We go to the TI office in Guttenberg Square, with its beautiful cathedral, to pick up a walking audio guide. The clerk, who is most likely a summer hire from an influential family, is as much of an uncooperative smart ass as I have encountered in all the TI offices I�ve visited in Europe and Asia. Nevertheless, we get our guides but not a lot of information as to how to use them We must figure that out ourselves, which we eventually do.
The cathedral is closed for unknown reasons, a long lunch perhaps. Since the audio tour begins and ends at the cathedral, we figure we�ll be back so tuning in carefully we set out - our ears glued to the commentary. It�s a wonderful experience. The guide is complete without being overly long and boring and it takes us to a number of places we might have missed, including St. Nicholas church, where Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Albert Schweitzer, preached as a young theologist and St. Thomas' church, where, I believe, he gave his first organ concert.
When we get back to Guttenberg Square, the cathedral is open. We just miss the famous fifteenth century astronomical clock going off but Rick Steves assures me I didn�t miss much.
We rush across town to the Place d�Etoile, site of the European Parliament. We want to take a Rhine cruise. We hang around for an hour only to discover that the so-called cruise is just a boat ride and spends very little time on the Rhine, where there is evidently not much to see anyway. We decide to pass on the opportunity and enjoy a late leisurely lunch instead.
We find a brasserie with a brassy waitress and outdoor seating. After a couple pints and a great baguette, we walk back to the hotel for a short nap and a quick look at the Olympics.
For dinner, we return to La Petit France. We explore the island but have a great deal of trouble finding a suitable restaurant. We choose one place but can�t get any service. We go to another place. The waiter is great but the food is not so great. Suddenly, the skies open and rain comes down in as if from a hose with no nozzle. We squish to a table with a large umbrella to finish our dinner. We share the table with a techie consultant from Ghent, Belgium. The three of us finish off the better part of a bottle of Calvados while discussing many things, none of which I can recall now. The rain finally lets up but at this point it doesn�t matter as we are both soaked inside and out.
We begin the trek back to our hotel and become confused and lost, as we should have expected we would. We decide to follow the river to the bridge nearest our hotel and miraculously do not fall in the water on the way. We arrive safely and I fall asleep without even bothering to check out the Olympics.
What a lovely city it is with its dual Franco-Germanic personality. You can see pictures on my Strausbourg photo site. It is not only the main city of the Alsace-Lorraine area which changed hands many times over the centuries; it is also the home of the European Parliament. As an example of its split personality, I learn that �La Marseillaise,� the French national anthem, was originally written by a monarchist engineer at the request of the mayor of Strasbourg as the Rhine Army marching song. Somehow it ended up as the marching song of a group of revolutionary volunteers from Marseille. The information in the link explains it better than I can.
The center of the city is charming and the Cathedrale de Notre Dame is visually stunning. In the older parts of the city, the houses remind me of the illustrations accompanying the poem, �There was a crooked man�.� The streets are pedestrian friendly and all the suggested walks are easily doable. I see trees everywhere providing shade and oxygen. I fall in love with the place.
Since it is late afternoon we head for La Petite France, an island in the center of the Ill River and the historic home of Strasbourg�s tanners - now a center of open air restaurants and boutiques. The area is full of people but not over-crowded. We grab a table under a huge oak and suck up a couple beers while watching the passing parade of families, lovers, backpackers, and older folks out for an evening stroll.
We decide to eat at a famous bierstube and restaurant, L�Ami Schutz, a Franco-Germanic name for sure. Because of the threat of rain, it�s crowded inside but we must look like we�re big tippers as we get a prime table immediately. I suggest the Sausage and Choucroute or "Choucroute Garnie" plate to Tom as he had never tasted Choucroute. The portion was huge. He can�t finish it and my order was so large, I can�t help him out.
Feeling slightly embarrassed by our protruding stomachs, we strike out for our hotel, getting only slightly lost which is a good thing since we need the exercise. We are astounded by the number of donar kebab restaurants which adds to the feeling of diversity.
Back at the hotel, I try to watch the Olympics but I crash in a very short time.
Moving smartly this morning, we check out and prepare to walk to the train station.. We discover that we have been charged 10 Euros per day for our breakfasts which we thought were included in the room rate. I asked the wrong questions or made the wrong assumption and now must pay. The breakfasts were good but not worth 10 Euros. We could have done better elsewhere. I realize that all Best Westerns do not include breakfast as most other hotels do. I suspect it makes their rates look better. From now on I will ask more specifically - another lesson learned.
(Continued)
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I wake up late, feeling groggy - too much food, drink, travel? What? I have no idea. After a late breakfast, we finally get moving only to have to rush back to the hotel so I can answer a biology call.