We were back in Strasbourg for a day free from driving along the canal. Before we had started the boat trip we had taken a quick look so now we had the opportunity to investigate further and visit some places we hadn’t seen previously. After breakfast we took a short walk to the tram stop. They depart at frequent intervals so we didn’t have to wait long. We would recommend a day ticket as you can hop on and off wherever. We disembarked at the Gallia stop, right opposite the impressive Reformed Church of St Paul with its’ two spires.
After a quick look we began walking down Rue de la Courtine, passing some lovely old buildings. The street was busy with lots of students moving about, lots of bikes parked along the way.
At Place Saint-Étienne some lovely old framework buildings were bathed in the sunlight.
Even though the road continued the name didn’t. We were now in Rue des Frères. We past a wine shop and then standing out the front of the cheese shop, Le Goût du Terroir, a young shopkeeper offered us a taste of his cheese. Clearly business was slow or he feels it’s a good way to drum up business. Anyway he quickly decided to engage us in English. (We must have looked like a lost tourist.) We had a good chat about the different cheeses but as we would be finishing our trip in a few days we didn’t purchase anything.
We continued our walk with the not only the cathedral in sight but one of the lovely metalwork signs on show.
The surrounding square was busy with tourists, many on foot like us, and some in the ‘kitschy’ tourist train.
We noticed that we had arrived at the cathedral at just the wrong time. Having been open from early in the morning it was now closed until 12:45 so we split up. Karen and I headed around the side of the cathedral
and down past a few cafes and restaurants in Rue du Maroquin to the Museum of Strasbourg, only to find it doesn’t open on Mondays!
Anyway we passed an informative sign, not only in French but German and English, telling us about the area.
We continued along the Quai Saint Thomas until the next intersection heading inland to the right and walked along it. Not that far up it we came to the Galeries Lafayette department store. Not having shopped for quite a while we decided to go and look around. Karen thought she might find something cooler to wear, given all the 30+ days we had experienced. Sadly nothing appealed so time for a quick photo instead.
We quickly met up with two of our friends for a drink before we decided to split up again.
We returned to the Cathedral as it would opening again soon. It took a while to adjust our eyes to the quite gloomy light inside after the bright conditions outside.
The astronomical clock is famous.
I thought the detail on the central altar was amazing.
To the sides of the main nave there were a series of small chapels.
Of course the stained glass windows were really impressive.
Some were very old and detailed
but I quite liked this more modern style one.
Our stomachs were reminding us it was time to eat so we headed out into the bight sun. We made a conscious decision to move away from the touristy central area and headed back down to the small cafes on Rue des Frères. After buying a reasonably priced lunch we headed into a central area behind the cafes where you could eat outside.
After eating we browsed along the small nearby shops. La Village de la Bière appeared to have a good range of beers for sale but wasn’t open on Mondays either!
This dress covered in beer bottle tops caught my eye too.
After receiving a couple of messages from our other friends we decided to meet up at the bar of the hotel we had previously stayed in, Hôtel le Grillon, for a drink. Along the way we popped into the Old Saint Peter’s Church.
We had passed it many times on our earlier visit to Strasbourg without going in.
I couldn’t help but admire this building on the riverfront as we left the main central island part of the city.
After a drink and a chat about our day we took a couple of trams back to our boat where we took a share and changed to go out for dinner. We took the tram back in. After a bit of a wander around we decided to eat outside at a typical Alsatian place, Chez les Luschtig.
It was right opposite a lovely little in mini – market store.
Drinks came quickly. I enjoyed a local wheat beer.
Then our meals arrived. Karen ate a chicken salad.
While a few of us tried the Alsatian version of a pizza, a Tarte flambée, which is made with a cream base, rather than a tomato base. I quite enjoyed it.
Charles took on the challenge of eating a tasting platter full of goodies.
After enjoying our meals and a good chat we headed back to the tram stop and took a tram back towards our boat – just a short walk after alighting from the tram to our beds and a good night’s sleep.
Next post we head down to our final destination, the intriguingly named Boofzheim.
Born To Travel 3 