A you-are-in-France-now sign reminiscent of the "Welcome to Delaware" on the Jersey turnpike greeted us as we drove across the border. I am still amazed that in 2 hours we can be in another country. (However, had we traveled by horse several centuries ago the people would have been defending its status as a free city. It only rejoined France in 1691.)
Everyone recommended the hour tour through the city canals. We admired architecture that reflected the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the 18th century, and the contemporary eras from a glass enclosed boat. While nauseating music played, a narrator spoke of tanneries, city defenses, and Mozart's great concerts. At one bridge we passed, unmarried sexually active women were caged and thrown into the river during the Middle Ages. (I think certain American politicians would vote yes to such measures.) The below covered bridge protected the free city.
In the city center, the people erected a cathedral beginning in the 11th century. Their great great great great grandchildren finished the project 300 years later. The Strasbourg cathedral stands grandly in a cobblestone square and was the tallest edifice in Christendom until the 19th century.
In 1225, an unknown project manger revolutionized the architecture and introduced the local artisans to the splendours of Gothic art.
Next to the cathedral, a 15th century house belonging to rich merchants through the centuries that followed marks the corner.
We walked by Parisian style mansion built in the 1700s for the Cardinal Prince Bishop. Napoleon moved in at the beginning of the 19th century.
Of course, we enjoyed a French "Jambon" sandwich, an almond croissant, and some beignets.
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