Around Strasbourg, France

We are staying in a very pleasant budget hotel just outside Strasbourg, so the obvious place to start our explorations was in the historic part of the city. Strasbourg is the well-known seat of the European Parliament in a contemporary building on the outskirts of the city, but this interested us far less than the historic district. It was very easy to drive in and park in an underground car park, amazing dug out beneath the old city squares. We popped out near a double-height carousel with elephants and horses, dated 1900. Built on the Grand Ile of the River Ill, a bit like Notre Dame in Paris, the area known as Petite France is a well-preserved cluster of half-timbered structures and cobbled streets dating back to the 16th century. It is unbelievably pretty, even in the drizzle, and we took endless photographs of the four storey merchants’ houses around the town, with their wooden shutters, tiny dormer windows in the roof and blooming window boxes. The overall effect of the overhanging upper floors and the dark wooden timber supports was totally charming. First stop after the Visitor Centre was the rust-coloured sandstone Cathedral. It was busy in the square but we nipped inside for a look around, as you do. Built in 1225 AD, after the earlier church burnt down, the crypt dates back even earlier, to 1015. The 142m (466 foot) spire towers over the city and leaves you wondering how they managed to haul the materials up so high. It was the tallest building in the world from 1647 (when St Mary’s Church Spire at Stralsund burnt down) to 1874. Visitors can climb up to the platform for views over the city, but we declined and stuck to the lower level. The Gothic carvings on the façade are just amazing in detail. There were wonderful side chapels and vivid stained glass windows, some exquisitely created in the late 12th century at a time when some civilizations were still living in mud huts! The carved pulpit is covered in 3D detail by Hans Hammer (1486) and the suspended pipe organ is a rich gold-trimmed affair circa 1385, hanging above the central nave. Next to the chancel and choir with its beautiful medieval painted ceiling we saw a massive astronomical clock. It was too crowded with tour groups for us to get close during the striking of the bells, but we saw the beautiful clock later with its zodiac face. We were then ushered out of the building at 11.30 as it closes for a couple of hours over lunchtime, as do the shops we found out. The clock strikes every quarter hour and at 12.30pm every day the carved figures of the twelve apostles parade before Christ. There was also a gleaming golden statue, possibly the Virgin Mary, as the Cathedral is dedicated to her. We went down to the canal/river to take a narrated boat tour around the Ile but tickets were sold out – but we’ll be back. We had a bite to eat in a small Winstub which are casual family restaurants or taverns serving traditional food such as Tarte Flambé, a flat pizza-like concoction, or Choucroute which is sauerkraut served with sausages or pork. Everything was surprisingly affordable with plenty of two course lunches in historic eateries for €14 or less. Fully rested, we continued to amble around the streets and shops ogling the patisseries and chocolate shops which had edible works of art. We found ourselves frequently going around in circles despite having a map and we put it down to having so many distractions. We would deviate off to look at one house and then another and they all looked like something Old Mother Hubbard should have lived in. The Tanner’s House was particularly beautiful with its wooden balconies where the leather hides were dried. Eventually we reached the tip of the Ile where several canals divide the island. The river actually runs at quite a pace underneath or through some of the houses which is quite a sight from the lock bridge. The covered bridges (Ponts Couverts) are one of the main sights there, with three towers (13th century) which were once used to defend the city. The roofs were removed in the 18th century but parts of the old city walls can still be seen. Unfortunately, the Vauban Dam terrace was under plastic sheets being restored. We certainly had a day to remember in Strasbourg and you can easily spend all day there taking in a boat ride, train tour or visiting a museum inside the splendid Palais Rohan. We certainly walked our legs off and after visiting Monsieur LeClerc (supermarket) again we were happy to collapse back at the hotel.