Back in the middle of March I traveled to Freiburg where my friend Esther is studying and from there we traveled together to Strasbourg, just on the French side of the border. Technically, it is a French city, but over the years as the border shifted, Strasbourg has alternated between French and German control. The city itself therefor presents a lot of German characteristics. And we discovered that if you don't speak French, German is definitely the way to go. Most everyone speaks German as well as French and they are much happier to speak German with you than English!!
Strasbourg:
The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Strasbourg.
Swans in the river!! The river twists and turns all around the city. Everywhere you walk you end up crossing some part of the river.
It is really such a beautiful city, with a very romantic atmosphere. The first day we just walked and walked, enjoying the sunshine (it was really warm) and sitting by the river.
This is the Astronomical clock inside the Cathedral. The clock is 18 meters tall and this is the third clock to stand in the Cathedral. This one dates back to 1843. As well as the official time, the clock also shows 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.
At 12.30 (noon or midnight in clock time) the figures on this clock begin to move, signaling the passing of time. The first are the two angels sitting on either side of the official time clock (toward the bottom of this photo). While one angel rings a bell, the other turns over an hour glass. Then crows the rooster, from his perch at the top left of the clock.
And so begins the procession of figures. On the bottom stands a skeleton, symbolizing death, and passing by him is first a young boy, a grown man, and finally a man in old age. Above this, begins the procession of the Apostles past Christ. As each one passes, the figure of Christ lays a hand on their head.
A bit more from walking around the city.
There's always a story, right? Sooooooo. While Esther and I were walking back to our Hostel in the evening, we had to cross over the river, that is when I saw THIS!! As I started to cross the bridge I heard a rustling of something under the bridge by the water. It was coming from the opposite side of the river and it sounded large. There wasn't much light so it was difficult to make out just what it was, but as we crossed the bridge to where we could stand above the noise.....we saw it, an R.O.U.S. (who knows what that is :) ?) or The Unusually Large French Water Rat as I also like to refer to it. It was EASILY the size of a small-ish dog, a corgi is a perfect comparison actually, and it had the tail of a rodent!! AND, as Esther dropped something (no animals were harmed or attempted to harm in this process) to make it move.....it jumped in the water and propelled itself across the river to the other side!!!!! Oh man!!
Takin' a boat ride, and we've got audio guides!!
The view from the top of the cathedral tower. Taken of course by Esther while I stood in the center of the observation deck and pretended that I didn't care about how high up we were.
(Back in) Stuttgart:
Die Veitskapelle or chapel of St.Vitus in Stuttgart-Muhlhausen, is a construction of the Gothic period. It was completed in 1385!! This is a very charming tiny little thing of a chapel full of paintings and carvings etc.
Spring is here!!
Lara and I on a particularly warm day, walking to Pinguin Eis for, well, Eis!! That is, ice-cream. Specifically, Spaghetti ice-cream. Yep, Spaghetti ice-cream. Whipped cream on the bottom, vanilla ice-cream in the shape of Spaghetti noodles on top of that and to top it all off, strawberry syrup. mmmmm.
Isn't that a cute little house?! We passed it on our way home and I had to take a quick pic. Looks like a tiny little witch house.
On another one of our extremely warm days, Sabine and Lili and I made the short drive to Esslingen. This is one of a few very old cities here in Suddeutchland which were not bombed in the war. I was here in Esslingen during the Christmas time for their unique Medieval style Christmas market, meant to fit with the architectural style of the city.
Esslingen:
She was so happy to eat that ice-cream!! :)
:) K.
