6 weeks in Germany and didn't visit even one other country? That wouldn't do me any good! So, we set off to this French town, on the Germany-France border, just 2 hours train ride from Stuttgart.
Strasbourg is the capital of Alsace (remember Alsace-Lorraine, and World War I). It is a historic town.
We alight there at 10 AM, visit the Tourist Info, get a map. We discover we'll have to take the metro to reach the places we wanted to see. The ticket vending machine accepted only change, so, we'd an agonizing hunt for a change vending machine. Finally, we got the change from a shop!
The "must-see" of all things in Strasbourg is the
Cathedral. It is a majestic structure, which is visible anywhere from
the City. Thanks to some renovation, the top of the Cathedral was covered.
But that didn't rob it of any splendour. The sheer monstrosity and
the intricate carving reminded me of the gopurams in the Tamil Nadu temples
- the parallels were striking!
For the tourists, what shoud not be missed is the clock inside the Cathedral chiming 12 (at 12.30 local time). A motley crowd of puppets do their act for a few minutes, watched with bated breath by a large collection of visitors. I somehow liked the Munich show better!
You walk around the place, admiring various other structures. A lake runs around the place - you have the option to take a boat ride, as well.
We accosted a couple of desis, when we landed (IIT Kharagpur guys), though we parted ways after an hour or so.
Lunch was a question mark, answered by the sight of an Italian joint. Pizza was the choice, there being a vegetarian variety. The place is famous for its wines, and we didn't lose the chance to try out a flavour!
Lunch done, we set off to another landmark - the European Parliament building. This is a modern structure, built only a few years back. Though closed for the weekend, we could walk around the place and admire it. The location is terrific, bordering the lake.
Well! that was it! We'd covered most of the places, though not all! We beat a retreat, taking the return train back to Stuttgart.
I was also exposed to my first "South Indian" restaurant (to be precise, Sri Lankan) in Stuttgart. Unfortunately, you've pre-order South Indian dishes, else, you've to make do with Northie stuff. It was interesting to converse in Tamil with the waiter, though I'm not sure whether he understood all that I said!
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Thur, 14 June, 2001. Heidelberg
It was yet another local holiday (Whit Thursday?), and I was boarding my return flight two days later. What better to do than visit one more place in Germany.
Heidelberg is a town, located an hour's train ride from Stuttgart. It is famous for its Medical University as also for its scenic beauty. As in other places, you start with the Tourist Office, located next to the Banhof (Railway Station, of course!). Map in hand, you board a waiting bus, to the destination - Heidelberg Castle. That's a 20 minute bus ride.
You have two ways to get to the top of the Castle - walk up or take the tram (DM 3.5 - one way). We go up by tram. There is a wonderful view from the top. There are also other attractions.
We climb down the Castle and walk around the place. As mentioned earlier, Hiedelberg is famous for its University. We see various buildings and landmarks of the same.
There is an Old Bridge which is another must-see. The view of the Castle from there is fantastic.
The Castle, by the way, was destroyed and rebuilt a couple of times. Some of the destruction are still evident!
We resolve to lunch at a Chinese restaurant, and then return to our sight-seeing spot. En route, we meet an Indian - an employee of SAP, which has its office (headquarters?) in the area. He also guides us to an Indian restaurant, right in the heart of the sight-seeing spots. (Was it Raja Rani Restaurant or something similar).
Soon it's time to return...