Chapter Thirteen: Cruising Strasbourg
March 21, 2025Mai Tai Tom Stays On Track Through Belgium, Paris and Strasbourg
Chapter Fourteen: A Leisurely Day In Strasbourg
Day Fourteen: Give Me Some Belly Rubs, The Crush At The Clock, Mary’s Encounter With The Vikings, Say Oncle, Walking In The Rain, No Palace For You, Romanesque Revival, Kir Revival, This Is More Like It and a Red Hot Finish
I can always tell when we are nearing the end of a trip … even I slept in.
After pastries and coffee, our foursome headed back to the cathedral to explore it further than our quick visit the day before. Along the way we met someone who was in dire need of belly rubs. We obliged Walter’s wishes, and continued on our way.
It was a sleepy overcast Monday in Strasbourg, so I hoped the cathedral would be less crowded.
As usual, I was wrong. We would soon learn that peaceful Strasbourg had been overtaken by yet another large tour group. We persevered.
Construction on Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg (called by Victor Hugo a “gigantic and delicate marvel”) began in the early 11th century. Similar to my first home kitchen remodel, it took more than three centuries to complete. The main portal with Madonna and Child in the center was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, and has had to be renovated several times from damage during different periods of discontent. From 1647 to 1874 it was the world’s tallest building.
Time to enter.
Inside, we admired part of the sequence of Emperor windows.
Tracy likes to photograph candles at virtually every church we visit. Give her time, and she shall wax poetic about them.
We caught a glimpse of an ornate mural featuring St. James the Moor Killer in the center. I swear the guy on the right looks a little like Jack Benny, but I don’t think he was quite that old.
We continued on our way to the North Portal.
The apse contains the Virgin of Alsace window surrounded by Byzantine-style frescoes and paintings.
The Great Rose Window is located above the Grand Portal.
In front of us stood the 14th-century Angelic Pillar.
Surprisingly, up to this point, the crowds had been manageable, but soon we found out where the tour groups had congregated. En masse, the throngs were surrounding the L’Horloge Astronomique.
Digression: In our travels we’ve had a few uncomfortable encounters with tour groups. I was nearly stabbed in the eye with an umbrella by a tour group leader who pushed me aside so her group could enter one of the ruins at Pompeii. And, while walking through the Royal Palace in Madrid, I was cross-checked into a barrier as a tour group came barreling through. Minutes later, people from that same tour pushed Kim against the wall as he entered the restroom.
On this day, Mary would be the recipient of tour mob violence (slight exaggeration). As you can see by that above photo, navigating this area could be a challenge, but as Mary tried maneuvering deftly to escape this mass of humanity, she inadvertently stepped in front of one of the tour group members attempting to take a photo. The lady promptly started screaming at her for ruining her picture. Mary, being a much nicer person than me, just walked on.
After observing this, Tracy and I stayed back until the group left to terrorize another of Strasbourg’s museums.
The cathedral’s first astronomical clock was built in the 14th century. Tracy knocked a few people to the floor to get this photo. At 12:30, its automatons come to life.
A third clock was built in 1843. You think your smart watch has lots of functions, “This clock not only tells official time; it also indicates solar time, the day of the week (each represented by a god of mythology), the month, the year, the sign of the zodiac, the phase of the moon and the position of several planets.” Take that, Apple watch!
We escaped to other parts of the cathedral.
St. Catherine’s Chapel’s vaulted ceiling had everyone looking up.
This memorial commemorates the U.S. soldiers killed during the liberation of Alsace in World War II.
Like yesterday when we saw the mascaron representing a griffin, today some others came into view.
Finally, one last look around the cathedral …
… and we were back outside. I hoped this guy had not heard of my rant about Paris bicyclists.
I wanted a booty of candy, but Tracy said that would be arrrrfully unhealthy.
We stopped by the carrousel.
Tracy noticed one of the lens of my sunglasses was about ready to pop out, so we popped into Le Petit Lunetier, who popped it back in for no charge.
This place lent itself for photos.
On the wall of what, I believe, was a Pilates studio, we saw this artwork.
Time for lunch, and we decided on an Alsatian-style restaurant recommended by our hotel, Chez L’Oncle Freddy.
We enjoyed the cozy atmosphere and our lunch of French Onion soup and a goat cheese salad.
There were many moooving and cheesy experiences as we walked through town.
Tracy narrowly averted being run over by the tourist train.
I thought my nephew would like this photo.
I’ll be damned if we weren’t ambiancing again, and up ahead we saw Mr. Chat Strasbourg painted on a wall.
On our way to the Palais du Rhin, we passed by Hôtel de Ville, Strasbourg’s historic town hall located facing Place Broglie. Built in the early 18th century, it was originally planned for the Earl of Lichtenberg, which was a German borough. In the early 19th century, it became Strasbourg’s town hall.
