Amazing Times in Strasbourg ... and let's go home!

It's really weird writing this final post, all about friends in France and travels near Strasbourg, while I'm sitting in the Moulamein Tattersall's Pub, in the middle of South West NSW.  I'm travelling in Van Morrison and am on the way to the Mundi Mundi Bash, where I'm going to be a Road Marshall, directing traffic.  A new career move!  But that's in the future ... let's talk about my last week in France.

I really hate selfies!  Wolfgang, me, Ralf and Juergen ... exploring the Black Forest

I stayed for six days in Strasbourg with my lovely friends Ralf and Juergen, with some days also with Wolfgang.  It was great to have such a long time with them since it's five years since I last visited.  I first met Ralf and Juergen in Chitwan NP in Nepal ... I think it was 2012!  So I get off the train in Strasbourg and was immediately enveloped by the love of three beautiful men.  And they did me proud, taking me around the area, feeding me HUGE amounts of delicious food (the Sophia Loren pasta was a standout) and giving me the run of their lovely flat on the outskirts of Strasbourg.  I had a ball!

Ralf feeds these tits each day

My first morning, I tried not to eat too much at breakfast, despite being encouraged to try this and that … just a bit of this onion sausage … oh you need more bread … here’s your favourite cheese.  Actually, it was quite a restrained spread; only about 5 cheeses, 4 meats, 3 ‘marmalades’, one type of bread.  Nothing really.

Then we all went on a roadtrip into Germany to visit a monastery. And so off we went in Ralf’s electric VW.  It’s very comfortable and impressive.  And we drove and drove, through little villages and into the Black Forest.  Towering pines everywhere, flashes of walking tracks and hidden roads, all green and moss and very foreign.  We stopped to look at a view and then back in the car and onward, onward.

Ralf and Wolfgang

Finally we reached the Maulbronn Monastery, a Cistercian monastery first started in 1147.  But before we could go and explore, it was time to refuel with coffee and cake.  Oh my.  The cake!  And then into the monastery.  There were beautiful old wooded buildings surrounding the monastery where the townspeople and abbey workers would have lived and then there was the beautifully preserved monastery.  I’m glad we went there – it was very impressive.  In particular, I was very taken with the church with its Roman pillars and Gothic roof.  And then, behind the altar, were the rows of dark wood, carved benches and alcoves where the monks would have sat.  Beautiful. 

I had lots of plans for the next day - Ralf and Juergen had to work so I was armed with a key to the flat and a bus card.  Strasbourg was my oyster!  But my plans went astray because it has rained most of the day.  So instead of walking a lot, I have cowered under shop awnings, used my umbrella until it broke and basically got quite wet.  But I did catch the bus into the city centre and then found a bakery where I had a flugelhauf (brioche with fruit and nuts) and a coffee.  I walked to the cathedral - I've been there before but it is so beautiful, with glorious stained glass.  I sat in the pews and absorbed the atmosphere and watched people. Every so often, the voice of God would boom out from the gothic ceiling … “Madames et monsieurs …… sssssssshhhhhhhhhh.  Merci”

Ahhh!  Alsace gingerbread ... for the tourists!

The next morning, I headed off to the European parliament, where the EU sits 12 times a year. I eventually (construction works were everywhere) reached the beautiful building and was in awe.  It is totally covered in glass (indicating political transparency) and looks half finished up the top (deliberate … to indicate that this is a dynamic, changing parliament).  Inside is also quite stunning, with clean lines, lots of light and glass and the huge hemispherical main chamber.  They gave me an audio guide in English and I sat in the public gallery for quite a while, going through all the segments.  It was very well done.  All a big sell but by the time I came out, I was sold on the idea of the EU.  Silly Britain!

After a pretzel and coffee, I then headed off to the hospital.  No!  I was feeling fine, but hidden in the Strasbourg Hospital was a wine cave.  OK, I might have walked a few extra kilometres here too … somehow, I kept going in the wrong direction … but eventually I found the old buildings of the hospital.  The Pharmacy was from the 1300s and when I found the wine cellar, it was to discover the oldest wine in the world.  It was from 1472.  Wow!  Now, you might argue that there is older stuff that has been found but the secret is in the word ‘wine’.  This liquid has been tested and it is still officially wine.  It might be a bit acidic but what can you expect after all that time.  The cave was quite beautiful, with rows of enormous barrels lining the cavern.  There was an impressive wine press too, quite enormous, and made out of a 500 year old oak.  So, imagine this enormous old tree, cut down and then stored for (they estimate) 50 years to dry out.  Then it was made into a wine press in 1727.  Wow!  I bought 2 bottles of wine to give to Juergen and Ralf which were delicious!

He he he!

The wine press

The wine was tried a few times:  In 1576 to celebrate a pact with Zurich; in 1718 when the hospital was rebuilt after a fire; 1944 by General Le Clerc after liberating Strasbourg (he didn't like it)

One day, I decided to take a rather long walk in the park, across the road from the flat.  There were bike tracks and bridle paths and lakes and streams and ... very pink, naked people!  When I reached a lovely little lake, I also found quite a few naturists.  I felt very overdressed in my raincoat, walking boots and fleecy top but I didn't look anywhere near as creepy as the man on the other side of the lake with a rather large camera.  A very nice (naked) woman invited me back the next day ... but the weather wasn't looking great!

Ralf took a day off work and took me on a magical day trip.  Our first stop was Colmar ... OMG! How beautiful!  I could live here!  And it's not that expensive!  If I all of a sudden disappear, it's probably not something for missing persons ... instead wait for the announcement I've moved into a gorgeous house in Colmar, with Ralf, Juergen and Wolfgang.

