or two as we rode along the main boulevard into the heart of the Place de la Republique, a huge parklike square that is located in the center of what is known as the "German Quarter".

I was thrilled to see evidence of inclusivity in the city of Strasbourg

Our group exited the bus, and walking slowly along the parkway, our guide told us many stories of his life in Strasbourg.  Strategically positioned on the banks of the Rhine, this city has been batted back and forth between France and Germany five times since the late 17th century.  At each change in allegiance, the residents were required to speak the language of the country in control, and our guide's grandfather had to learn French, then revert to German, and back to French.  It was disorienting for the residents who did their best to adjust to the changing governments and shifting requirements of each one in turn. It was interesting to hear about becoming a citizen of a different country without ever leaving the house in which you were born.

Our guide pointed out several of the most famous buildings along our walking route beside the square.

The Palais du Rhin (Palace of the Rhine)

The huge building, with its imposing dome and surrounding gardens, is an outstanding landmark of 19th-century Prussian architecture.  When Strasbourg and the rest of the Alsace-Lorraine part of France was annexed by Germany in 1871, Strasbourg was made the capital of the new province.  It was decided that the residence of the Kaiser should be a building symbolic of Imperial Power.  After much debate, the design was based on the great Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy.

Across the square is the Regional Directorate of Public Finances

Surrounded on all sides by impressive architecture

You can see how close we were to the steeple of the Strasbourg Cathedral as we continued our walk

Eventually, we arrived at the central area of the loveliest part of Strasbourg, La Petite France, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.  (Notice how many times we have visited UNESCO sites as we travel on the Rhine!) The story behind the name of this part of Strasbourg isn't quite as romantic as one could imagine.

When Strasbourg was a free city of the Holy Roman Empire, sick people were isolated in the Tanner's district.  French soldiers, who had contracted syphilis (called the French disease) were also isolated here, and the local people called the hospital area "Petite France".

Today this area is the most picturesque area of Strasbourg.  There are four channels that flow through the heart of Petite France, beautiful bridges that cross the canals that were once covered with wooden roofs.  The Tanners Building is the most photographed structure in the quarter, but we somehow missed it.  I managed to get a photo of the incredible Kammerzell House, one of the area's most ornate and well-preserved medieval civil buildings.

The Kammerzelle House in La Petite France area of Strasbourg

What I loved most about Strasbourg was the juxtaposition of both French and German architecture, with half-timbered houses right next to French baroque apartments.  It was fascinating.  

This photo is from the courtyard of the cathedral in front of the post office where we were instructed  to meet

The squares were quite crowded even though it was still early on a Tuesday morning.  As we walked closer to the great cathedral, the complex lacework sculpture of the exterior was far more ornate than anything we had seen before.

Deb and I had learned our lesson when we visited the previous cathedrals, and this time after walking through the great Gothic Cathedral at the heart of Strasbourg, we went into the church shop to buy a guide to the Strasbourg Cathedral.  We wanted to understand what we had seen in the many photos that we took of the interior,

The little booklet is a wealth of information with illustrations of the different parts of the cathedral color-coded by the date of construction.  I would highly recommend purchasing these inexpensive cathedral guides where they are available BEFORE entering the complexity of the interior parts of these historic structures.

A fine example of the flying buttresses that make the interiors of a Gothic cathedral so open and full of light

Another sad attempt to capture the full height of the cathedral.  This is called the "western building"

The building of the cathedral began at the end of the 12th century, but was not completed until 1439.  It was enlarged with a last medieval construction just at the beginning of the 16th century.  During these three centuries, influences and changes of plans followed one another.  Many artists from many surrounding countries contributed outstanding work in every field including architecture, sculpture, and stained glass.

The restoration work that began in the 19th century is still ongoing, which explains the constant presence of scaffolding. Neither of us managed to get photos of the incredible tympanum (the basically semi-circular arch above the lintel) of the central portal because as you can see in the photo it was in shadow with sunlight pouring directly at us.

Pardon the somewhat fuzzy photo that Deborah took of me but I love it because it conveys my wonder and delight as I looked up trying to see all the arches and portals and stained glass windows.

The nave, viewed from the east towards the internal western facade.  The stained glass of the western Rose window was finished in 1345.

