On to France!!!

Strasbourg, France

It was time to pack our bags with various bottles of Reislings and move our way from the lovely Rhine region to dip our toes into France.  This leg of the journey was completely planned out by Brian.  I didn't even know where we were staying for the evening, and I knew NOTHING of the area or what to do there, other than it would be another stopping point on our way to Switzerland (I was really looking forward to the eating of Swiss cheese and chocolate part of the trip).  This was one of the bigger cities on our journey, so we were looking forward to what an urban area had to offer. 

The car ride was lovely, Neal being behind the wheel of Fifi for the first time, allowing me to really enjoy the views of the countryside.  What we enjoyed most were the rolling hills, interspersed with tiny villages that were separated by only a few kilometers. It was difficult to tell when, exactly, we crossed the German/French border, other than Brian noticing the signage changing languages (Neal and I were clueless).  

Just 2 1/2 hours later, we arrived in Strasbourg.  Bustling and busy with city activity, we parked the car and immediately began to explore the area on foot.  Our hotel's receptionist pointed out the tourist traps to avoid (THANK YOU) and where to find the Cathedral and "Little France", a quaint neighborhood with shops and restaurants.

Brian standing in front of Strasbourg Cathedral.  It looks like it was just photo-shopped among the more modern streets.

The cathedral was built from 1176-1439.  If you have ever read Pillars of the Earth, this becomes more relevant, as multiple generations of craftsmen and masons worked on it.  

A suspended pipe organ from 1385.

For me, this was the most interesting element to our visit to the cathedral.  It is an 18-metre astronomical clock, one of the largest in the world.  It is unusually accurate, and is able to calculate not just standard time, but also equinoxes and leap years.  The most unique part of this mechanism is that it is able to calculate computus,  the date of Easter on the Christian calendar, long before computers existed to do so.  There is a story about the church having the designer's eyes poked out so that he may never recreate another.

 

 

This is me reading about an old legend of the Cathedral, where in olden days, the Devil flew over the ground, riding the wind. Thus he caught a glimpse of his portrait carved onto the cathedral: the Tempter, courting the foolish virgins in the guise of a seductive young man. It is true that his back opens up and toads and snakes come out of it, but none of the naïve girls notices that — nor do many tourists for that matter (we found it after reading about this and it's very subtle!!). Very flattered and curious, the Devil had the idea to enter to see whether there were other sculptures representing him on the inside of the cathedral. Taken captive inside the holy place, he could not come back out. The wind always waits in the square and still howls today from impatience on the places outside the cathedral. Spooky, right???!!!

 

 

Brian's serious church face. 

One of the many beautiful houses in "Little France" that line its little canal.  

 

Along the canal in "Little France".