Today, we disembarked for our morning tour of Strasbourg. We road the bus into the city centre, crossing the Rhine from Germany into France. Our guide, Giselle, provided commentary and it was like listening to a French teacher with her strong accent. We saw the storks that fly from Africa to nest in the city, the European Union Parliament and then entered the old city to tour the interior of the city’s famed cathedral.
Some free time allowed us to explore the Alsatian city’s blend of French and German cultures, resplendent churches, medieval covered bridges, verdant parks and handsome art nouveau and modernist architecture. The narrow cobble streets were mostly pedestrian except for the delivery trucks to the little shops and bakeries, and the “auto ecole” driver training, where we saw a terrified girl driving by us on the narrow streets (crazy!). Most importantly, I was able to locate a bakery where I bought 8 French macaroons (when in France, right?) and savoured them in front of the cathedral.
Lunch was enjoyed back on the boat and then we headed into Kehl, Germany, the neighbouring town we were docked at for a walkabout. Kehl was mostly destroyed in the Second World War so the architecture, although definitely German (stucco buildings and cobblestone) was in contrast to the ancient architecure in Strasbourg, France from the morning. We looked in local shops and hit the grocery store. It is always fun to check out grocery stores in foreign countries. Of course, I was nostalgic of my childhood and bought a few items to take home.
Some relaxing time on the sun deck was in order so we go some drinks and headed for the loungers. Jody and Gloria played some shuffle board, and then we took in a cooking demonstration of Flammkuchen, a pizza like flan, with onions, and prosciutto. After our Port talk explaining the events of the next day, we proceeded to supper (so much food!) and were treated to Tastes of Germany night with sausages, schnitzel, sauerkraut, spaetzle, and drinks along with a tour of the galley kitchen and some pear schnapps! We sat at a table with a father and daughter duo from Colorado and enjoyed some conversation, as he was 95 years old and very smart! More locks traversed overnight made for a bit of a noisy sleep. We have gone through 10 locks at this point.
Looks like the weather has been great so far!
Interesting!