Showing posts with label Strasbourg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Strasbourg. Show all posts
One of the most special days of our entire Viking Rhine River Cruise was our day in Strasbourg. I think that y'all know that in the way I have shared so many posts about this amazing city! (*smiles*) As I mentioned that day we had the option of free time in Strasbourg after our guided tour in the morning which we took advantage of. So our day started with a guided tour where we learned about the history of Strasbourg (which you can read about HERE) as we took a walk through the historic section which you can read about HERE.
As we walked the beautiful French streets we learned all about the inspiring Place Saint Thomas which you can read about HERE! Our tour ended in front of the Strasbourg Cathedral (also known as the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Strasbourg) right before Mass was to start.
We decided to attend Mass and it was honestly one of the most special parts of our day. For those who may be curious- you can attend Mass as a visitor but there is no photography during the actual service. It is in French, but it was truly a beautiful experience that we really loved.
It's hard to pick a "favorite" Cathedral that we saw on this trip as we saw so many different and beautiful ones that were all unique in their own ways. The Strasbourg Cathedral though was one of our favorites and it is simply a beautiful structure architecturally.
At nearly 470 feet (466 exactly) it was at one time the world's tallest building in the years between 1647 and 1874. Even though it is not the tallest building anymore it remains the 6th tallest church in the world and is the highest structure to have been built in the Middle Ages. On a clear day the Cathedral can be seen even from the Black Mountains (which is on the other side of the Rhine).
Goethe described it as a "sublimely towering wide-spreading tree of God" and one of my favorite authors, Victor Hugo (I believe we have well established my fervent love for Les Miserables!) said that it was a "gigantic and delicate marvel".
The intricacy and details of the Cathedral were absolutely exquisite.
I shared this with my instagram community while I was in France, but as we walked down this street and approached the Cathedral the height and the beauty were truly overwhelming. I became speechless though as the bells started to play. (You can hear the video HERE!)
The Cathedral has a long and detailed past that is rich in the way that it came to be and the way it was constructed. But even beyond the early years of construction the Cathedral was a point of interest for those in the last century.
During World War II, the Cathedral was actually considered a symbol for both of sides. Hitler actually visited the Cathedral in June of 1940. At the time he intended to transform the church into a national sanctuary for the German people.
There was also talk by Hitler of turning it into a monument to the Unknown Soldier. Neither things took place.
Almost a year later in March 1941 General Leclerc (a French General) made a promise that he would only rest his weapons when the "beautiful colors fly again on Strasbourg's Cathedral".
During the war the Cathedral was hit by British and American bombs during air raids on Strasbourg. Much of the stained glass from the Cathedral had been taken out and stored in a salt mine but the building was still damaged. What was surprising to learn was that the final repairs to the war damage were only completed recently- in the early 1990s.
As we sat in the pews during Mass we took in all of the beauty surrounding the inside of the Cathedral. The stain glass sections, the tapestries, the arches, etc. were all so deliberately and delicately designed that it was truly a marvel to see.
Have y'all ever been to the Strasbourg Cathedral? If you haven't put this on your bucket list- you will not regret it!
Interested in reading more posts from our Viking River Cruise on the Rhine River? Simply click on the links below!
Happy Saturday y'all! I hope that your weekend is going well! This past week it has been so fun to share about our time in Strasbourg (sharing a brief history of Strasbourg HERE; sharing a walk through the historic section HERE, and sharing about the inspiring Place Saint Thomas HERE!) from our Rhine River Cruise! Strasbourg was one of our favorite places to visit so it is neat to share with all of y'all some from this experience.
As I mentioned in a previous post we spent the entire day in Strasbourg and ended up eating at the Au Vieux Restaurant that is near the Cathedral.
As you can see in this picture above that I took from the doorway of the restaurant the Cathedral is within a very easy and close walking distance.
We chose the restaurant not only for the reviews that we saw but also because we knew that it offered allergy friendly options. To be frank the menu (even though it was in French) was easy to understand as it showed clearly the allergens that were in each meal choice. Unfortunately though the options were extremely limited if you have a combined gluten and dairy allergy. We chose the only option on the menu for this which was the Pork with Potatoes and Sauerkraut. Honestly, the meal (although a bit expensive) was very good and we were thankful to have found something allergen friendly.
