Wordless Wednesday: a crowded awning

 

Two countries in a day (or even an hour)

Please pardon the reflection in this photo, it was taken from a bus window. And our bus was almost instantly beaming us from Germany to France! The bridge we're on is the Europabrücke on one side and the Pont de l'Europe on the other, connecting the French city of Strasbourg with its less-well-known (but very charming) sister city of Kehl, Germany. (The bridge you see out the window is a separate tramway bridge over the Rhine.)

Yes, the Rhine river is the border between France and Germany for the last part of our journey upstream to Switzerland, and this is the first time we were able to experience bi-national tourism on this trip. We spent the morning in Strasbourg, and could have spent the whole day there. But we decided to skip the more crowded, touristy city for its calmer sister in the afternoon. I'll tell you about Kehl next time.

We had to take the aforementioned bus into Strasbourg because of its peculiar geography, at least its historically peculiar geography. The modern city of Strasbourg is very much right on the Rhine. But its vieille ville, or old city, where most of the tourist attractions are (like, of course, its famous cathedral), is on a little island that's actually called the Grand Île, or large island. It's surrounded by the Ill (not to be confused with Île), a small Rhine tributary that thus provided security for the village that was, yes, again, a Roman outpost in the wilds of Europe long ago. I asked our informative guide and learned that the island isn't completely natural, but was partially engineered by those clever Romans. Today it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The bus ride allowed us to see more of the city, in addition to the border bridges mentioned above. We drove by the impressive European Parliament campus buildings, as we learned (and Wikipedia confirms) that Strasbourg is one of four EU "capitals." It's also home of the Council of Europe and its European Court of Human Rights. The presence of the latter here accounts for the text on this large banner we saw later:

it reads, more or less: The Alsace, land of human rights,
in solidarity with the people of Ukraine

This region—Alsace—is well known as something of a political football, bouncing back and forth from France to Germany often during the dark days when those countries were bitter enemies. Now, though, the people there, not to mention the tourists that visit, get to experience its unique, blended culture and cuisine.

Another thing the area is famous for is...

...storks! Our bus took us down this street where almost every house has a tree hosting a stork nest in front of it. They are supposed to bring good luck (as I remember reading in this delightful children's book, many years ago) so no one's going to chase them off.

The first stop on our walking tour, after the bus deposited us in old Strasbourg, was the Ponts Couverts, or covered bridges, dating from the 1200's. They guard one entrance to the old city, and aren't covered now, but sport these handsome towers...

Here's a  look at a section of the Ill's outlet that I believe we were told has been converted into living spaces:

The portion of the old city just inside the Ponts Couverts is called La Petite France, what's now a very  fashionable quarter but which has a less-savory history, as you can read in the Wikipedia link. Whatever its past, however, it sure is gorgeous now...

the most voluptuous wisteria outside of Houston!

Walking on through the old city, we saw water management features like these, controlling the flow of the Ill and keeping the picturesque architecture safe and dry:

We eventually made our way to the cathedral square, a nice collection of photogenic buildings mostly devoted now to the tourist trade, with good reason...

It does make the area crowded enough that it's impossible to get all of the massive, glorious cathedral in one shot...

But you can snap the doors, which, of course, I did:

I refer you to the very lengthy and detailed Wikipedia entry for more comprehensive pictures, as well as answers to any questions you could possibly have about the building. I was able to get some reasonably good photos of highlights of the interior space, which is as memorable as you would expect...

the stunning window over the stunning doors

the incredible organ in its incredible perch

A highlight's highlight is the astronomical clock tucked away in one corner:

This photo really doesn't do it justice. I suggest you click here to see better images and learn about its multitudinous functions, in the section of the Wikipedia article devoted to it.

As you might be asking, it is possible to climb at least partway up the cathedral's imposing spire, but after our climb in Köln we weren't ready to tackle several hundred more steps again. And, after a lengthy walk back to the bus, we were really pooped and ready for lunch. That's where the decision was made not to return to France (Alruna was docked on the German side of the border running down the middle of the river). I'll show you what we saw instead next time.

Trip Teaser 2022

 

I know I have be quite remiss in blogging lately, but except for the short river cruise I told you about last time, I really haven't been doing anything blog-worthy. 

Well, that turned around, in spades, a few weeks ago. We shed our fears of covid, World War III, and everything else and took a big dive out of our pandemic comfort zones. I'll be telling you all about the trip over [probably] the next several weeks (I took almost 950 pictures!!). But here's a few images to whet your appetites...

a city where the rail station looks like a palace

gentlemen from a bygone era enjoying themselves

we saw a few churches...

...and a few bridges...

...and a few sculptures...

...and ended up in the most beautiful mountains this side of Colorado

Stay tuned!