Slightly German

It was 58 degrees outside when I woke up this morning. Paris in July, huh?

Anyway, I took a day trip out to Strasbourg, which is located in Eastern France near the German border. Deep in Alsatian territory, Strasbourg highlights both French and German influences in its architecture, culture, and food.

Conveniently, it is only a little more than 2 hours away via high speed train. It's pretty cool to be able to traverse through a whole country in about the time it takes some Long Island commuters to get to Manhattan.

Once I got into Strasbourg, I decided to take the tram into the city center. I had no map, so I decided to just wander around a bit. Strasbourg is a very pretty town on the Ill river, known for its quaint houses and idyllic streets.

How could you not wander along this path?

Teeny tiny cute streets

I wasn't really worried about getting lost; the touristy section of town is surrounded by water, and I had a pretty well-defined landmark to go by. There is a huge gothic cathedral in the center of town, rising over 450 feet high. It's easily the tallest building around, and I used it as a beacon as I slowly circled towards it.

Cathedral in distance

Cathedral getting closer

Aaand, here it is

Even though I had done plenty of google searching prior to my trip and thought knew what to expect, seeing the cathedral in person really took my breath away. The Strasbourg Cathedral  is also known as Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg, but that may be confusing given the more popular Notre Dame in Paris. The intricacy of the stonework is amazing, especially given how much of it covers the outside of the building. The cathedral is constructed of sandstone, which gives it a distinctive non-gray hue... it's more tan-pink.

Another view

On the façade of the cathedral. He looks sad!

I can't imagine how much work must have been put into carving all the stone. The work is intricate, and shows so much detail even after hundreds of years (construction started in 1647).

Pillar in the interior of cathedral

The inside of the cathedral also housed an astronomical clock, which I found interesting due to the zodiac/astrological inferences. The artwork surrounding the clock was also unexpected for me; besides the usual Catholic figures, a skeletal death holding a scythe can also be seen.

Computing planetary alignments

After the cathedral, I had managed to snag a map, and decided to head towards the Petite-France neighborhood. As I followed the curve of the river, I started to feel like I was stepping into a fairy tale. Charming half-timber houses all lined up along the water; it was easy to imagine the characters that would live within.

Imagine the pied piper prancing along these streets

Maybe Gepetto's workshop?

I envision a poor maid spinning straw into gold in here

This was very pretty, but I also got the sense that I was in a Disneyland version of what a charming old town would be like. For one day though, I felt like a kid again as I strolled through these picturesque streets. Soon enough, it was time for me to return to Paris. Funny enough, the Strasbourg train station is a super modern building that looks nothing like the old town.

Space age!

And so I return to Paris, ready for 8 full hours of sleep!