Strasbourg

11 & 12 May 2013

In our minds Strasbourg seems to be made up of four segments:

-           - The suburban sprawl littered with apartments,

-          -  the administrative, commercial and educational area of the Imperial District and centred on the beautiful gardens of the Place de la Republique,

-          -  the tourist hub around the Cathedral Notre Dame de Strasbourg, and

-           - the equally touristy Petite France district.

Taking the 4a bus and then the B tram we alight at stop Homme de Feu and wandered up in search of the Free mobile phone shop to set up a phone and data connection. The deal of the century thus far is 100Gb data, unlimited calls to land- and mobile phones in France, and unlimited calls to landlines to 100 countries around the world, one of which is South Africa! But the Free  shop only opens at 10h00 and by 09h50 the queue is twenty long so we meandered up to the to the Cathedral only to face another enormous queue waiting to enter. Later!

Then it was a stroll down to Petite France, window shopping as we went, until we were greeted by old streets of timber and plaster facaded homes – and hordes of flag-led tour groups.

Petite France

The canal tour passes through Petite France

As a Boeing flew over we settled down at a small pavement café and enjoyed an ice cold beer before making our way back to the Free shop, got organised pretty quickly, and then up to the Cathedral – which was closed for another twenty minutes until two o’ clock. Then it’s back to the Free shop and a short while later it is fait accompli – we have comms at last!

After visiting the Church of St Pierre le Jeune, first constructed in the early middle ages and boasting the oldest cloister in Western Europe,

with nearly five hours under our boot-soles, we decide that enough was enough and head back the tram stop

A typical city street.

Back on the tram.

and to Elle where we grab the bikes and head into Souffleweyersheim village to pay our mooring dues at the Mairie. And a pretty little village it is with a boulangerie, small Carrefour and an interesting looking restaurant. The staff at the Mairie send Lynn through to the police department where an overly officious, flack jacketed man issues our two night permit at €11 per night including electricity and water. If we want to stay another night we must return and pay for two nights – the permits are for two nights only. Not one night, not three nights (as we wanted) – just two nights at a time.

Back at the boat we are hailed by a passing Le Boat cruiser which turns and docks behind us. Working on board are two girls from Westville one of whom grew up in Methven Road where we now live! The two Le Boat boats are part of the same film crew setup which we had encountered in Legarde and they are heading into Strasbourg on the morrow to film there. The lead lady for this section of the documentary is none other than Connie Booth, better known for her role as Polly in Fawlty Towers.

Our resident swan family.

Determined to see the Cathedral Notre Dame de Strasbourg we set off bright and early (08h45!) the next morning for the city but this time on our own wheels. Passing the European Parliament complex

The European Parliament complex.

and hugging the south eastern branch of the canal along tree-lined avenues, we arrive at an almost deserted square, join the short queue of mostly school children, and within a couple of minutes are in the cavernous cathedral – it’s massive, and the magnificent stained glass windows and carved stonework, both within and without, are beyond words!

Some while later, starry eyed, we exited through one of the grand side doors into the still near deserted square

Note the soldiers - surveillance apparently. The square was surrounded by them.

and then take the bikes on a leisurely cruise through the city and into Petit France and then out through the imposing Imperial Quarter,

back past the European Parliament where we see the film crew passing under a bridge as we ride over it.

In no time we are back aboard and that is Strasbourg for us. I think our ten hours of sightseeing was sufficient to have given us a good idea of what the city is about but to get to know it properly I think a week to ten days needs to be set aside. Stunning place!