On an overcast afternoon …
… it almost felt like we had Strasbourg all to ourselves.
On Place Broglie stands a monument commemorating Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque and the Liberation of Strasbourg in 1944.
Figaro! Figaro! The 19th century Opéra national du Rhin was constructed when Strasbourg was part of the German empire.
We hit the Place de la République, a circular plaza connecting Grande Ile to the Neustadt District. Turning the page, we walked past the beautiful Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire de Strasbourg constructed in the late 19th century. Even my voracious reader, Tracy, couldn’t read everything here. There are three million volumes inside, the second largest collection in France.
In the distance was Palais du Rhin. Like so many buildings in Strasbourg, it has a complicated past. Constructed as a Kaiserpalast (Imperial Palace) during the German Empire, it is now “a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation and European unity.” I was looking forward to visiting the rooms, described as “lavish.”
In front of Palais Rhin stands Le Monument aux morts de Strasbourg. It was erected in 1936 to memorialize Strasbourg’s children killed in World War I. From Wiki: “To honor these dead, a secular Pietà was erected representing a mother—symbolizing the city of Strasbourg—holding her two dying children on her knees. One is German and the other French, no longer wearing uniforms to distinguish them. They fought each other and in the face of death they finally come together, holding hands.”
Finally it was time to enter Palais du Rhin … or not. It was supposed to be open, but all the doors were locked. Now what shall we do?
Not too far from Palais du Rhin is the Romanesque Revival Église Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune de Strasbourg, and we were glad it was open, because shortly after taking this photo the skies opened up. Before the deluge began, we admired the pink sandstone façade covered by a huge dome, the largest in the Alsace region. The architects were also responsible for the University Library we had walked by earlier
At this time of the day the church was completely devoid of people. There are three churches named St. Peter’s in Strasbourg, and this one is nicknamed Young St. Peter’s.
Mosaics featuring scenes from the life of Jesus are prevalent in the main choir.
There was a unique pulpit.
A beautiful statue adorns the neo-Romanesque preaching pulpit.
The Carrera marble statue called The Mystic Rose was sculpted in nearby Colmar. I think this it …
… but there are lots of statues found here.
While we were in here, we could hear rain pounding on the dome.
After bidding “adieu” and “au revoir” (never hurts to be safe) to indoor Saint Pierre …
… we stepped outside as the torrential downpour continued, and being those always prepared visitors, we had not brought an umbrella. Neither did outside St. Pierre. We thought about trying to enter the palace again, but the comfort of our hotel seemed a better option.
We called for an Uber who delivered us back to the hotel for a brief respite. We hooked up early that evening with Kim and Mary at the hotel bar, where we made one of our many toasts to Strasbourg.
The rain finally relented, so we were able to walk to our restaurant for dinner.
We loved the Petite France location.
Strasbourg has ten locks on various canals, but I don’t think they mean these kind of locks.
Restaurant L’Oignon was our culinary destination, and, after my faux pas ordering of the past evening, this place was the perfect remedy.
Mary ordered the Tiger Steak, while Kim and Tracy enjoyed duck breast with honey and chestnuts accompanied by roasted potatoes.
My dinner selection was fantastic: Escargot in a puff pastry with mushrooms followed by a spectacular butternut squash risotto with hazelnut and watercress.
I barely had room for the cinnamon ice cream that tasted like red hots. We’d highly recommend L’Oignon.
It was a leisurely walk back to the hotel culminating a rather leisurely day (at least for us). 
Along the canals that are so beautiful at night …
… at 9:30 it was magical wandering the nearly empty streets. Scenes like this are why I will never take a cruise.
Tomorrow, we had planned to rent a car and drive along the Route des Vin, but it looked like it was going to be another rainy day and it certainly started out that way. After eating breakfast at the hotel next to a couple from San Diego (I knew there were other Padres fans in the world), Tracy and I stepped outside, and before you could ask, “Why did we forget our umbrellas again?” it started to pour. We ducked into nearby St. Thomas until the rain subsided.
We then met up with Kim and Mary at La Maison de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame, a collection of medieval and Renaissance pieces from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Afterward we split up and Tracy and I wandered down a nearby alley to enjoy some tortes flambées. Returning to the hotel, we saw that a tree had fallen in the rain across the road tearing a large hole in the roof of the building next door. Then it was time for an afternoon wine tasting, exploration of the other side of town and another St. Peter’s church, culminating with a phenomenal Italian dinner.
Chapter Fifteen: Bearing The Rain In Strasbourg
Day Fifteen: Any Pew In A Storm, Going Back In Time, Flambée Me, When A Tree Falls In Strasbourg …, Bureaucracy Failure, Wine Time, The Day Of The Living Dead, One Saint Peter’s Deserves Another, That Was Fast, It’s A Lock and The Return of The Singing Gondoliers
