Finishing Up Strasbourg and Alsace
We had just a few hours the next day to finish up the important Strasbourg sights before training back to Zurich, overnighting by Kloten Airport and flying home to Chicago. We would have to move fast!
Never stepped foot in any of Strasbourg's museums: The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Palais Rohan (state apartments), Alsatian Museum, Zoological Museum, The Planetarium; and one that really would have been up our alley, Les Secrets du Chocolat Museum. This museum was devoted entirely to cocoa and its transformation into Chocolate. Don't know how we missed that one! There is the historic wine celler of Strasbourg Hospital, founded in 1395, with visits by prior reservations only. They even have a wine dating from 1472!
No time to visit any of the breweries. Heineken, Kronenbourg and Schutzenberger are all in the area and offer guided tours. Beer lover readers...don't miss one of these...
There was time to photograph one more great sign...
...walk by an unusual building that turned out to be an International School...
...admire the back of the Ancienne Douane, a former custom house, rebuilt in 1965. It was originally a warehouse and is now used for temporary exhibitions. The roof was the most unusual part of the Douane...
...and one more pass by the Strasbourg Cathedrale to gawk at all the intricate details...
Even with the map, we never found the Pont du Corbeau. Of interest because it was used as an "execution bridge." People accused of infanticides and parricides were tied up in sacks and plunged into the water until they died. Accused of a lesser crime, you were put into an iron cage and dipped into the waste water in the river. Lovely... In retrospect, we probably did walk by this Pont and never realized it. My fault for forgetting the Green Michelin book at home in Chicago...double duh...
Goodbye to Strasbourg, and on the train to Zurich after this most enjoyable trip. I still rank Riquewihr, Colmar and ??? (you visit and decide) as the must-see medieval towns, followed by Strasbourg (naturally) and little Wissembourg for less tourists but still spectacular sights. But...Thannenkirch, Ribeauville, Kayserberg, Obernai...too many adorable town to eliminate. Oh...what the heck...go see them all...
Le Pelerine did a wonderful job getting us from town-to-town and there was always enough time during each day's hike to visit whatever village our walk took us through.
Drive, train, bicycle or walk through Alsace and either lose weight before you go or bring your loosest clothes for mega-expansion room. You'll enjoy every minute of it. We did...
