A Train Ride To Strasbourg

This morning we took an early train from Paris to Strasbourg, the main city of Alsace. The ride was only two hours and twenty minutes, and much of verdant French countryside passed before our eyes on the train. Strasbourg was a revelation, since the old district (called “Petite France”) turned out to be full of old Medieval and early Renaissance, half-timbered houses, with tall slopping roofs and dormer windows. (See Jim’s pics.) We walked from our comfortable hotel to the Cathedral, a glorious confection of the flamboyant, or High Gothic period. After lunch at the well-known ‘winstub’ Chez Yvonne, we visited the Cathedral and saw its amazing astronomical clock, and its brilliant stained glass rose windows. The district is full of the old, slopping houses, as well as the Ile River and the canals, where ducks and swans frolic. It’s an enjoyable and easy-to-walk city. A bit of rain headed our way, so we rested in the late afternoon at the hotel before heading out to a local restaurant, La Petite Alsace. There we dinned on Flamcuchen (a pastry shell topped with cheese or vegis), a delicious vegetable soup and a sancre, a meaty white fish served on choucout or sauerkraut. The mousse au chocolat and a hearty Medoc complemented this delicious Alsatian meal. –Dan