Strasbourg

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May 26th 2010

Published: May 26th 2010

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MessyMel

Strasbourg

Notre Dame

Strasbourg is beautiful and looks like a little gingerbread town. It’s surrounded by the River Ill and is made up of some many pretty little, half wooded houses.

Unfortunately the weekend we arrived was a long weekend in France so the place was packed. After much pushing and shoving we went on a boat tour around the city which was a great introduction. Like many other cities in France, Strasbourg was constructed in such a way to prevent invasion. So much so that they were able to manage the water levels of the river to prevent enemy boats from sailing in (see the picture of the gated bridge) and created locks to move up and down different levels of the river. While on the cruise you go through two locks. The boat squeezes into this tiny area before the gates close and the area fills up with water. The water level rises five metres in five minutes and then you’re off and cruising on the upper level of the river! Pretty cool.

We basically ate in little old buildings hanging over the river every night. When we weren’t eating by the river we were drinking by the river! Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Notre Dame

is known for its beer so Dad and I thought we’d embrace their culture and got stuck into quite a few largish glasses! Mum settled for a pot of wine.

We went on a tour around the city which was quite interesting. Apparently they used to hang unmarried mothers and prostitutes from one of the bridges until they realized that this was a bit inhumane. Instead they put them in cages and drowned them from the same bridge. Now every time we see a couple being a bit naughty (which is every 5 seconds in Strasbourg) we yell out “in the cage, in the cage”. Yes, we are bogans.

The Notre Dame cathedral (yes another one) is probably the most dominating feature of Strasbourg. I think it’s probably more outstanding than the Notre Dame in Paris. It’s frame towards the top is almost skeletal, it’s so tall that you can’t capture it properly with the camera, even the professional photos don’t demonstrate how ornate the tower is. The interior of the cathedral is quite beautiful, with massive stained glass windows and a beautiful organ which has to be at least 20 metres high. The cathedral also houses the

Strasbourg

Petit France

astronomical clock which is 30 metres high and was built in the 1500s. It is amazing and tells the date and time, what phase the moon is in, what star sign earth is in, what religious holiday is coming up etc etc. It also has little figures that all whirl past at 12.30.

After much confusion Dad and I climbed the tower (we’re becoming quite the cathedral experts, directing crazy Germans on the correct way to go). While there are less steps than the Notre Dame in Paris, it feels like a much harder climb. Mum pointed out that this was probably due to the fact that my butt is quite a bit larger than when I was in Paris. Comparatively the climb probably wasn’t as good as in Paris as there are no Gargoyles right up the top and the view isn’t as good. However you do get to look out over the Black Forest in Germany which is quite exciting.

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