Strasbourg

Monday evening we stopped in for wings at The Great Canadian. We had a group of about 15 and consumed lots of chicken wings. Each Monday the bar has a special on wings. It was worth the .50 euros per wing. We did not stay out late, as we had to catch the train at 8:30 the next morning.

Click on "TGV" to see how fast the train travels

Not knowing how long it would take to get to the train state (Paris Est), we started out at 7:00am. It was a quick walk to the Chatelet Metro and a short ride to Paris Est. We had purchased tickets several months ago for the mere sum of 19 euros. It took a bit of searching to find the right web site but we were able to print out e-tickets months in advance. We took the high speed European TGV. The train travels at approximately 200 mph and takes under 2.5 hours. We got a real deal by booking the tickets in advance. The website is http://www.idtgv.com/. I have seen prices as high as 60 euros one way. The train is not at full speed for the entire journey, but really picks it up on the flat straight away. It is really amazing the investment that Europe has made in mass transit. I really hope the New York gets some of the stimulus money to improve the train system either from Albany to NYC or from NYC to Buffalo. It is such a wise investment and so much money has been invested in roads over the years.







We slept a bit on the train. It is much nicer than flying. You have good leg room. You can walk around. There is a restaurant on the train. It was a real pleasure to travel this way. If you get a chance you really should try it.






When arrived in Strasbourg Carol's friend Sabrina met us on the track. Sabrina had worked as an au pair in Clifton Park, where Carol befriended her. It was a real treat to meet her. She is from Heidelberg Germany and had arrived a short time before us in Strasbourg. We quickly made our way to the hotel, which we had booked on line for the mere 65 Euros a night. Their going rate was 90 Euros a night, so again we got a deal. One room was ready and the other was still being cleaned. We dumped our stuff in the one room, used the facilities and hit the town. Our hotel, the Cathedral Hotel was directly in the shadow of the Cathedral.

Boat Ride in Strasborg

Strasbourg is a beautiful city. It is the capital of Europe and contains many EU official offices, just outside of town. It was settled by the Romans around 13 BC and called Argentoratum (Hence the town is commonly called Argentina). The center of town is surrounded by the river Ill (all capitals: ILL), and has an elaborate canal system, much of which has been removed over the years. We took in an open air boat ride which circumnavigates the city. The river has lots of ducks and swans swimming in the fast current. The view from the boat tour is phenomenal. You get a duck's eye view of the entire city. The tour includes a little jaunt north to see many of the EU official offices.

The Cathedral

The center piece of the town is the Cathedral. Begun in the 12th century, and finished in 1439. With only one tower it became the world's tallest building (even taller than the pyramids). A few years later Guttenburg invented the world's first moveable printing press in Strasbourg. In the 1500's the city embraced the teaching of Martin Luther and became very Protestant. The city changed hands many times in its history between Germany (or its former incarnation) and France. In 1681 King Louis XIV annexed the city and reclaimed the Cathedral for the Catholics, although Protestants were allowed to worship in the city. When we arrived at the Cathedral we had a mission. A friend from Paris challenged us to find Satin's Butt on the front of the main door. It took us nearly 20 minutes to find it, but clearly it's somebody's butt.

Click on "bells" to hear the noon Bells

On our second day Keith and I climbed the tower of the Cathedral. The spiral stairs have several sections where the tower is very open and you get the sense that you are very unprotected. Anyone with a fear of heights will have a problem with this climb. There is a study new metal railing all the way up, but the openness of the design really gives you the sense that you might fall. I do not usually have an uncontrollable fear of heights. Taking pictures on the way up didn't help assuage the feeling. Once on top the view was spectacular. The city can really be taken in from up there. It was nearly 12 noon, so we waited to hear the bells go off. Strasbourg was historically known for making fine bells and the Cathedral has some of the best. We heard a long display of the bells earlier that morning (at 9am).









The city has a sorted past. It has some of the earliest anti-Semitism with publicly burnings of Jews in the early 12th century followed by the expulsion from the city. Until the end of the 18th century, Jews were forbidden to remain in town after 10 pm.

Wine Cellar Tour

We also went on a tour of the Historical Wine-Cellar of the Strasbourg Hospital. It is still a functioning wine cellar, but also has huge casks dating back to 1400's. Several still contain wine (vinegar by now I'm sure).








We also took in the Strasbourg Historical Museum. This was really interesting. They had a self paced audio guide that as you hit hot spots initiated clips on all the artifacts and history of the City. It was well worth the 5 Euros it cost and also included a display of a 17th century model of the city which was absolutely huge. It was 30 by 60 feet and included a film on its making. The museum used to display the Grüselhorn, the medieval horn that was blown every evening at 10 to order the Jews out of the city, but this item was accidentally dropped and shattered into many small fragments and thus is no longer displayed.



The side trip was a real treat and coming back home to Paris felt nice.