Rhine River Day 3: Strasbourg

After seeing small villages from the past days, my eyes longed for the city. It was rainy and freezing the next day, but the tour went on. From the port, we were transferred for 15 minutes to the starting point of the tour, where we took a boat along the canals of Strasbourg. Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace region in northeastern France. Despite the rain, it seemed to be more lively and offers a lot of variety. Firstly, it has a university and a lot of museums, which we unfortunately did not visit due to lack of time.

The boat we took was warm and comfortable, it has glass windows so you will be able to see the interesting architecture. Our guide went on and on about the history and she made it so interesting, telling stories about each building we passed by.

The glass windows however do not fit with taking photos, it's so hard to take clearer pictures e.g. below photos that look distorted:

The boat trip lasted for almost an hour, then we got off and walked to the Cathedral Notre Dame of Strasbourg (a.k.a. Cathedral of our Lady of Strasbourg). It was the tallest building from from 1647 - 1847, also it as a Gothic church, with very detailed designs. Imagine a church in construction for 400 years! If only it was not raining, I would stand there for a longer time and marvel at its beauty.

Around the cathedral were a streets filled with souvenir shops and fancy restaurants. By the afternoon, we were looking for a place to stop by and eat. We stumbled into a comfortable looking café where we stayed for around an hour, sipping hot chocolate and eating delicious pastries.

Strasbourg being a bigger city, is visited with a lot of tourists so expect the shops especially around the cathedral to be touristy. Try to walk further and you can have good finds such as the cafe above. We went to a supermarket and I ended up buying sealed sausages. I also brought a "printed imitation painting" which is now posted on my wall.

The rain finally stopped that afternoon, and the sun shone again.

Now, where to go next?

Cindy Can Write

I love traveling and being immersed with different cultures. It has cultivated my love for learning and has exposed me to different perspectives. I'm a travel specialist during the day, an industry I have been with for more than five years now. Planning other people's trips has always been a mission. My favorite countries: South Africa and New Zealand.