Matt and Lisa's Adventures

16 January 2024

The tour was very good and effective at taking us through the major sites and key history. 

• Mozart played in Strasbourg and we saw the house and church where he performed. He was interested in a permanent position in the city but someone else had already filled it (I bet they could dine out forever on beating Mozart) so he went back to Vienna
• Went outside the tallest cathedral in the world for several hundred years. There were meant to be two identical spires but they ran out of money so the second spire was never built. 
• The cathedral is built in a gothic style with the goal of everything pointing up towards the glory of god
• Eric took us through what some of the statues were meant to represent including the last judgement showing the devil dressed as a prince tempting people to the dark side 
• The cathedral had a clock (and a sun dial for using when the clock was broken). Inside there were also astronomical clocks and a computer made of gears for doing date calculations. This enabled the church to say they were embracing progress and technology
• There is a statue of Gutenberg. He spent a lot of time in Strasbourg and his work there contributed to his development of the printing press. The statue was cool as it had four pictures below it showing the effect the printing press had across four different continents – Europe the spread of knowledge and literacy, Asia the ability to share knowledge across the world, Africa the contribution on the abolishment of slavery (which was controversial at the time the statue was created) and America to assist in the spread and implementation of democracy
• Went through petite France which had traditional French restaurants. Would have been great to have tried some food if we had more time in the city. This area used to be the tanners area and it had the river flowing through it. In the past the river was used to drive water mills for the industry. It was also a major trading port and locks had been created to assist the boats moving along the river. Today the only boats using the locks are tourist boats
• The medieval city was built on an island with the river flowing around the island. The city had walls to protected it and along with the river it was very effective at security. We could also see cannon holes which would point downstream on the river so assaulting the city would have been very difficult
• Saw Palestinian protestors setting up. It was a small group but they were eagerly chanting away. There were two vans of police officers watching but only one officer said outside, all the rest were inside trying to stay warm. 

After the tour it was quite cold so we had a hot chocolate at a weird hippie cafe. Thankfully the cafe was warm and the hot chocolate was delicious. 

We then went to the museum of Strasbourg. It was a bit weird as the museum closed from 1pm to 2pm, so our visit was in two parts. During the closure we had lunch at a restaurant. There was no one to show us to a a table when we arrived so we did it ourselves. Service was very slow which frustrated Lisa who wanted to walk out. We had flambe which is a local dish like a pizza with a thin base. I had onions, bacon and cheese on mine and it was delicious. 

The museum was fantastic.

• The city was original a Roman military camp as it had good views of the area
• As the city grew it developed city walls which were expanded many times during the city’s growth
• It was a free imperial city as part of the Holy Roman Empire. This gave the city a lot of freedom and it wasn’t controlled by a king or prince. They had a very limited form of democracy, only the very rich could participate and in reality it was the same powerful families who had control
• The city moved between German and French control several times which made it a unique city sitting between two countries and cultures taking the best from both but never really being fully part of either. The city moved from French to German control in the 1870’s after the Franco Prussian war. 
• France were pissed at losing the regions and this anger was a key reason behind World War One. At the end of World War One it was transferred back to French control. 
• The Germans captured the city during World War Two. Many Alsatians were forcefully conscripted into the German army and fought against the Allies. There was a very good section with videos telling the stories of local people during the war – those who were conscripted, those who complied with the Germans and those who resisted. 
• At the end of the war the area was returned to France. The French banned the teaching and use of German and had reeducation campaigns to teach people to be more French. This was difficult as the area had ties to both countries and speaking the local language (which is a German variant) didn’t mean that people sympathised with the Nazis or Germany
• Post war Strasbourg had been important as the seat of parliament for the European Union and had other European Union organisations in the city

We then walked through the cathedral which was massive and very spectacular. Although, at this point we well and truly had cathedral fatigue. On our way back to the hotel we came across a Uniqlo which was a very welcome surprise for Lisa, except she didn’t need to buy anything! Not that anything more would have fit in her suitcase!

Then it was onto the train to Frankfurt. Nice, smooth ride and easy connection. Dinner was at a BBQ restaurant where we had pulled beef and pork ribs – a great choice! 

Overall Strasbourg thoughts:

• Very beautiful city with the old town being nice and compact. 
• The weather was warmer than Munich but still cold. The little bit warmer and a bit of blue sky made the town feel a lot more appealing
• Lots of interesting food places and we would have loved to have eaten at a few. French food is definitely closer to what we like
• The history and culture is fascinating with the different influences of the Romans, Goths, Germans and French
• We probably could have spent a couple more days in Strasbourg and were sad to be leaving so soon

17 January 2024

When we woke up there were emergency alerts on our phone about impending bad weather in Frankfurt. The airport website said there was the possibility of cancellation for flights but our flight was still scheduled so we headed to the airport. It was confusing as hell trying to buy an appropriate train ticket but I tried my best. Then, curse our luck, they have ticket inspectors on board the train. I am preparing my arguments but the lady just accepts the tickets – I must have got it right! The guy across from us didn’t appear to have a ticket and so he accepts a fine. Considering how infrequently we have seen ticket inspectors on regional/suburban trains it may well be a valid strategy to just accept the fines when they come – assuming of course that the fines don’t escalate substantially…

The airport in Frankfurt is very quiet due to all the cancellations. We board on time and everything is looking positive. But then we just sit there. Eventually the pilot said the plane needs to be de iced but we have to wait. Half an hour later he says conditions are so bad they have stopped doing de icing. Things are not looking good as we sit there for another couple of hours. Eventually we get an update that they have resumed but now we need to wait our turn. Eventually we take off four hours late. Very frustrating but at least we are off! The de icing was interesting as they sprayed the entire plane twice with two sorts of gel – one to remove existing ice and another to prevent ice formation. I’m nervous as we take off but everything holds together and we are away. 

The flight is fine but I get almost no sleep so that is very tough…