DAY 110 & 111 – We're in Germany/Nope - it's France/Germany-France..WHICH?

July 7 & 8 Biking through Strasbourg (Alsace-Lorraine)

 Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament.  There have been some interesting historical events in this city, since the city is close to the German border.

Panorama with the medieval bridge, the towers, and the Cathedral in the background.

  In July 1518, an incident known as the Dancing Plague of 1518 struck residents of Strasbourg. Around 400 people were afflicted with dancing mania and danced constantly for weeks, most of them eventually dying from heart attack, stroke or exhaustion.
  Alsace is located on France's eastern border and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. Historical decisions, wars, and strategic politics have resulted in Alsace being administered separately as its own "region" within the Republic of France. France and Germany exchanged control of parts of Lorraine (including Alsace) four times in 75 years.

  My friend, Mady is from this area in France so I've always wanted to come here as she thinks it's the most wonderful place on earth.  We were not disappointed.
  Birute and Julien welcomed us (after we woke them in the wee hours the night before) with fresh towels and new slippers.  Most of the Europeans we've met so far take off shoes at the front door and offer slippers.  Then they prepared a beautiful breakfast.

Fruit Streissel and Varnketis with cheese from Birute's home in Lithuania.

 They let us borrow their bikes and we were very happy to tour their lovely city on this beautiful Sunday.  We first went to the Parc de l'Orangerie, a beautiful French & English Garden.

There was a Victorian-age Festival in the park, so we enjoyed watching the people.

Kind of a strange sculpture, but I took a picture anyway.

 Since we were on bike, we didn't take many of the pictures, but I still have in my mind's eye how friendly and sweet the people were.  We saw a mother feeding ice cream to her baby right after we saw an elderly couple.  The wife was feeding ice cream to her husband in his wheel chair.  Then we saw a handicapped man being helped by his friend, along with a young man caring for his dog in such a tender manner.  There were many elderly couples enjoying this sunny day on the park benches just holding hands.  There was the couple making out in the grass and the frolicking of children as they had picnics with their families.  What joyful people in such a lovely setting and I absolutely felt alive riding through the park and among these happy people.  So unlike 60 years ago when the Germans occupied this area, having taken it away from the French people. 

Children were taking turns zip-lining through the grassy area into the water.

This is a lot better than staying home and watching TV

Strasbourg is the official seat of the Council of Europe (Parliament)

40+ Flags represented here.

Tourists loaded up on one of the canal boat rides

Your guess is as good as mine

Reminds me of the bridge across the Snake River in Idaho Falls, Idaho - our home town.

I love the old homes - such character.

Many of the European cities have a river or canal going right through the middle of it.

 I'm not sure what the name of this church is, but it was beautiful and ornate.

 We went to the most notable icon in the city - a Roman Catholic Church....

 Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg)

 Considered to be a Gothic Cathedral, much of it is also Romanesque architecture.  From 1647 to 1874, it was the world's tallest building at 142 metres (466 feet.)  It's been described by Victor Hugo as a "gigantic and delicate marvel", and by Goethe as a "sublimely towering, wide-spreading tree of God."  Construction took nearly 300 years to build 1176–1439.   

Like the city of Strasbourg, the cathedral connects German and French cultural influences

 We were so excited to learn that we could go up to the top for free since it was Sunday.  Most all large churches have a fee to go inside and another fee to go to the bell tower.  We were in for a treat!

 Spectacular views from the TOP

 Views from all the sides on top of the Cathedral.

 There were many plaques from various years that probably had a lot of significance, but just to stand next to them felt amazing - all the history in this church.  So much strife, too, with all of the wars and nations wanting to dominate the cathedral.

You have to look close to see the 16th century "graffiti" - pretty cool.

Yes it is VERY sunny.

 We enjoyed coming back to Birute and Julien's beautiful flat and to a dinner they had prepared.

hors d'oeuvres  - Presentation  is everything

YUM - Canelone  (Italian dish)

Oila - a French dessert with raspberry sauce

 After dinner, we all walked down to the river and there was a special music/ light show that lasted about 30 minutes.  It was amazing - all choreographed to classical music and it just lit up the banks of the river.  It reminded me a little of the 4th of July show that Melaleuca puts on every year in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

The next day, we slept in, did laundry, and cooked for them (Kung Pao Pork - Rich's specialty).  I just had to take some pictures of their lovely home.  Birute had lost her mother a few months ago, so we had some nice talks about this and I felt like a substitute for a little while and that she was my daughter.  What a sweetheart!

Birute and Julien, the lovely couple from Strasbourg

We had our own bedroom, which is always so great!

A spacious living area and dining room

A clean and tidy bathroom

They even had a balcony with a little garden just off the kitchen

Rich is busy preparing for dinner.

 The 3rd night of our stay, we biked over to the Cathedral for another light show put to music.  It was outstanding.!!  We videoed it, so maybe someday we'll get a post for that.   Riding bikes home along the canal and the beautifully lit-up streets was a special treat.  We're so glad we got to come to the lovely city that my friend, Mady, was born in.

It felt like this little city had no crime, no graffiti, no troubles, no hate, nothing that was negative or degrading.  We were very lucky to be a part of it, even if it was for such a short time.