Scenic Strasbourg

On Wednesday (18 July), Cindy and I rode the high-speed French train (TGV) from Karlsruhe to Strasbourg, which took about 40". We spent 24 magical hours in one of the most scenic cities I have ever been in. Strasbourg has a long (600,000 years) and rich history, and the culture has been influenced by the Celts, Romans, French, and Germans. The Grand Ile (Island) is the historic center of the town and is surrounded by the River Ill. On Thursday morning, Cindy and I walked around the perimeter of the Grand Ile, which took several hours but was well worth it. Late that afternoon, we took the TGV back. It was retard, of course (French word for late; German trains are much more punctual). We shared our car with 15 or so very chatty Swiss 'tweens, who were apparently on a European exchange trip). 

The Strasbourg train station. This glass front covers the original train station, which is quite old. 

The Strasbourg Cathedral is magnificent, as you can see from these three pictures.  Construction began on this church in  the 12th century, and it was completed in 1439. 

In addition to its lovely Gothic architecture, the cathedral is also known for its astronomical clock. A clock of this kind has been in the cathedral since 1352. This version is the third iteration, which took five years and 30 workers to build. At 12:30 each day, 18" high statues of Jesus and the apostles move around the top of the clock.

After admiring the cathedral, we took an hour-long tour of the city center via the the River Ill, on a boat similar to this one

La Petite France (Little France) is reknown for its half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, quaint shops, and fabulous restaurants and bars. 

Some of the houses we saw from the boat. 

More lovely medieval houses. This area was originally used for slaughterhouses and tanners. 

One of the 21 bridges across the River Ill, the Pont Couverts. 

The Palais Rohan was built between 1731 and 1742.  Louis XV, Marie Antoinette, and Napoleon Bonaparte are among its most famous guests. 

Strasbourg is home to the European Parliament, which governs the EU.  Here are some of the offices, which were very modern and very impressive. 

One of the many trams we saw; much quieter and more modern than the trams in Karlsruhe. 

We ate dinner at L'Ami Schutz, seen here across the River Ill.  What a spectacular setting, with food to match.

Cindy trying her first Kir Royale, which is champagne and creme de cassis. Next: foie gras, which was fabulous! She also had braised rabbit leg (sorry, thumper), while I had sea bass, all washed down with some lovely white wine. Expensive, but worth every euro. (Brought back memories of Louise and I hiking through the vineyards of France several years ago, where each meal began with Kir Royale and foie gras.) I could live in France!

Walking home after dinner along the river. 

We had an after dinner drink on the plaza in front of the cathedral and watched a 15" light show which illuminated the exterior and parts of the interior of the church. A lovely way to end a great day.

After a nice breakfast buffet at our hotel, the Maison Rouge, we set out for our walk around the perimeter of the Grand Isle. This is the maison des tanneurs in the Petite France. 

I love this picture of us next to the maison des tanneurs. 

An art gallery where I bought a beautiful print of the cathedral. 

Another of the magnificent churches in the city. 

The Place Gutenberg, with a statue to commemorate the 10 years he lived in Strasbourg while he was  inventing the printing press.

We had lunch here under this 250 year old tree. 

Cindy trying her first tarte flambee. 

After lunch, we continue our stroll along the banks of the river. 

We take a break from our walk, before heading back to the train station. 

This trip to Strasbourg with Cindy was one of the highlights of my time here. I am only sorry that I was not able to share these experiences with Samantha. Sam, know that we said many times how much we wished you were with us. Cindy, know how much this time alone with you meant to me. I am so blessed to have such remarkable daughters. I look forward to many more adventures together. Love you!

Status Update

It's been a while since I've blogged, because we've done so much traveling in these last two weeks I have not had time to cull the photographs and upload my travel commentaries. Here's what's been going on.

Cindy came to visit us from 17-24 July. She and I spent a day in Strasbourg (what a treat), then we all took a day trip to Wissembourg in France, then a day in Mainz, and a day in Karlsruhe. Then, she and I spent a day in Frankfurt prior to her flight home on Tuesday.  We had a wonderful time together and were sorry to see her leave.

On Wednesday, I cleaned out my office at school, turned in my office key, and closed the bank account. I felt really sad as I left my office, because teaching here has been such a wonderful experience.

