The six installment of our summer 2023 European adventures.
After I made sure that my daughter C was settled into her dormitory at the Euro Space Center summer camp in Libin, Belgium, I set off on my solo journey; I had a four hour drive ahead of me.
I drove west from Libin back to through Luxembourg once again, my third time that day, skirting the capital and heading south. Then I drove into Germany, my second time that day, though further south than Trier. With little to mark European borders these days, it was the switch from a speed limit marking on my GPS to none, signaling I had arrived on the speed limitless autobahn. Then past passing north of Saarbrucken I turned south and crossed into France. I had no plans for the rest of the day other than arriving at my hotel; only I wanted to do it before dark. But it was northern Europe in midsummer and the sun would set close to 9:30 PM, so I had time.
I love the late nights of summer. I have spent a lot of time in countries and locations within 15 degrees of the equator – Hawaii, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malawi, Guinea – where the length of the day remains fairly constant throughout the year. Behind the wheel I drank in the soft golden glow of the sinking sun of early evening on the green fields and large barrel rolls of hay set at intervals alongside the highway. And then on the rooftops of small villages as I approached my destination on smaller roads.
My destination: Strasbourg, the capital of the historical and cultural Alsatian region of France. I have long wanted to visit Alsace; I am a big fan of history and the political battles over Alsace figure prominently in European history. The back and forth between France and Germany has created a unique blend of the two countries’ influences.
I arrived just in time to check in to my hotel and to watch the tendrils of sunlight disappear over the cathedral. And then the rains started.
On Monday morning, I woke early to grab food and get a head start on my sightseeing but found that it was pouring rain. We had had good weather for just about every day of our trip thus far so it was bound to happen, but I was disappointed nonetheless. Slowly eating breakfast with an eye on the weather paid off as the rain slowed enough to allow for a walk. I grabbed my umbrella and walked the 15 minutes to the city center. Even under grey skies, the old town is stunningly beautiful. The largely late-Middle Ages built, half-timbered homes with their steeply pitched roofs and dormer windows, decorative and decorated facades, and creative old-fashioned business signs standing alongside canals or huddled together tightly on cobblestone streets were delightful. I tried to make the most of walking along the streets, but there were a lot of tourists and it was not easy to manage crowded, narrow medieval streets with umbrellas. And honestly, the architecture begs one to look up, which even the light rain made difficult.
I joined the long line to enter the imposing Strasbourg Cathedral, a masterpiece of gothic art that is also a centerpiece of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Construction began on the cathedral in 1015 and was completed in 1439. From 1647 to 1847, the cathedral held the title of the tallest building in the world. I have been to many of the world’s tallest buildings, but the Strasbourg Cathedral is still one of the most architecturally ingenious in its gothic beauty (and it remains the sixth-tallest church in the world and the tallest surviving structure built entirely during the Middle Ages).
Once inside the church I realized the dim lighting, the more so for the grey skies, and the crowds of people driven to seek sightseeing out of the rain, was not something I wanted to deal with right then. Instead I wandered the quieter streets in the historic area for some time and then sought out a small Italian place where I nursed a delicious bowl of steaming pasta and a cup of tea for a little while. Then with it still drizzling, I headed back to my hotel room to sit by my balcony with a good book.
I, and every other tourist in Strasbourg, could not believe our good luck when that afternoon all of the rain clouds dispersed to be replaced by stunningly azure skies. Not wanting to miss any more time exploring the city, I set off, returning first to the cathedral. This time I opted to head for the side door where I could pay a small entrance fee to climb the 332 steps of a narrow, winding staircase to the viewing platform 216 feet above. The staircases (one for up, one for down) are on the exterior walls of the cathedral with lots of windows given the climber regular views, higher and higher, above the square, until the breathtaking panoramic view across the city at the top. The trip is not for the faint-hearted, especially those with a fear of heights, given the regular reminders of just how far up one is from the ground. I had to make way for one of those individuals, a pale and distressed young woman, clearly desiring to return to ground level as soon as possible, who was descending the up staircase.
Afterwards, I headed to the Petite-France, one of the most picturesque parts of the already picturesque Grande Ile of Strasbourg. Petite-France, once the home of the city’s tanners, millers, and fishermen, where channels and canals, fronted by some of the best of the city’s medieval Alsatian homes, are crossed by charming little bridges. I did not visit any museums; I just walked. By now it was 7 PM, so most places were closed, but with the long day, the early evening sun basked the city in a bright golden glow. I walked through the town sights for as long as I could with good sunlight.
The following day, Tuesday, the morning was again overcast with light rain. I headed out early to the Cathedral once more. At the 8:30 AM opening there was no line and I was one of the first people inside. I took 30 minutes to peacefully explore, making sure to visit the extraordinary mid-19th century astronomical clock that tells the time, solar time, and date and features stationary and moving figures. Then it was time to leave. I made it back to the hotel to pack up though my departure was delayed due to a sudden strong downpour. Things were again looking poor on the weather front, but after 30 minutes, the skies cleared and I headed on to my next destination.
I had just an hour’s drive to the Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg, a medieval castle built on a strategic rocky promontory 2500 feet above the plains. The nearly 1,000-year-old castle is reportedly one of France’s finest examples of a mountain fortress and also one of Alsace’s most visited sites. Unfortunately for me, despite the dodgy weather report, no one seemed put off visiting. Near the top of the mountain, traffic slowed to a crawl as the cars ahead waited for a parking spot. I sat in my car, inching forward each minute, for at least an hour (!) before finally scoring a coveted spot, still a good 10-minute walk downhill from the castle. Inside the line for tickets was also long and it took at least half an hour for me to get mine. Then, just as I entered the castle, it began to rain.
The first part of the visit involves some courtyards and drafty, covered areas open partially to the elements. For the first time during my trip, I felt chilled. It had always been a possibility in northern Europe, even in summer, to be cold. Years ago, when I first traveled to Amsterdam in a late 1990s July, I arrived with just shorts and T-shirts and was forced to buy some pants and a sweatshirt that I ended up wearing for three straight days to be warm. I had packed a pair of sweatpants, a sweater, a rain jacket, and a fleece to prepare for the possibility of cooler weather, especially in Norway, but had unfortunately left all these accoutrements in my car. I ducked into a covered corner for a good 20 minutes to wait out the worst of the rain.
Luckily, after running across an open and wet corridor, the next part of the castle was largely indoors. And by the time the tour spilled out into the open again the rain slowed and then stopped and the sun came out again. It was there to light my way down the mountain and on to the next destination.