Strasbourg,France - Thur. - Sept.23

We have been blessed with gorgeous weather on this trip, and it continued today !   We arrived and docked

opposite Strasbourg in Kehl, Germany around 7:30am.

We needed to eat breakfast early so that we could be ready for our Italy-covid-test at 8:30.

Arriving at our dock early in the morning :

The tour groups gathered near their bus for the trip into Strasbourg.  Here's a picture of our coach :

We first toured the perimeter of the town to see the new, important parts.   Strasbourg has become one of the four main capitals of the European Union.   It is the seat of the European Parliament and several other important European institutions.   It's also the 2nd largest river port on the Rhine and in France.

Historically, it was started by the Romans in 12BC. 

It has had a crazy history of changing hands many times due to wars.   In one 75-year span it changed hands/nationalities FOUR times!   Needless to say that Strasbourg and the Alsace area has and will be an important part of Europe.

We started our tour in 'Petite France', an area known for cobblestone streets, canals, and well-preserved half-timbered homes built in the 1500's.   Enjoy some pic's :

Fishermen, millers, and tanners once lived and worked in this part of town.

There was also a gatehouse .. I love these structures!

We meandered through small cobblestoned streets on the way to the .. CATHEDRAL.   More pics :

a neat shop :

We learned that storks have been a part of the Alsace area and Strasbourg for centuries.   We were pointed out the huge nests in the parks.  These nests weigh over 500 lbs!  The birds migrate to Africa in the winter.

The souvenir shops are well stocked with this symbol of happiness, and faithfulness that bring fertility and good luck.  They appear in various legends and folk tales from the region.

We came across this old carousel next to the Gutenberg statue on the way to the .. CATHEDRAL, and then .. there it was :

Wow!   'Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg'.

One of the finest examples of Rayonnant Gothic architecture, very fine intricate details!

Broke ground in 1015, completed in 1439 !!

Spires are 466 ft. high ..  enjoy some pics :

Hundreds and hundreds of grade school and high school students were on field trips visiting this magnificent church .. we opted to visit the outside areas in lieu of waiting for a long time to enter .. we were on a tight schedule to get back to the ship .. we would've loved to have seen the stained glass windows!

'borrowed' these inside images :

here's a few pics from different perspectives :

we enjoyed some gelato :

We both loved walking down the side streets and finding interesting business signs :

We made it back to the ship for a late lunch and before the captain 'set sail' for Basel, Switzerland.

The Rhine has some interesting engineering styles on their bridges :

We had a challenging afternoon and evening cruise to be able to get to Basel by morning.   It was interesting while still daylight to watch us go through some locks.

While the captain had his bridge/control room lowered I took another picture of his rubber duckies' collection :

Here we are leaving this lock .. notice a barge waiting his/her turn to go downriver? :

The captain had five major locks to navigate through.

They would lift us 216 feet total from Strasbourg to Basel.  

Friday will be another fun day.   We're touring Basel in the morning then taking a bus to Lucern to do a walking tour through the heart of the old town.