Strasbourg

Before heading to Basel this past weekend, we spent a day & a night in Strasbourg.  It is a beautiful French town located near the German border. 

We walked through the historic city center.

   

There were beautiful flowers everywhere & quite a few park areas.

  

We visited the Strasbourg Cathedral, which was the world’s tallest building until 1874.  It was completed in 1439.

   

The cathedral is known for it’s astronomical clock.  This clock shows the time, the day of the week, month, year, the zodiac symbol & position of planets.  At specific hours of the day, figurines are animated.  We were there at 6pm and had the camera set to record the movements but it ended up being only one of the figures going in and out of a door.  Apparently at midnight or 12:30 (not sure which time) is when all the figurines are put into motion.

In contrast to the historic buildings are the European Parliament & the Council of Europe, which are also located in the city.

  

We had dinner at a brasserie and I had my favorite, tarte flambée or Flammkuchen (in German), which is like pizza.  It is very thin dough rolled into a rectangle and covered with crème fraiche, thinly sliced onions & thin, rectangular pieces of pork (lardons/speck).  It is cooked in a wood-fired oven.  It was a great way to start our Easter weekend.