This was Strausborg day.

It began much as any other day. (Our cruise director has promised that we only have one more day with an 8:30 excursion call.)

We gathered and walked, en mass, about a half mile to where the busses were parked. It seems that another Viking boat was docked in our preferred spot – right next to the busses. So we got a bit of early morning exercise before they bussed us over to the French side of the river.

Our day started with a bus tour of the “international section” of town. Strausborg is one of 3 administrative centers for the EU as well as the seat of the international criminal court and the Bank of International Settlements.

Strausborg is also the home of a whole bunch of storks.

Eventually the bus parked and we all began our walking tour of the old town. It’s an interesting town that has changed hands between France and Germany several times over the past couple of hundred years. Our guide explained how his grandfather had been German, French, German, and French – all without moving.

One result of this is a significant variety of architecture. Also, our guide explained how you can spot the difference between a French building and a German building. Interesting.

The tour carried us through several unique neighborhoods

and eventually wound up at the cathedral

a magnificent structure in itself, however the centerpiece for most tour groups was the astronomical clock – which we watched chime the half hour.

After that he turned us loose, and gave us a choice. Most of the group met up with him at the appointed time to return to the boat for lunch. The more adventurous of us were given the times to meet subsequent shuttles and turned loose to further explore. As I explained to Cheryl, so far we’ve seen the outside of two great museums. It’s time to see the inside of one. So we headed off to find her choice for a cafe for lunch while doing a bit of exploring along the way (Translation: Get lost and keep moving forward until you eventually find where your intended to be).

Then we did a bit more exploring, eventually winding up at the cathedral and the Medieval/Early Renaissance museum across the plaza.

The museum has significant collections of stonework from the cathedral (replaced for preservation) as well as great examples of really early stained glass and other stuff. We spent a very interesting hour and a half there.

Then it was time for Ice Cream.

Following our break we stopped by the Tourist Information office to get the location of the museum with high Renaissance art – only to be told that the museum we were speaking was closed today. So we went back to the cathedral – and spent more time exploring. We saw the clock strike another half hour and ended up sitting in cool piece for a bit (We may have fallen asleep at some point.) before lighting a candle for Dave and venturing outside to meet the 3:15 shuttle back to the boat. Actually we met the guide who led us on a mile walk back to the bus which carried us to within a half-mile of the boat (not that I’m bitter). It as a fill and complete day that required a nap before continuing.

Cheryl pried me out of bed to meet Bill and Madeline in the lounge for a pre-prandial beverage before the nightly port talk – preview of tomorrow’s fun-filled adventures. But before the talk they passed out champagne and we toasted the USA with a rousing chorus of the Star Spangled Banner. (There’s only one couple on the cruise from Canadia. All the rest of us are Yankee Doodle Dandies.)

Then it was time for dinner. In celebration of the 4th (??) dinner tonight was a Bavarian feast complete with Koelsch beer, Spaetsel, and Pigs knuckles. Dessert was, well, plentiful although they didn’t actually cut the cake while we were there (Pic).

Then it was bed for the Buckendorfs and up to the top deck to enjoy passing scenery and the cool of the evening for Cheryl and me. Eventually we came to a lock and I was up in the front taking pictures (I’ll spare you the pics – you kind-of had to be there). When I got back to our chairs Cheryl was asleep so I sent her to bed and settled down to write this update.

Now that I’ve done that I’m for bed too.

Nite all,
R

Two other notes: During our tour today we got “mugged by macaroons” again. This is seeming like less of a matter of ship owner marketing and more like something funded by Viking. Just sayin’.

Also, One of our guides mentioned that school in these parts dismisses for the summer after the first of July. So we’re hitting these sites during “Field Trip Days.”