Adventures in Deutschland: Day 13

Yesterday (Saturday) we ventured all the way to Strasbourg, France (2.5 hours by train each way). What can I say? It was amazing. I've never been to France before. There were 22 in our group and I think one person spoke some French making it a real adventure. It was nice knowing that, for once, I wasn't the only one who had no idea what was on the signs or what other people were saying :-).

Strasbourg is often referred to as the capital of Europe because it is the seat of several European institutions such as the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, Eurocorps, and part of the EU. It is in Alsace, an area that France and Germany have fought over for centuries, and the location that most people in Northern Kentucky (my birthplace) are originally from.

After a very early start (we met the group at 7:40 at the train station), we had a very smooth train ride through the Black Forest (the sights really made us determined to visit there soon) and into France. Like everywhere we've been, no passports were checked (although we were informed that you should definitely bring them to Switzerland in case they do ask because they are not very forgiving). Upon leaving the train station, Therese pointed to the beautiful facade of the structure and said, "Church. Quiet." :-) Once outside of the train station, we sauntered down one of the main streets which was gorgeous. There were banners hanging above a narrow street lined with little cafe tables. Describing it can't possibly do it justice.

We ate lunch at one of the little cafe tables and we finished with a chocolate croissant - a delicacy one of our friends has been raving about since she got here. I ended up buying another one before the day was over...

After lunch, we walked around the city, viewing the River Ill and the Vauban Dam (built in the 1690s) along with what Todd called "the uncovered Covered Bridges" (bridges from centuries ago that were covered until the 18th century). We then strolled through Petite France, a part of old Strasbourg where the fishermen (and women?), millers, tanners, etc. lived and worked directly on the water. There are still houses here that date back to the 16th and 17th century. The whole area is picturesque with little shops and restaurants scattered about small, winding streets. I could have spent the whole day exploring this area.

After Petite France, we went to the Strasbourg's Cathedral of Notre Dame, a towering structure made completely of local red/rust-colored sandstone that dates back to the 1200s. It was the world's tallest building when it was completed in the 1400s. The cathedral was interesting. It had very intricate carvings, etc, - very Gothic, but the rust coloring from the sandstones (you could see them stacked on one another), it wasn't very "pretty." Our group climbed to the top of the cathedral, which was said to be a rough climb due to narrow stairs. We opted to go elsewhere so Therese could use some of her energy. We ended up on this big, circular plaza (Plaza de La Republique I think) where there was ample green space for Therese to run like crazy. After this play time, Todd and I walked around hoping to peer in the windows of pastry shops and other local businesses. As we walked along, Reese fell asleep. Of course, delighted that Reese was taking her nap, but aware that we had the motion to thank for it, we had to keep walking... We finally risked sitting down after about an hour. She woke up after we started walking again (and got lost) very unhappy. A little McDonalds helped her calm down.

We then met up with our group and got on the train to come home. Therese watched Elmo and listened to her favorite CD on her personal DVD player while Todd and I struggled to stay awake. We grabbed a pizza at the beginning of our 30 minute walk home, meaning that Therese got to eat one of her favorite dinners - cold pizza.