We spent Thursday and Friday in Koblenz, had a going away party Friday night at our favorite local pub, the Bray Head, and are now cleaning out the apartment and packing the suitcases.

Tomorrow (Sunday, 29 July), we head to Frankfurt in the afternoon and then fly home on Monday. Oh, my. It's hard to believe that our stay here is almost over. It has been such an adventure and leaving is more difficult than we thought, as we have met some really wonderful people and made some good friends.

Will blog about all this as soon as I can.

See y'all soon!

Tubingen, an historic university town

On Saturday, we drove to Tubingen, about 30" south of Stuttgart, to visit with my colleague, Wolfgang Ziegler, and his wife, Constance. Tubingen is home to one of Europe's oldest universities, founded in 1477, and has 22,000 students (out of a total population of 86,000). Most of the buildings from the 1700s are intact, as this is one of the few towns that was not destroyed in WW2. 

Here are some of the lovely old houses along the Neckar River, which flows through town. 

One of the many university buildings.

More university property.

One of the lovely old streets in town, flanked by fraternity houses..

These are the original cobblestoned streets.

The town has lots of these narrow stairs which lead to different parts of the university. 

Walking through town on our way to lunch.

Wolfgang and Constance took us a restaurant that specializes in maultaschen, which looks like ravioli. Legend has it that the monks created the maultaschen to conceal meat in these pasta pockets during Lent, when eating meat was forbidden. We had maultaschen stuffed with spinach and lamb, and covered in a delicious cheese sauce with tiny local mushrooms. Delicious!

After lunch, we hiked up to the Schloss Hohentubingen. Here is the  entrance to the grounds of the schloss, which now belong to the university. 

The schloss has been renovated and now houses the Department of Antiquities.

View from the grounds of the schloss.

One of the original towers, build to protect the schloss. 

A lovely half-timbered house in town. 

Marktplatz, with original 17th century buildings.

Woflgang, Constance, and I, in front of the Rathouse (town hall).

We took a lovely boat trip along the Neckar River in a stocherkahne, which is like a long, narrow punt. 

Here is one the punts being poled down the the river. What a fun way to travel.

More lovely houses along the Neckar, as seen from out boat. 

The Sundquists' Saga

This blog is devoted to the activities we participated in with our friend, John Sundquist, and his son, Will. John and Will spent the week with us, so we took them to some of our favorite places in Karlsruhe. We then headed to Frankfurt for a few days. I think a good time was had by all. 

On Monday, 2 July, we ended up at our favorite Irish pub, the Bray Head. Here are the boys having an after-dinner drink with the owner, Ferghal Coogan. 

On Tuesday, we spent the day touring Karlsruhe. We had dinner at the Pizzahaus, where we are regular customers because we love their thin crust pizza which is cooked in a wood-fired oven. Here we are with our favorite waiter, who speaks a hysterical mixture of Italian, German, and English. We will miss this place. 

We spent Wednesday (July 4) at the Mercedes Benz museum in Stuttgart.  Still as amazing this time as it was the first time we visited it (see March 22 blog for more pictures of the museum). 

John was kind enough to stop by the Army base in Heidelberg (where he was stationed in the 60s) and picked up several T-bone steaks on his way to Karlsruhe on Sunday. Art and Will tried to cook them on the German version of a disposable BBQ grill in the parking lot outside our apartment. What a perfect way to celebrate July 4th! 

Thursday we headed for Frankfurt, to visit Will's buddy, Sebastian. In addition to being a flight attendant for Lufthansa, he raises bees and produces honey here on this organic farming cooperative just outside Bad Vilbel, where he lives. This is part of the farm, which is run by five families. Over 100 people work here, raising pork, chickens, and cows; baking their own bread and pastries from the grain they grow; making their own cheeses; growing fruits and vegetables; and operating a grocery store where you can buy all their organic food. 

John and Art inspecting one of the vegetable beds. 

We then headed into downtown Frankfurt, where we  stopped by one of the largest indoor shopping malls (MyZeil) to admire this architectural marvel. Almost as amazing: the line of people waiting to get into Hollister's!

Here is another picture of the tubular steel and glass structure from the inside, top floor, of the mall. 

Here is what it looks like from the outside. 

Admiring architecture is hard work, so we stopped at a lovely outdoor cafe for some refreshments.  Sebastian is in the checked shirt, leaning forward, and his good friend, Christian, is behind him. 

