Strasbourg, Breisach & Our Last Night on "The Sound of Music"

Hey everyone!  Today I'm covering 2 major stops on our tour and our farewell to newly found friends and "The Sound of Music."  You know the drill by now -- grab some sustenance, this will be long!

Strasbourg, Alsace, France

As you can see, storks are a pretty big thing here in Strasbourg.  The powers that be, have actually created some permanent nest holders.  Storks are faithful creatures. They will return to the same nest for their entire lives. The male stork arrives first, sometime in early spring, to reclaim and repair the home he and his spouse left behind. This comes after a winter migration of up to 15,000 kilometres (approx. 9,000 miles)—sometimes as far away as South Africa!  When the nest is sufficiently comfortable and secure, the female arrives. Then it’s time to mate. Throughout the summer, the newly hatched chicks grow. In early fall the youngsters are autonomous enough to leave the nest, and begin their migration. Their parents head south some time later, and by some miraculous power, know where to find their young offspring. Meanwhile, Alsatians are left once again to gaze up at the big empty nests until spring rolls around again.  There are over 60 of these nests in Strasbourg alone.  Now you know more about storks than you ever didn't want to know.....lol!

Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg

As you can guess from the umbrellas, we were getting some rain, but it didn't stop us.  This cathedral

has many parts that are still in Romanesque architecture, but it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of high, or late, Gothic architecture.  

You cannot help but marvel at the exquisite workmanship.  The cathedral was bombed by the British and Americans during WWII and heavily damaged.  Repairs of the war-time damage were finally completed in the 1990's

Also in this cathedral, you will find Strasbourg's astronomical clock.  It is the third clock on that spot and dates from the time of the first French possession of the city (1681–1870). The first clock had been built in the 14th century, the second in the 16th century.  The current, third clock dates from 1843. Its main features, besides the automation, are a perpetual calendar, planetary dial, a display of the real position of the Sun and the Moon, and solar and lunar eclipses. The main attraction is the procession of the 18 inch high figures of Christ and the Apostles which occurs every day at half past midday while the life-size cock crows thrice.....that's 3 times in Euro-speak!

This beautiful carousel looked to be a permanent fixture in the large square in front of the cathedral.

Oh, did I tell you we were in Strasbourg on their Labor Day?  Funny thing, most businesses were closed.....these people don't actually work on Labor Day!  Imagine that!

Beautiful scenes along the canal.

A lot of cafes were open, so there was still people milling around.....besides us touristas!

Tourists are easy to spot -- they all have their phones or cameras pointed at something!

We picked up this gingerbread cookie from a little shop that only baked and sold gingerbread.  The owner was a smart cookie (sorry) and was passing out samples to anyone who walked through the door......no way were we leaving that shop without some yummy gingerbread!

Breisach, Germany

In case you can't tell, this pic is a postcard.  I could never have gotten such a beautiful shot of this town, because we arrived in Breisach on a very cloudy and gloomy day.  

We docked within walking distance of this charming town, and had a walking tour and then some time to ourselves here.  Breisach has about 16,500 residents.  It was 85% destroyed in WWII but has been almost completely restored.

Another postcard depicts the steep cobblestone-laden climb we made to see 

St. Stephan Cathedral.  For whatever reason, the doors were locked and we could not go inside.

No problem, we were actually more interested in the view from up here, and we got a workout , too!

Do you see the blue and gray awnings down below?  Well, it's a Farmers' Market, and we will be checking that out in just a bit.

On this gray day, these Chestnut trees have a haunting appearance.

We happened to be in Breisach on a Saturday, so we had some fun checking out the

Farmers' Market.  I would love to live where I could just bike or walk to a local market or Farmers' Market for fresh veggies & a fresh baguette.  How about you?  Could you see yourself doing that?

Of course, you mustn't forget to pick up some lovely flowers, and this gentleman had some beauties!

Tonight is our last night on the boat, so there was quite a festive mood throughout the dining room.

The Head Chef and his staff pulled out all the stops on the evening's meal.  This was our appetizer.....some fresh greens & some foie gras.  Of course there was delicious bread on the table.

Here we are with six of our new BFF's!  The couple next to us will continue with us on the remainder of our tour by motor coach.  Sadly, the four lovely ladies on the end will be leaving us in the morning.....sniff, sniff :(

Next up will be motor coach travel through the Black Forest and into Switzerland!

I hope you continue to enjoy these photos and the documentation of our trip. Until next time, make

today a great day and everything will be "VUNDABAR!"