April 10, 2018
Day 15: Seltz to Strasbourg
We set off back down toward the Rhine to continue our trek southward. Pretty soon we came to a sign that said Germany 500 meters. This threw us into a brief tizzy as we imagined how easy it would be to make a run for Germany and there to enjoy one last real breakfast. Yikes, maybe one could even find a choco becher. I had realized already in Worms that my plan to eventually get a choco becher was going nowhere, because once out of Germany there is no hope (for a real one).
But no, we responsibly turned south, which would keep us in France. All was not doom and gloom, however. There was that bakery that had been open since 4:15 a.m. We zoomed in there and picked up a chocolate croissant and two chaussons pommes. Life, it seems, can still be good.
While we were standing outside the bakery, an old man pulled up on a bike. Now for us to call anyone old they are starting to have to be really old. The man was riding a quite flashy bike, dark but with lots of orange highlights. We started babbling at him in French. "Nice bike. Oh, Bosch Performance CX, quite a hot rod, etc." The man just stared at us as if we were from Mars. Finally he gave us to understand that he spoke German. Now here our babbling is much more limited. But still I said "Nice bike. Is it made in Germany, then?". No, came the reply, it's from Austria. By some magic we also winkled out of the poor fellow the fact that he actually was from Hungary, and was here with a camper van. We noticed that he had a ball hitch for a trailer on his rear rack and we were able to confirm that indeed he pulled a trailer with the bike. But as to whether this was for grandkids or cargo, whether he had made the trailer as well as the hitch, etc. , was all beyond the linguistic abilities. So we let the poor fellow go buy his baguette and contented ourselves with our usual thoughts about how great it is to come by bike in the morning to buy baguette, and how this bike was helping he man come up from the river to reach the bakery.
The main route to Strasbourg closely follows the river, and if truth be told we could have actually followed the river on the German side. But the signage actually took us on an alternate which cuts somewhat inland, through villages. This turned out to be a benefit because the villages were Alsatian ones, and contained a lot of regionally typical houses. Also, Spring is clearly continuing to come to the area and now we found beds of tulips in bloom, as well as blooming magnolias and other trees. Here is what it looked like:
Although we were still mostly on bike paths we were really threading our way through towns and could not say we developed a rhythm of spinning along in the country side, nor of visiting a lot of super interesting urban sights. We did run in to three small points of interest from the natural world. The first was a large solitary bee house, erected by a town. We were pleased to see that the house was actually occupied and we watched several residents come and go. The second was a swan who was already sitting on a nest. I approached quietly so as not to disturb her but she was not worried. She soon tucked her head into her back and took a nap. Finally there was a giant hunk of an old tree, displayed under a shelter. The nearby sign identified this as a semi fossilized piece of an oak tree that had lived over 2000 years ago, and which had been found near the Rhine. The tree itself had attained an age of 200 years.
Just before Strasbourg we passed through a large natural area and through a long corridor formed by many plane trees. Some were truly huge, and so impressive in their multi coloured bark.
In Strasbourg the main attraction is the huge cathedral, with numerous carvings in the outside and dramatic stained glass visible inside. But before we arrived at the cathedral, in the centre of town, we came to a much smaller but also dramatic thing in the form of a Russian Orthodox church, still under construction. I had never seen anything quite like this, but I realize from looking at others in the internet that this design is fairly normal for Russian churches. I still think it is terribly elegant.
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The Strasbourg cathedral is something we have visited before, but it is always impressive. As long or longer than the Speyer cathedral, it immediately strikes you with the elaborate carving on the outside. As is usually the case in the Roman Catholic world, the church and its various art forms sets out to tell the religion's main stories. So stained glass, carving, and frescoes are often like comic books. One thing about these "books" is that they often seem to portray themes and theology that you might not think were official church doctrine. There are often many sorts of mythical creatures, lots of sinners being pushed around by demons, and often - rather explicit naked people.
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Inside the cathedral, the stained glass is amazing for its quantity.
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The streets around the cathedral also have their special flair. First there is the sheer bulk of the cathedral, which is even better appreciated from the side than from straight on. Then there are the many Alsace style buildings that surround the square, and of course the crowds of people from around the world.
For some reason amid the crowd were some young girls holding a sign that said "Free Hugs". Dodie took them up on it, though she felt she was giving rather than getting a hug.
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From the cathedral we made our way out in the direction of the Wine Route, which begins about 25 km west of the city. We arrived at the Comfort Hotel just a few minutes before a heavy rain came down. We were glad we missed that! At 54 euros the place is economical, though we almost tripped on the bed which is two feet inside the door. It's not the smallest room we have found in France, and it actually works quite well. Best of all, the wifi works properly, easily bringing you this exciting account!
Today's ride: 64 km (40 miles)
Total: 808 km (502 miles)
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