The crypt was reconstructed between 1190 and 1235.  It reflects the complexity and a lack of uniform style that was the result of five master builders who were in charge of the work during that time. For an uneducated tourist, it is difficult to identify the various parts that might be Romanesque and Gothic.  It was beautiful no matter what styles were mixed.

Rather than attempting to talk about all the incredible details of the interior of this great cathedral, I will simply add a few more favorite photos.
 

One last bit of the cathedral that we visited before we took the exit toward the cathedral store was the astronomical clock.  The clock is the only monument created during the Renaissance at Strasbourg.  It is a work combining art with science and technology.  Today the clock provides all sorts of astronomical readings while the mechanical figures announce the days and the hours with accompanying chimes.

 

Deb and I both attempted to get a video of the clock chiming but neither of us was successful.

We left the cathedral around noon, still in awe of all we had seen, but our day was barely half over.  There were tour guides from both Viking ships that had docked on the German side of the river who were directing people to the spot where they needed to catch the bus back to the ship.  We had a couple more hours to explore the streets and shops of Strasbourg.

We walked back toward the canal on the south side of the cathedral, thinking we might find a restaurant.  Lucky for us, it was still early enough that there were tables available at the restaurant we chose.

Our choice was based on seating availability more than anything else, but it was a fabulous choice.  Our restaurant was charming and very French.  

We chose traditional items such as French onion soup, an onion tart, and some kind of fried cheese thing.  The wine was delicious. Our waitress was delightful, first speaking to us in French, and switching easily to English when she realized we were from the US.  She said in perfect English, "No worries, many of our customers speak only English".

After lunch, we had some time to explore some of the back streets and shops in the city.  It wasn't enough time to do all that we wanted to do.  We never found our way back to a wonderful shop with windows filled with clocks and music boxes that we hoped to find on our return to the bus meeting point.

We did find a charming flower shop, and several patisseries that were tempting, but it was hard to choose so we didn't.  

Deb loved the cheese shop and bought some kind of delicious soft cheese that she thought she could take home, but we later learned we would have to eat it all since soft cheese is not allowed back in the US by the USDA.

We found a favorite little shop that carried all sorts of fun items from the Alsace region, where Strasbourg is located.  Here we thought a few handmade items might be good gifts for friends and family.  I bought a tea towel that still graces my refrigerator because I couldn't bear to give it away.

Tired from all the walking, we both wanted the opportunity to have some French crepes, which we had skipped at lunch.  We found another delightful little shop and had some simple crepes and coffees before we knew it was time to rush back to the church square in front of the post office where we could meet with a guide who would take us to a waiting bus.

Notice the top deck chairs all opened up now on Gersemi in the sunshine

It turned out to be a bit of a confusing kerfuffle for folks because the busses were for both ships, but they were docked near each other and eventually, we did get back to our waiting river ship.  

That little red flag in the center of the bridge marks the boundary between the two countries.  

The weather was so gorgeous, and the views of the river and the bridge between the two countries were so wonderful.  We decided to do the touristy thing and walked back to the center of the bridge so that we could take a photo of each of us with one foot in France and one foot in Germany.  

It was an exercise in silliness because we couldn't figure out how to do a selfie that included the marker and the traffic blowing by was a bit disconcerting.

We were back on the ship by 4, in time to relax a bit before departure at 6 and the special dinner "Taste of Germany" to be held this evening in the dining room.

Once again, I was impressed with the captain personally always stepping up to help me with my walker as I entered the ship and negotiated the few stairs between the gangway and the ship.

As we entered the foyer we ran into our favorite wait staff.  Ana is from Romania and Sergio is from Spain.  They met on the ship and fell in love. Of course, they tried to keep this quiet, with Sergio (our favorite charming waiter) whispering to us that Ana was his new love.  It wasn't considered appropriate for staff to be in a relationship, but what to do in the face of young love.  Sergio and Ana were excited about their chance to be off work for a day and spend time together.

There is more to come on this day between Germany and France, but reliving it as I write has worn me out almost as much as the actuality.  So I will save the German dinner and the silly entertainment of the evening for tomorrow as we sail toward Briesach and the Black Forest of Germany.

Deb and I had an amazing day in Strasbourg, France.  With only one more day on the Rhine, we were nearing the end of the river portion of our trip.