Tour de Grand Est - Stage 3 - Lorraine

We said good bye to Strasbourg, leaving on the bike route out of the city, passing the market square, where the Christmas Markets are held. 

Marc made us a great route. Quiet roads and some good rolling hills.  At 21 k we stopped at the top of a good climb and looked back to see the Cathedral. Such an impressive structure! 

The Vosges mountains were visible again, crossing them here will be much easier as they are more like hills now. 

As crazy as it sounds, we are not surprised to see a Stork now. This one was just on the shoulder of the road and barely felt the need to move as we passed by.  Quite remarkable to be so close to such a large bird. 

We enjoyed the last few villages in Alsace, before we crossed into Lorraine. They continue to be quaint and quiet, with flowers and timber houses. You will see the Mairie (top right) which is the town hall, and check out the little school house (bottom left). 

One little town had a vegetable stand. One could get a white asparagus or eggs...cauliflower (they looked fantastic) or a 10 pound bag of potatoes!  Indeed a shopped came and bought those potatoes as we stood and watched. 

I couldn't resister the asparagus. 

We rolled up and down hills today, it was cool and cloudy. Perfect riding weather for me. And the colours today seemed particularly impressive. 

We found a grocery store in Severne.  Marc went in to shop and I stayed out and made a new friend. He is hiking to Spain with his owner and a friend. ♥️🐾

Severne is very pretty, with cobblestones and hills, and the canal runs right through it. 

We stopped to watch a boat going through the locks at Severne. It was impressive, "Riverly" it said in the stern. So many bumpers, clearly designed for canals and locks. 

We started to follow the Canal du la Marne au Rhine here. 

We found another Riverly, filled with guys, chilling and smoking and generally looking like they were on a guys getaway. 

Oh, and then another Riverly, and yup you guess it, another. 

Turns out Riverly is the company who rents the canal boats and doing the locks is clearly a fun outing with friends and family. I stopped counting after seeing more than 20 of them. 

Of course boats doing locks have to be patient and we out-cycled all of them, and waved as we passed by. 

As we cycled along we saw a heron ahead on the path.  We didn't slow. It didn't move. We didn't slow, and honestly it let Marc get so close it was crazy. A big day for big birds 😉.

Some cool information about where we are:

The Marne-Rhine Canal was built from 1838 to 1853. The main problem it solved was going through the Vosges Mountains and especially climbing up its eastern side to its lower point, the Col de Saverne. This was first solved by means of a ladder of seventeen locks, allowing an overall level change of 44.55 metres over a distance of 4 kilometres. In 1969, these locks were replaced by the Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane.

We have not seen this inclined plane, but we will cycle by it first thing tomorrow, stay tuned!!

Camping tonight in Plan Incline.  It is a fascinating stop with enormous rock faces just in the other side of the canal from us. 

Good night 

Sharing some roses I enjoyed seeing today. 

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