Strasbourg, France

A quiet Sunday afternoon in Strasbourg

 We arrived in Strasbourg around 7:30 on Sunday morning.  By 9:00 we were off for a three-hour walking tour of this fascinating city.  It is the largest port on the Upper Rhine and is the cultural center of France's Alsace region.  Its location on the French-German border and its alternating governance by the two countries has created a intriguing blend of cultures.  The Romans founded the city as Argentoratum.  It was first mentioned in 12 BCE.  It celebrated its 2000 anniversary ten years ago.  The Little Ill river splits and surrounds the Old Town, effectively creating an island.  It is easy to see how this was a  highly defensible location.

The large photo above shows part of what is known as Petit France.  It is part of Strasbourg's Grand Ile UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the city's most romantic spot.  This was our first stop on a pleasant Sunday walk through this ancient town.  Most of the buildings are from the Medieval Period.  The history of this area of Strasbourg shows how something beautiful can grow out of something ugly and unappealing.  This area was known as the Tanners' District.  The proximity to the river was perfect for tanning hides which creates noxious residue and fumes.  It was hardly a desirable area.  In fact the Grand Magistsrate isolated the sick in the tanners' district.  When French soldiers returned from fighting in Italy, they were sent to a hospital there to be treated for syphilis.  The locals referred to it as the French disease and thus the area as Little France.  Why they didn't call it the Italian disease is a mystery.

Place Kleber

From there we proceeded to Place Kleber named to honor Jean-Baptiste Kléber, one of Napolean's generals and a native of Strasbourg.  This is a large plaza surrounded by buildings showing a variety of periods of Strasbourg's life especially when it was governed by Germany and then France.  The plaza is dominated on one side by a building which is now sued for city administration, but which was built in the late 18th Century to house German troops occupying the area.

Notre-Dame de Strasbourg

Our next and final stop was the Cathedral Notre Dame of Strasbourg.  Constructed between 1015 and 1439, it is considered the finest example of late Gothic architecture.  Its spire soars to 466 feet.  It is the highest extant building constructed entirely in the Middle Ages.  Until 1874 it was the tallest building in the world.  This was where our tour ended.  Sunday Mass was about to start.  We could go into the church and stay for Mass which was in French but then we would have to leave until it opened again for visitors at 2:00.  We decided that we would use our three hours to investigate Strasbourg on our own.  We just needed to get back to Gutenberg Suare by 2:30 for a shuttle back to the ship.

We walked around the church and investigated the adjacent Bishop's Palace but then Marilyn noticed a young man blowing bubbles and, as it turned out, selling devices for bubble creation if not blowing.  She had an in-depth discussion with him about the formula he used for his bubble solution--It turned out to be ten percent dishwashing liquid and water--and then purchased a large and a small whatever you call it.  He then resumed his demonstrations.

Marilyn investigated the shops around the cathedral, but our guide had informed us that shops in the shopping areas would be closed because it was Sunday.

J. M. Obrecht of Ferme Obrecht

We began to investigate areas a couple of blocks away from the cathedral and found an art show in a courtyard covered with wisteria.  There were several artists but two were most intriguing.  There was a photographer with some great images but there was a vegetable and fruit artist that intrigued us.  He was the owner and operator of Ferme Obrecht, outside Strasbourg.  It produces both contemporary and legacy fruits and vegetables and presents them as works of art.  

We still had ninety minutes before the Cathedral would open at 2:00 and now we were getting hungry.  So we went into a small restaurant just down the street from the cathedral for lunch.  I had mentioned that Strasbourg is a mix of French and German so maybe we shouldn't have been surprised when we fund spaetzles on the menu.  Marilyn and her Mom had introduced me to this German starch and I really liked them.  But the ones we had in Le Dome Restaurant were different and spectacular.  Perhaps the local beer I had helped.

I had only a few minutes inside the cathedral.  I wish I had had more time to view and begin to understand the astronomical clock.  It is a marvel of art and science.  It shows the official and solar time, equinoxes, the date and day of the week, Zodiac signs, the phase of the moon and other astronomical data.  The clock you can see here was built between 1838 and 1842 based on the engineering of previous versions dating to 1352.

We made our connection at the statue of Gutenberg--He lived in Strasbourg from 1434-1444--and were led to our buses which returned us to the ship.  It was a full day with thousands of steps, much learning and good food. 

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