If it's Tuesday, it Must be....Strasbourg

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman

Our journey from Paris couldn't have been easier and we arrived in Strasbourg in time for a late lunch. Strasbourg has luggage storage, which not available in all stations due to the need for X-ray machines for security. By the time we had stored our enormous pile of bags and had purchased our Europass Family 24 hour pass (which saved us €20 on our journey to Hausach and gave us free public transport in Strasbourg) we had two hours for lunch and sight seeing.

 I really wish we could avoid rushing around, but the choice was a quick visit or no visit at all and I know which I would rather have. And so armed with a map and some good advice from the lovely lady in the Office de Tourisme we jumped on a tram across the town to the cathedral. As I walked I took photos of everything I saw so I could have a good look later on at my leisure.

We visited the cathedral  after a quick and fairly average lunch in a cafe outside. The exterior is a lacy masterpiece, which from a distance  appears to be made of metal but on closer inspection was a reddish stone. Inside my breath was truly taken away and I was not surprised to hear others give that same little gasp on taking in the lofty gothic nave, which appears even higher as it is painted white. 

The stained glass was truly magnificent and as soon as I could I looked into its history and found that most of the magnificent glass from the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries was stored in a salt mine for the duration of World War II. I can't say I have seen a cathedral that has made quite the same impression on me as this one. It could of course be that fewer tourists gives you a better perspective and you don't miss than the feeling of being driven like cattle that we have experienced elsewhere.

After lighting a candle we visited the astronomical clock and were lucky to see it strike the half hour and saw a few little figures come out in the style of a cuckoo clock. 

The clock told us it was quarter past three, which gave us a false sense of security,  so we head outside intent on buying ice cream and strolling the streets of Petit France. It was actually  quarter to four and so our usual rush rush rush began again.

All we had time to do was race along the canals snapping photos and regretting that we had such a short time here. It would have been too easy to miss the best bits as a walk down the Grand Rue was lovely but nothing compared to the classic black and white buildings along the canals only a block away.

And so we continued our race back to the train station and not surprisingly we were early as usual but only comfortably so, around fifteen minutes before our train was due to leave once we had collected our bags from storage.

And then we were off and as the train arrived at the second station after Strasbourg we had left France for the last time and had arrived in Germany. 

At the very beginning of our planning process, some two years ago now, I had considered renting a home in France for three months and not travelling so extensively. While this idea has its appeal there is so much in France alone that we would have missed which would have been such a shame.

We have come to think of our holiday as a taster, a sampling of the highlights with the hope of one day coming back to get a real taste of our favourite places.

We are looking forward to a relaxed week in the Black Forest, and hopefully we can leave the rush rushing behind us for a while and take a well earned rest.

 

We are sad to be leaving France, probably for the last time on this trip. We have found it to be a wonderful land of contrasts, from dry and dusty to lush and fertile, busy with tourists to the slow pace of the small village, blazing sunshine to pouring rain. Thinking of France I will always be reminded of a nice glass of Rose, delicious salads and a crème brulee as wells as a field of lavender and everywhere sunflowers, corn and a sprinkling of poppies.