Strasbourg

Friday morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before heading to the train station to explore Strasbourg.

Odd that we have not bothered to head up there yet, but we were kind of waiting for the end of the trip to get more big cities under our belts. After 6 weeks, that may not have been the best plan.  We are getting tired, very tired.  Home is sounding better by the day.  Lots to do there!

The train is an easy 40 minute ride up and back.  The station is easy walking distance to all of the cool parts of the city and offers a shuttle to the airport a few times an hour.

Scott got his luggage stored in lockers for the few hours till his plane left and we headed into the city center to grab some lunch and see the cathedreal.

It was hot.  Hot and still.  Temps went past 95 in some places(Colmar reported 96) and there was no wind to speak of.  Not the most pleasant day to sight see.  I felt terrible for all the tour groups we saw in town, dutifully following some guide with a flag and a set schedule.  They all looked a bit cooked.

After a crappy lunch in a tourist dive(my fault, should have known) we walked to the cathedral. Strasbourg reminds me a lot of Avignon, a larger and more modern(19th century) city than we are used to here.  It is a quite pretty and lively city with tons of places to stop for a bite to eat or a drink.  All in all I was more impressed by Strasbourg than Colmar.

The cathedral is just stunning.  It is tall, freaking tall!  So tall it is nearly impossible to get it all in one picture.  Started around 1000, it is celebrating the 1000 year celebration of founding.  The interior was crowded with tourists, but still an incredible example of a Gothic cathedral.  I tried to take pics, but it was terribly difficult to get a feel of this place.

About 4 we had to run Scott back to the train station so he could grab the shuttle to the airport.  Kim, Pat, Donna and Ryan went back to look at another neighborhood while Nita and I headed back to Colmar.  My knees were killing me and the heat was starting to take its tole.  Either I need to take a break from hill running for a few days or I'm a wuss.  Hard to tell which.

When everyone got back we whipped up a dinner of mostly leftovers, but hearty enough to take the edge off everyone's hunger and fatigue.  Going to be an icky hot night, no wind and still in the 80s at bedtime.