Feeling refreshed, we headed over to Die Kleinmarkthalle, a large indoor area full of fruit, vegetable, cheese, meats, and flower vendors. 

Die Kleinmarkthalle is the largest public market in Frankfurt and contains an impressive array of  fresh food. Here is one of the fruit stalls. 

We tasted some kind of wurst from one the vendors. It has a special name, which I cannot recall. (sorry, Sebastian!)  Served hot with mustard and brown bread. Delicious!

Cheese, anyone? I sure will miss the variety of cheeses!

I'm not a fan of olives, but this stall had lots of other delicacies as well. I have become especially partial to small, hot red peppers stuffed with cheese and marinated in olive oil. 

Frankfurt am Main (pronounced mine) has been in existence since the 1st century, when it was settled by the Romans. It has a rich history, has survived many wars, has been Germany's financial center for centuries, and is now the largest financial center in Europe. It was heavily damaged during WWII, so these buildings here, surrounding the marktplatz, were completely rebuilt. 

We stop for some more culture in the marktplatz. This site is the finish line for an Iron Man race that was going to be held on Sunday, hence the bleachers under construction in the background.

The Main River bisects Frankfurt; here is one of the lovely churches along its banks. 

Thursday night, we enjoyed a wonderful meal of traditional German food at Sebastian's favorite restaurant somewhere on the outskirts of Frankfurt. The menu has remained the same for 45 years. We started our meal with handkase mit musik, a small, circular patty of cheese, formed by hand, and topped with vinegar, oil and chopped onions. The "musik" is a result of the chopped onions, which are supposed to stimulate the eater to pass gas. Good thing we all ate the handkase!

John enjoying his pork shank, brown bread, and sauerkraut. 

The apfelwein (apple cider or wine) is made here in the restaurant and stored in large barrels in the cellar. It is brought to the table in large, cold, stoneware jugs (seen here), and is served with sparkling mineral water. Slightly sour, but very tasty. I am eating Rippchen, a large (!) cured pork cutlet served with sauerkraut. The leftovers went home with Sebastian's mother, Liza, for her hunde (dog). 

To complete the meal, we had mispeln, which is similar to an apricot, and served in Calvados, a kind of French liquor. 

Prosit to Will, Liza, Sebastian, and Art!

Friday we headed out for the Rheingau, one of the major wine regions of Germany. Our first stop was Rudesheim, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on the banks of the Rhine River. This is a popular tourist attraction, and it's easy to see why. The town has narrow cobblestone streets full of interesting architecture, shops, and wine stores, restaurants. 

One of the more interesting structures in Rudesheim, which was first settled by the Celts, who were displaced by the Romans, then the Franks. 

We took a small gondola to the top of the Niederlwald, a 20" trip complete with a glass of  champagne. Liza and I enjoyed both the view and the champagne on the way up. 

The patriotic statue, Germania, is located at the summit of the Niederwald.

From the summit, we had a lovely view of the Rhine River, the cruise ships and the vineyards.  

This region has been growing grapes for over 1000 years.  As far as we could see, then banks along the Rhine were covered with rows of grape vines, mainly reisling. 

Sampling a local vintage at the top of the Niederwald. 

Our next stop was Kloster Eberbach, a Cistercian monastery founded in 1136.  

The monastery consists of many buildings, including the cloisters, shown here. 

The church, a Romanesque basilica, is now used for concerts associated with the Rheingau Musik Fest. We were fortunate enough to listen to the chamber orchestra and singers practicing for a concert later that day. The acoustics in the church were just astounding. 

Here is the dormitory, where parts of Umberto Eco's movie "The Name of the Rose", starring Sean Connery, were filmed. 

The monks were well known for producing wine and the monastery had the largest vineyard in the medieval Europe. 

These grape presses are still functional today.

The monastery still has a large wine cellar and the vineyards are still actively producing reisling grapes. 

After a wonderful day in the Rheingau, we relax on the terrace of Liza's flat, and partake in a delicious assortment of cheese, pate, smoked meat, and fruit. Many thanks to Sebastian and Christian for being the chauffeurs today and to Liza and Sebastian for their hospitality. John and Will: hope you enjoyed your visit as much as we enjoyed spending time with you. See you soon. Tschuss!