Strasbourg, France

Sunday, July 13 

In the morning we did a walking tour of Strasbourg which is an eclectic mix of France & Germany. 

We were docked about an hour from the city and had a lovely drive through the German Imperial District and the European Quarter, home to institutions such as the European Union and the Council of Europe. 

We had a short walking tour through picturesque Petite France, the former Tanners’ District surrounded by the Ill River and charming canals.  

opera house

La Place Broglie - used to be a horse market - Greg in lower left

Kougelhopf

macaron tower

In Cathedral Square we saw the magnificently restored Strasbourg Cathedral and remarkable astronomical clock. Since it was Sunday there was no admittance to see the interior until after 2:00. 

We came across some performers (that the guide dismissed since it wasn't part of her tour) despite most of us wanting to stay and listen. 

our meeting point was the large merry-go-round

performers gathering

homeless with his dog

when we passed this little kiddie merry-go-round, the group had to laugh when we were told that the big one was the only one so we wouldn't get confused. (wonder how many showed up at this one)

our guide

We were left at the canal for our free time before returning to the ship for lunch or choosing to stay in town and take the later shuttle back. 

Since it would have been 2 hours roundtrip to go back for lunch we decided to stay in town and explore on our own and have a nice local lunch. 

We wandered to a quiet area before turning around to find lunch.

Escargots de Bourgogne au beurre persille

warm goat cheese salad - breaded goat cheese, confit tomatoes & honey

We had about an hour before the Cathedral opened for touring so we hopped on the Petit Train for the 40 minute tour of Petit France. 

We toured the Cathedral after waiting in the long line. We opted not to do the spiral staircase of 322 steps for the view from the top. 

Palais Rohan in Strasbourg, France, is a historical palace that now houses three museums: the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Musée des Beaux-Arts, and the Musée Archéologique. It was beside the cathedral.

After that we went for Gelato and the Amorino Gelato shop near there was too busy and no tables to sit at so we walked back to the one in the quiet part of Petit France and had some yummy gelato topped with a macron. 

YUM! (raspberry & chocolate with chocolate macron)

We had more time left so we meandered along the canal to some places we saw from the Petit Train. 

boat going through the small lock

We stopped for some cookies to bring back to the ship for long bus rides or whenever 

where we bought the cookies & macrons

It was time to meet for the last shuttle bus back to the ship and we waited by the Merry-go-round. They were a bit late and we were worried we got the info right but we started to see others from the ship and the guide showed up and we breathed a heavy sigh of relief. 

Tonight was the Captain's farewell cocktail party and I of course had another Kir Royale. 

Later that night we passed through some locks. (photos from the French Balcony)

magnet

little house

Tomorrow, we need the luggage out very early in the morning as we depart the ship after breakfast in Basel for a tour and a transfer to Zurich, Switzerland. 

Strasbourg, France https://photos.app.goo.gl/xacwKWsvJqt7JcdH6