A humorous word of warning though for us travelers from the United States...this is more of a local restaurant that is not very friendly to tourists. I say humorous because I think that these situations are things to experience when you travel. It didn't frustrate us because we are easy going, but if you get uptight about running into issues with a restaurant this is not the place for you.
I would also say that if you are looking for an authentic French experience and want to visit here I would suggest knowing some French phrases and understanding before hand that they are not trying to cater to tourists- especially those who don't speak French- at all.
We love to explore non-touristy places so we were excited about this specific place, but unfortunately it didn't work out the best for us. We ran into problems when we decided to split our entree because we were not very hungry. Let me be honest and say that our waiter was not happy at all about this. Technically it is allowed, but it was definitely frowned upon. In fact after we ordered like this our waiter refused to even speak with us - sending over someone else to deliver our meal, never refreshed our drinks, and then ignored our request (for 30 minutes) for the bill. It was definitely sad that this behavior was shown at this cute place. I say that to share that if you are going to visit here then you will definitely want to be prepared for some unfriendly service if you choose to do this!
All in all though we had a fantastic time chatting and enjoying our meal. I can't honestly say that we would go back (we saw so many other adorable street restaurants that we wish we would have tried in hindsight) but the location was perfect for us.
Stay tuned for Monday as I share about the beautiful Strasbourg Cathedral! Happy Saturday friends!
Interested in reading more posts from our Viking River Cruise on the Rhine River? Simply click on the links below!
Happy Tuesday y'all! I hope that your week has started off well! Yesterday it was so fun to share about my walk through historic Strasbourg (you can read about it HERE!) and today I am excited to share with y'all about Place Saint Thomas.
Place Saint Thomas (named after the apostle Thomas who is most known in the Bible for His doubt of the resurrection at one point because he neither saw or felt Jesus) is sometimes known as the cathedral for Protestants in Strasbourg.
The site of the current church was the site of a church dating as far back as the 6th century. In the ninth century history records that Bishop Adelochus established not only a formal church but a school on the property. Sadly in 1007 both of these buildings burned down. Eventually in 1196 construction began on the current structure which was built in the Roman style. Over the centuries work on the church was interrupted several times but finally the building was completed in 1521 in the late Gothic Style.
In 1524 the church, which had been a pillar of the Catholic faith was converted to the Protestant faith. The church maintained this despite the annexation of Alsace to the Catholic France. To this day it is a Protestant church and now holds both a primary and secondary school as well as a seminary on the property.
One of the most interesting stories that our tour guide shared with us was about the original key desk of the 1741 Silbermann organ that is now a free-standing exhibit within the church. The keyboards and the black stop knobs are original while the pedal board and stop knobs are believed to be from the end of the 18th century time period.
What is special about the organ is not just the uniqueness of the history it holds, but about the history of who has played it. As our tour guide explained there were many concerts over the years that had been played in the church. An unknown (at the time) musician would often practice and play for the people who lived in Strasbourg. Unlike others who came to play at the church he was not well known at the time and did not have the name recognition of many who were asked to come and play special concerts.
Despite this he was often asked to fill in because he was quite good and became beloved by the people of Strasbourg. The musician also seemed to enjoy his time in Strasbourg and the people who came to hear him play (at first it was not to many and over time the numbers grew). One historical reference states that "he was okay, no one had heard of him, but he gave a good concert".
His name was Mozart.
To be honest as I stood there and listened to this story I was gently reminded how often we are witness to the beginning of people's stories.
The stories in the middle.
The stories where people are not well known or haven't made the difference that they will in later years.
But it is in those middle seasons of life that there is a unique beauty to witness. There is something amazing about seeing people at the beginning isn't there? We just have to look for it. Imagine how many Mozart's there are in your life. Let's encourage each of them to chase their dreams and change their worlds with their unique and individual gifts.
I hope y'all get to spend some time at Place Saint Thomas - even for just a few minutes. It was truly inspirational.
Interested in reading more posts from our Viking River Cruise on the Rhine River? Simply click on the links below!
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