Day 6 - Strasbourg

  Today was a bit frustrating.  It started out with the laundry.  We had packed light with the expectation of doing laundry and we knew there was a washer and dryer available at the farm.  After two days of miscommunication we were finally able to secure the use of the washer this morning.  Just in time too, the boys were down to their last shirt.  But it wasn’t that simple.  The washer was the owner’s personal washer and it was tiny, really tiny.  We were only able to wash a handful of shirts.  And the dryer took two hours to finish!  Luckily the owner of the apartment was very nice and offered to take our clothes out of the dryer for us.  But we were already grumpy by the time we left for Strasbourg.

  Strasbourg is in France, just across the Rhine from where we are staying.  We had done a lot of preparation for Germany, James can speak enough German to get by, Camille knows a little less and the boys and I can say “Please”, “Thank you” and can order our favorite drinks.  But none of us knew any French.  This caused only mild problems in getting to the city since we had good directions.  Although it is really hard to drive on roads when you have no idea what any of the road signs mean. 

  But we made it into the city to a beautiful section called La Petite France.  There were canals, beautiful old buildings and flowers everywhere.  We found a restaurant right by the water and after a lot of guess work with the menu we ate an excellent lunch.  I am so proud of Will and Jon, they have been trying and loving all kinds of new food.  After lunch we went across a canal to a little playground where the boys were able to play for quite a while. 

Jon, Bethany, Camille & Will in Strasbourg.

La Petite France

Jon waiting for lunch

The boys play on a French playground.

  The kids were happy but the adults were stressed.  Lunch, while good, was very long and we were already late getting into the city.  Added to that and the residual laundry stress, was the fact that we were leaving early in the morning for Grainau and had to get home in time to pack.  The plan was to walk to the Strasbourg Cathedral on the other side of the city but we quickly discovered that it was too far for the boys.  Well that shouldn't be a problem; James and I are used to navigating strange cities, so we would just drive around and park closer to the Cathedral. 

  And that is where it all went wrong.  We thought we were good; we knew where we were, we knew where the cathedral was and we had a map.  However, a combination of one way streets and an inability to read French kept us from our goal and eventually led us deeper into France.  It was a frustrating couple of hours.  Finally we got on the right road.  We were heading home but as we passed Strasbourg we decided it give it one last try.

  This time it was easy.  We approached the city from the South and followed the signs to the Cathedral.  We ended up parking just a half a block away, right by a two story carousel which was perfect for the boys.  It was getting late so the only people on the carousel were Will, Jon and a two year old girl.  The boys rode on the second story with the little girl right under them and Jon kept looking down at her with the cutest smile.  

Jon flirts with a cute girl

Happy boys on a Merry-Go-Round

  The Cathedral was amazing.  We were able to go inside for a few minutes before they closed.  It was beautiful, the high vaulted ceiling, the stained glass, the ornate pipe organ on the wall, all of it was incredible.  The one disappointment was that we couldn’t climb the three hundred steps to the top because it was closed for a private event.

Pipe organ high on the wall

Strasbourg Cathedral

One of the many stained glass windows.

Candles in the Cathedral

  It was getting late, definitely dinner time, so we started to look for a place to eat.  We found a couple of store along the way where Will and Jon successfully lobbied Grandma for toys and chocolates.  Strasbourg is a great city and we all enjoyed wandering the streets.  I just wish we could have had more time!   But I suppose it is good to have a reason to return…

Will's future car.  James is so proud.  :-)

New toy!

  So that was our trip to France.  We had a few hours of frustration but overall we had a wonderful time in a beautiful city.  Now it is time to pack because we leave the Black Forest tomorrow to head to the Alps!  It should be a beautiful drive.

Auf Wiedersehen!