September 16, 2012
Strasbourg
As I write this lying on my bed in a great hotel in Strasbourg we have the windows wide open and are listening to a lovely choir singing in four parts in the street below.
We ate some of the next door neighbough hens’ eggs for breakfast and were away. The border into France was only about 5km away so we were there in no time. There was a fast and perfectly smooth path beside the river from just over the border. One thing has been puzzling me. In the past whenever we have ridden beside either a river or canal they have been lined with serious fishermen but there has been a difference. Since we reached the Rhine at Koblenz we hadn’t seen a single fisherman not one. I have been thinking about this as I pedal along and had come up with the theory that all those terrible Chemical Industries had killed the fish and the Rhine was sterile. We crossed the border then magically all the fishermen appeared so that shot my theory to bits. Perhaps it is to do with the national psyche and that Frenchmen are natural fishermen and more optimistic (in all the cycling I have done along waterways I have only once seen a fish caught). I do know it is a sex linked trait as I have never seen women fishing just men and their young apprentices.
Getting to Strasbourg was relatively easy. We approached it via a canal which led us through the massive buildings of the European Parliament all very modern and impressive. Basically we didn’t have a clue where we were and just kept pedaling , there appeared to be a spire in the distance. After a few inquiries we burst into the square with the cathedral and miraculously saw the Tourist Information and what it is more even though it was Sunday it was open. The lady found us an absolutely perfect hotel right in the heart of the pedestrian area and it is everything we could hope for. We just love Strasbourg, yes it is full of tourists but this is for a very good reason. The old town is surrounded by canals that form a moat with some complicate and interesting defences attributed to Vauban. The area around this is called Petite France and is particularly charming.
On this beautiful late summer evening the restaurants all had their tables on the streets. I had an Alsace Tarte with cream, onions, bacon and mushrooms and Ken a goat’s cheese salad – both were delicious. Tomorrow we think we will go to Colmar where we will spend two nights so that we can have a day with unladden bikes looking at vineyards and if I am lucky going to a Quilting show that they have about this time of the year in one of the little villages.
Today's ride: 90 km (56 miles)
Total: 2,679 km (1,664 miles)
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