Munster Cheese - the most smelly mouthful of delight in the fromagerie

Colmar is famous for Christmas (the only strike against it) all year round

We also visited Staufen in Germany.  First, Ralf had to show me where he wants to be buried - and I understand his enthusiasm ... it was a beautiful cemetery.  The village is rather lovely BUT ... be warned places that allow fracking!  The village is cracking up!  It was an eye-opener ... as was the only place who knew what a flat white meant.

The sticker, placed over the extensive cracks everywhere, translates as "Staufen must not break"

Ralf's cemetery

We then went to Landhaus, Ettenbuhl, a glorious English garden in Germany.  Roses, espaliered trees, glorious plants, maze, it was a delight!

Wolfgang with the koi

And then it was all over.  A teary farewell to such excellent, generous friends.  I caught a train from Strasbourg to Charles De Gaulle airport, endured one of the worst airport experiences EVER (the story requires alcohol ... come and see me for details) and then I was home.  It was good to be back ... 3 months is a long time to be living out of a pack and moving house virtually every day.  And I've missed Maggie May ... not that she missed me!  But I've had a fantastic time!  And a huge thank you to my travelling companions; Jeromee and Jan, Liz, and Ralf, Juergen and Wolfgang.  It's been lovely to share experiences with you all!

Exploring eastern France by train ...

I'm in Strasbourg!  Being spoilt rotten by the gorgeous duo, Ralf and Juergen (and Wolfgang on Sunday) and having a lot of fun exploring this fantastic city.  In fact, I've done so much that Strasbourg deserves a post all of its own.  So watch this space ...

... but let's catch you up on what happened after Saumur.  My first stop was Dijon.  What a place!  It was a delight ... from the old buildings with exposed beams and colourful tiled roofs to the amazing churches and palaces, the art and culture to the vibrant and youthful party scene.  Markets and high-end dress shops, bars and chocolate creations, food and more glorious food.  Not to mention the mustard!

My Airbnb was virtually next door to the huge covered market, where you could buy virtually anything and everything.

And when the market wasn't on, they opened the doors anyway, for some cool music, plates of charcuterie and cheese, and perhaps a local chardonnay.

Cheese, glorious cheese!

The streets of Dijon were constantly surprising me ... every time I found a new street or alley, there would be magnificent buildings.

I discovered this delightful stone staircase and balcony after crawling through a narrow space between two buildings.

How's this for a beautiful Art Nouveau gem?  Love the parasols!

I went to the Dijon Fine Art Gallery ... and discovered Francois Pompon, a sculptor who made all sorts of animals, moulding their silhouettes into smooth, stylized and polished forms.  When he was 67 he made a huge polar bear (currently in Paris) but the gallery had quite a few of his smaller pieces.

Semper Virens, the face-tree created by Gloria Friedmann

In the museum devoted to the works of Francois Rude, there was this immense plaster cast of his sculpture The Marseillaise which is on the Arc de Triomphe

While I was wandering around the city, I came upon a lovely cathedral where I sat in the cool and calm and listened to the organist practise for a concert.  Yes please, I said, so a couple of days later I put on my glad rags (ha ha - I mean clean t-shirt) and went to the concert.  The organist was a bit hard to understand because (a) he spoke French and (b) he kept forgetting to hold the microphone up to his mouth.  But his music was lovely.  A Bach prelude and fugue.  Some of Saint Saen's Carnival of the Animals.  And quite a few things that I didn't recognise.  It was very entertaining and the 20 or so people in the huge cathedral seemed to enjoy it too. 

One day, I decided to have a day in Beune - a lovely little town near Dijon.  Unfortunately, I chose a very hot day to do so and walking around wasn't really that pleasant.  But I did enjoy the sweaty stroll along the walls of the town, looking down on the beautiful roofs.

After 5 days in Dijon, it was time to leave.  I was quite sad to go since I was feeling quite at home.  The lady in the greengrocers would greet me every morning and start putting apricots in a bag for me.  I'd tried so many cheeses from the fromagerie that Nathalie and I were on first name terms.  And the waiters knew me at the bar opposite.  Home, indeed!  But time to move on and I had the (deluded) idea that it might be cooler near the Alps.  So I went to Grenoble.

The bubbles descending over my little Airbnb

Grenoble would be a great place to go if (a) it wasn't 40 degrees, (b) if you had a car and (c) if your accommodation had hot water.  It was HOT!  And I found out that the public transport didn't really work in summer - it was more designed for the winter ski tourists.  And as for the hot water ... well, I was used to cold showers after Nepal (and it was hot) so it really didn't bother me.  I went up in the bubbles (the cable car) to the Bastille, which was such a frightening experience (the floor was see-through!!!!!) that I walked back down. The views from the Bastille were superb although I couldn't quite see as far as Mont Blanc due to the heat haze.

Surprisingly, Grenoble was full of Irish pubs!  I had counted 5 before I succumbed and bought a Guinness.

Grenoble railway station - this was such a common sight in public areas in France.  

I still had a couple of days before I was due in Strasbourg so I decided to visit Besancon, a sweet little town which had a time museum and some lovely old buildings.

 The time museum was a bit of a dud for me because everything was in French and so I only understand a small part of it.  But ... it had a clock based on Foucault's Pendulum ... very cool!

The Man and the Child ... a cool statue near the railway station

The patron saints of Besancon ... not very lucky evidently.

Flammekueche ... an Alsace delight!  NOT a pizza.

But it was time to go to Strasbourg ...