Straussbourg

 We had a relaxed morning and went down to have breakfast as were staying at a Holiday Inn express. We didn’t have the typical cinnamon rolls, but it was a delicious European breakfast to get us started. It was a 15 minute walk to reach the old town after crossing over the river. We headed straight to the Cathedral as we could see it’s spire rising above the city like a huge exclammation mark. We were blown away by its massive size and its beauty. It is 466 feet high only most beautiful examples of Gothic architecture in the world. Even before you enter the church, you notice the intricate details on the outside of the many carved figures. As you enter the church you go in a circular path and see many more beautiful features. Scotty noticed people rubbing a little dog carving and so we did also, hoping it meant something good. After researching, it turns out that a preacher from the past would often preach long sermons and his trusty dog that accompanied him would fall asleep. It’s now a custom to rub his nose and it should bring you good luck and fortune. We’re already feeling fortunate on this trip, but one could never have enough good luck. Inside the church is an incredibly long nave flanked by large stained glass windows. Apparently during World War II, Hitler was eyeing these windows and they were taken down and hidden in the salt mines. Another fantastic feature of the cathedral is the large astrological clock. Apparently it goes off at 12 o’clock and mini figures come out, but we did not see this as we were too early. Our path took us outside into the courtyard of the cathedral and from this angle we could see many gargoyles on the outside. I do believe this is the most amazing church/cathedral I have ever seen. We continued on our tour and walked past the Gutenberg building and a statue of Gutenberg who is most famous invention was the printing press and he was also responsible for the Gutenberg Bible. We visited a smaller church, Saint Thomas‘s church which holds the mausoleum of Marshall M. Of Saxony. This monument to me appeared creepy. The subject, Marshall had 1 foot in the tomb as DEF looked on while holding an hourglass and keeping the coffin lid open. There is also a distressed woman looking as if she were reaching out to death. The animals were laying in agony. It felt like a very strange monument to be in a church.The church had  a poor choice of translation, the church description outside said there were A number of monuments of dead people, rather than saying they were many memorials. Monuments of dead people may be accurate as the church was filled with 80 ‘headstones’ outside in the cloister. Within the church there were also memorials to dead people. We walked around a little France and decided should be named really little France. There are several bridge leading over to the area and apparently in the past this is where tradesmen and loud workers were placed and in the poor people. There is also a large bridge ray can walk across the top and there are beautiful views looking into little France and over into the old town. we visited another church which I felt had a much happier appearance. I’d rather sit in this church and look at the monuments and paintings of angels, a serene Mary and a wise Jesus. The last church we visited, the blank but blank was extremely worn down and the frescoes were all peeling. It was sad to see compared to the other churches in the city. Strasbourg is known for its sauerkraut and I decided that’s what I wanted to eat. It was quite funny but at every restaurant we went to with struck out . One was no longer there, one twice after we sat down that they only had desserts, the third also told us they were serving hot dishes, and at the fourth restaurant we had success. We ordered Alsace beers which were like a mild pils. I got a sauerkraut dish with five different meats and Scotty got a chicken schnitzel with fries and a salad. We enjoyed a long leisurely dinner and probably could’ve sat there longer as a waitress did not seem concerned, in the typical European style. We were happy to get back to our hotel room and take off her shoes after walking 8 1/2 miles.