Today was a much more relaxed start, as we didn’t have to race around the country to be at our location on time. We were already located in the city of Strasbourg, thus we were able to make an early start into the city without driving for an hour or so. We also were staying in the same hotel at night, thus we didn’t have to pack up immediately when we were done with today. We parked at the train station parking area, which gave us easy access to the city center from here. We did go into the train terminal to a Mcdonalds, and got our morning coffee fix. We were finally able to have regular Americano coffee here as well, which was much needed! This was also followed by a Mcmuffin, and chocolate filled donut, that we were able to split, and give us a little energy to start the walk.
We had a long list of things to see, not the least of which was to see the Strasbourg cathedral. The cathedral was located in the city center as most churches in major cities in Europe are, however this one was relatively close to the train terminal. This was only about a quarter mile walk through the town square of Kebler Place. Kebler is the main gathering area of the town, and was our first walking stop on the way to the cathedral.
For being the capital of the EU, Strasbourg was surprisingly historical, and architecturally stunning for such a large city. The old town of Strasbourg resembled the Alsace region architecture we had explored the prior day. This was the beginning of exploring the town and I had already fallen in love with the mix of French culture, and fast paced lifestyle, unaccustomed for the Alsace region.
It was about 9am and upon finishing our coffee in the Kleber Place, we decided to head straight for the cathedral called Notre Dame De Strasbourg. Being someone who appreciates impressive structures, and sound architecture, I was blown away by the size of this Cathedral. This was perhaps the largest one we had encountered in all my travels to Europe, and I was not expecting such an enormous structure. We were able to casually enter without a fee, upon being searched for security purposes.
The structure itself is one of the tallest church spires in all of Europe, and the interior features a unique golden brown brick that gives this gothic church a more calming feel while inside. We toured the inside and were able to view many paintings and gothic structures, but what stands out the most, by far, is the astronomical clock. This was my first time seeing one of these, as there were a few throughout Europe (Lyon, and Prague) that I had not yet reached on this trip. This clock reached almost 50ft into the air, and had calculations of every planet, which for a device built 500 years prior, I felt was jaw dropping. This site was in the top 3 of my favorite cathedrals of the trip.
After spending over half an hour in the building, paying our respects, and admiring the structure, we continued south to the most southern point of the peninsula. Strasbourg itself is located on an island….formed by the natural winding of the Rhine River. This meant we could be on the south side of the island in little time from the cathedral. We did utilize this time to walk the outside perimeter of the church as well, which backs up to the next site on our list…. the Palais Rohan.
We unfortunately could not go into the Palais, but the Museum that was attached to it was available. We didn’t tour this however, as we wanted to walk and explore the entire perimeter of the island.
We toured the south side of the river for about 30 minutes walking the flower covered bridges, and making our way back west toward the Barrage Vauban. This is a meeting point of the diverged river that circles the island.
We were able to go into a new church which was unexpected called the Eglise De St. Thomas. This is a great little church we did not plan on seeing which has an incredible sculpture inside of it. When we were done we headed towards the Barrage. The city created a series of water locks and bridges in this area, that are almost 300 years, and is one of the more scenic areas of the town. The bridge almost looks like a viaduct of sort from Roman times, and the towers were no doubt used for defense during the medieval times.
It was at this point we decided to stop for an afternoon lunch, on a terraced restaurant situated on the island buildings you can see in the pictures below. This island area is called Square Louise-Weiss, in the larger area of what is called Petite France. This features an island oasis in the heart of the city with restaurants, bars, and gardens to explore.
It was time to head to the island part of the city after having lunch in Petite France. This lunch was more of a snack with happy hour, as most of our meals tend to be! Nonetheless, the sun was starting to peek out and we are now heading into various sections of town to explore, with no plan, aside to walk the entire island, to reach the far north side of it. This is where Ashley, and mom were able to do some shopping, while I soaked up the sun rays outside. The Grande Ile de Strasbourg was the area we had to cross in order to get to the island section of Strasbourg, and I highly recommend going to check it out, as it features various bridges, decorated with flowers, and love locks, from thousands of previous tourists.
Upon reaching the other side of the island, and getting a new perspective on the downtown, we arrived at the Place de la Republique Garden and the Jardin Botanique de luniversite. These are sites I highly recommend enjoying while visiting the city, though you cannot enter the buildings with a tour. These places are quintessential France, and gives you a perspective of how proud the french are of their cities. It was after exploring this area, we decided to have a beer before deciding on dinner. This was a great experience having a drink in the town square’s watching the camaraderie of the proud French watching their soccer team in the world cup playoffs going on at the time we were in Europe! The French had won their game for that day, so while we enjoyed our beer (my favorite….Kronenbourg Blanc), they came by and gave us some wrist paint of the colors of the french flag.
We decided to grab a drink at a nice cocktail bar called the Code Bar, which was a speakeasy of sort. For those who have followed my blog in the past, you can easily see that I have a passion for secret bars and local camaraderie. This was no exception, and was on our list of things to see and experience while in the city. Below is a picture of one of their out-standing drinks. It was now time to find dinner!
PROTIP: The bar scene in Europe features many speakeasys, and gathering areas. I would suggest to try one in every large town you research to visit. This is the best way to get local knowledge, conversation, and experience. Bars are a large part of the social culture in Europe, and one should always partake in a great time!
The final part of our day would be dinner, and we decided that a perfect gunsight view of the Notre Dame would be a great way to have dinner. This restaurant was called La Coccinelle, and was the perfect location after searching a few restaurants in the later day. We decided to sit outside, but at the time we sat it was starting to get overcast, and within 15 minutes rain forced us inside to finish our meal. We had a traditional French dinner of Wine, charcuterie, and Duck with sides. This would be the last dinner me, Ashley, and mom would spend together during this trip, so we made sure to make it memorable. Mom, as a parting gift, payed for the dinner to help with expenses. This was a nice gesture and put us a little bit ahead of our budget for the two month train trip which starts tomorrow.
It was now time to head back to the hotel. We of course had to stop for wine for the hotel room, and with the little bit of time left in the dusk of evening, we watched TV at the hotel, in order to relax for a busy, and exciting morning the next day. Tomorrow morning, we were to start our first leg of the Train travel section of this Epic Adventure!
HOTEL: Premiere Classe Strasbourg Ouest CONFIRMED 2 nights (101.05)
EXPENSES
15.20 parking
14 Mcdonalds
9.50 Beer
18.40 Lunch and beer
1.20 bottled water
16 beer ashley
10.35 beer
2 tip
27.50 drinks
Total- 114.15
Rental car- 204.07/3 = 68.02 pp
Hotels- 288.36/3- 96.12 pp
Total purchases up to here-
693.94x 811.90 – 10 beer not split= 801.90/3= $267.30 pp
Collected 295.45 from mom
Total= 1304.33
862/6= 143.66 daily spending
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