Tour de Grand Est - Historical Walking Tour of Strasbourg

No cycling shorts, no cycling shoes, no cycling gloves and no helmet required. Today we used our walking shoes. 

Eggs for breakfast! Such a treat. And yogurt. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 

The Tourism Office, just beside the Cathedral, was most helpful. And it pays to be 60+ around here. Or actually more accurately, we pay less!

Historical Tour Stop #1 - Palais Rohan 

Completed in 1742, it was hard to keep up with all the royalty, Bishops and other important guests at this lavish palace. They have converted it into three different museums (that's how big it is), we did the self guided tour of just one, taking us through the palace rooms.  

We started in the dining room where the Goddess of the Harvest watches over the diners. 

The collection of Chinese pieces was remarkable. My mother-in-law would be in her happy place here. 

This library housed 3,400 books at one time. Many of them were lost in fires / uprisings but have been replaced now. 

The King's bedroom. Not sure which King, but he had a pretty cool bed, and it seems perhaps chairs for an audience?  🙃

And special game tables - bridge or dominoes or mahjong? Who knows. 

In case you need a full length mirror, there were several. 

Apparently Napoleon stayed here more than once and loved Strasbourg (or at least that's what they tell us).  Josephine was here too. 

🌸

And some incredibly ornate pieces, of which there were many more, but a couple of wars and a revolution, and much of the original furniture was sold / destroyed.

There was a special section of the museum dedicated to historical pieces from the cathedral including painted sculptures, one of the clocks, and this rooster dating back to 1352. What? Seriously? Yes ...

This clock doesn't just tell time, it tracks seasons, moon cycles, and astrological signs. The Cathedral has had a few clocks over several hundred years. All have been so advanced, made by remarkably bright people.

And the little statues were dancing.

Historical Tour Stop #2 - The Cathedral 

After a wee cafe break, we conquered the Cathedral, with an audio guide teaching us even more. 

We listened to the remarkable history of the outer walls. The biblical stories told on every surface, at every doorway, and up into the sky on the towers.  There is a model replica to help you understand the massive dimensions and additions over the years. 

Earlier the line up for entry was around the block, but we were practically first in after the lunch break. The first impression is astounding. 

The stained glass windows date back hundreds of years, and the progression in the artistry is visible. These windows celebrate heads of the church. 

The "choir" was extended over the years to accommodate the many more important religious positions who attended the services. 

 

The Rose Window, which measures 15 metres in diameter, features ears of wheat, it is completely unique to Strasbourg cathedral and represents the city’s commercial power in the Middle Ages. 

The pulpit is intricate, with vine leaves and grapes carved to appear hanging under the stairs. The carver left his name and, more importantly, he included his dog on the stairway ♥️🐾

The column in the south east corner is renowned for it's unique carvings.  Massive statutes surround the 8 weight bearing columns (see photo below, right side). There is also a small character bust unexpectedly nearby, appearing to admire the art (see photo below, left side). The story is, this is the carver himself.  

The clock inside the Cathedral was even more impressive. A chime every quarter hour, a bell every hour, the days, the months, the seasons, the cycles of the moon. It even incorporates leap years. An absolute marvel.

Last but not least, the organ. Seemingly suspended on the wall, and described as a swallows nest, it was restored in 1434. So it is older than that! 

Hard to see in the photo but there are statues beneath it, and the one on the right is basically a peasant who could be made to move his arms. The story goes that there was a worker at the church who would move his arms during the sermons, sometimes making rude gestures, and the congregation would secretly pay the worker for the lighthearted entertainment 😂

Lunch break 

Historical Tour Stop #3 - Petite France 

This is our final section, I promise. 

With another audio guide, we walked the streets of the old district known as Petite France. 

Lots of selfie opportunities. 

 So many pretty streets and canals. 

There are 4 of these towers still standing, they were part of the old city ramparts, at one time there were over 80 of them. 

The bridge in this photo is known as the "covered bridge" although it has not been covered since the late 1800's. 

We enjoyed a cool day of 10,000+ steps on cobblestones. The crowds were healthy but not unbearable and the final stop on the tour was a bakery decorated in daisies 🥰

Tomorrow we are on the road again, starting Stage 3 of our Tour, entering the region called Lorraine.

Quiche anyone? 

I hope this wasn't too long. 

There is just so much here to take in so much history, and beauty, and so many stories.

Bon nuit

Tour de Grand Est -Stage 2 continues rain or shine

We couldn't find a cobblestone-free route out of Kaysersberg, so we just went with it, and found the best Boulangerie in the village. 

The village is so quaint, quiet and floral. 

Back out into the vineyards and towards the canal. 

We could see castles along the Vosges foothills. 

(there is a castle on the hill, on the left).

At this little town we had to go under the train tracks - stairs for the people and a ramp for the bikes. The locals came to cheer us on, and were very excited to see our Cdn flags. 

Quite steep! But we made it. Down and up. 

Before we reached the canal we found some shade on the steps of a church. Morning snack is why we ride. 

And then. The canal. 

We had 80 KMS to do today, so we were not unhappy that we were headed down the canal. The air was cool, the wind was mostly at our backs and their were very few cyclists. 

Canals can be boring but this one was like a bird sanctuary. So many birds singing, finch swooping and crows sounding bossy and magpies complaining. There were swans with babies and cranes and ducks.  So I was entertained. 

And then the black clouds that had been following us, caught up. Big time. 

We found shelter under a bridge. With a German couple, who did not seem to be very happy with the rain, or each other, or us, whatever it was, they were not friendly.  We just enjoyed our lunch. We don't melt in the rain. 

More canal, more rain, another bridge stop. We had the place to ourselves this time. 

We passed this cool machine. He was sweeping the bottom / dredging / cutting the weeds. It was pretty cool.  A canal lawn mower. 

As we got closer to Strasbourg the canal got more and more beautiful. Tree lined. For many kilometers. Just gorgeous trees on both sides. It was so beautiful.  

We saw a few canal boats too, mostly used for housing now, I don't think it is a very active canal. 

Bridges were definitely our friends today, and underpasses and other shelter. When the rain came down it really came down hard, and the wind whipped up, and the lightning and thunder were impressive.  We had to take shelter a half dozen times. 

But we eventually got to Strausborg, and we have a lovely loft air BNB.  Just right here, where the little red car is parked. We are on the top floor. And yes there is an elevator, but no it doesn't work 😳. 

After 81 kms, and several mms of rain, we were so happy to have a warm place to shelter, and even some comfort food to warm us up. 

Everything we brought has been washed and now has all day tomorrow to dry.  

Speaking of comfort food, we found a Creperie for dinner. Happy memories of Brittany (and similar weather ☔)

Our evening walk took us to the Cathedral. It is honestly, breathtaking. I was speechless at the site of it. 

Strasbourg Cathedral is over one thousand years old. Construction of the original, on the exact site of a Roman temple, was initiated in 1015 but later destroyed by a fire. The second wave of construction started in the 12th century, when the Gothic style of architecture had started to develop. Just to give an idea of the scale of the undertaking, it took the entire 13th century to build the nave, and the delicate spire was completed in 1439.

The sheer size of the structure is overwhelming, and the incredible number of and details in each carved piece is astounding. 

Hard to capture, but also hard to stop taking photos. 

We will see more tomorrow as we give our bikes a day off, we plan to explore Strausborg on foot. 

Good night from Strausborg.