Blogs from Strasbourg, Alsace, France, Europe

Holy S—T! Woke up this morning to snow! This trip has been continuously full of surprises. At the sight of the snow Ray and I knew that Diane would be catatonic about our switchback drive back down to Chur. It was however, a beautiful sight looking like a Winter Wonderland. Fortunately the snowfall stopped after breakfast so we were on our way. The clouds had begun to lift, and the scenery was amazing. I forgot to mention that during the snowfall large groups of people from the area headed out to go hiking. These Are truly hardy people. There were so many Kodak moments during the trip down, that I finally had to stop myself from taking any more. The road travel today after coming down from Arosa was all highway and it almost felt boring ... read more

Our night in Wilderswil was warm and comfortable, partially due to the thick hand hewn timber lining the internal walls, a major source of insulation in the older buildings. The Edelweiss Lodge opened its doors in 1900, and has been servicing travellers and tourism with a smile, continuously ever since. The restaurant overlooking the structured ornamental garden, and the bountiful vegetable garden that supplements the restaurant, serves traditional Swiss cuisine at a reasonable price, and the complimentary breakfast was a buffet affair, with something to satisfy all tastes. We were fuelled up and ready for the bleak conditions awaiting us outside. It’s great weather for ducks. The rain has been gentle but consistent since leaving Wilderswil, but still allowed a last look at the Alps before starting on our journey to Strasburg. Our stop at Lauterbrunnen ... read more

When we first got married in 2009, we vowed to go away to somewhere different every year. Covid, however had different ideas....? Full of optimism, we booked a motorhome holiday to go around the 500 in the Highlands of Scotland in 2021.....again Covid had different ideas...? Thankfully we were able to put back our motorhome holiday until 2022 without losing our deposit ?. Sadly in September 2021, the unthinkable happened - Andrew got made redundant and we had to sell our beloved home in Scotland and relocate to Yorkshire ?. Month after month, more major stresses happen and by February we were at the end of our tether ?. The price of diesel has gone through the roof and of course to date still soaring which made us rethink the motorhome holiday to the Highlands ?. ... read more

Saturday 22nd June The TGV was a direct service from Rennes to Strasbourg. It went via Paris, where it made two stops in the suburbs, and this was the slowest part of the trip. The train sat on 320 km/h for long periods on the run east from Paris. I arrived in Strasbourg at 7pm and checked in to the hotel which was close to the station. Then I headed out to find some dinner, crossing the river onto the Grand Île of Strasbourg, which is the old city. Google directed me to a completely gluten-free restaurant, which was a great find! I was able to have a more normal meal with confidence that it would be GF. I am a bit sick of galettes. I followed up with a piece of fabulous berry meringue pie ... read more

There is a lot more to Strasbourg than the Notre Dame Cathedral and Petite France, and clearly a lot more than we discovered. We found it to be an interesting city that deserved a post. Overall, Strasbourg is a modern, easy city with an excellent bike-way system and a tram system that seems highly efficient. We found it pleasant and safe to walk around, although you should try to avoid walking on the bike paths. The first thing we did in Strasbourg was find a walking tour. There are a number in the usual places on the internet. Happy Tours seemed to receive good reviews and had a few different tours in English so we decided to give them a try. Unfortunatey, it was a damp day and turned into a full blown rainy day as ... read more