Sayonara, Strasbourg

I had a busy week in this French-German city, which is appropriately the site of the European Parliament and home to a wealth of museums and cultural attractions

In a nutshell.

What I really like about Strasbourg: Beautiful buildings, representing a broad range of the major architectural styles, most of them in good shape. The central city is very walkable and many of the best attractions are clustered around the cathedral, which you can see from all over the city, so it’s hard to get lost. There are lots of things to see and do here, and it’s usually very good value for your money. There are a wealth of restaurants, from fast food to Michelin-rated, tho I of course can’t tell you anything about the latter. The streets are clean, the canals offer beautiful walks, and the merchants are generally very welcoming.

What I hated: cyclists here go fast and weave in and out of pedestrian traffic. There were a few times where the cyclist, coming from behind, missed me by centimetres. If I had turned for some reason, I’d probably be writing this from a hospital. The relatively few bike lanes that exist here are often not well marked. Students here also seem to have skipped the class in spatial awareness. They will walk (or even bike) four abreast and expect you to step off the sidewalk so they can pass. I won’t list all the micro-aggressions I experienced from young people here, but I found many of them rude and/or oblivious to how they encroach on other people’s space.

Okay, enough of the grouchy old man rant.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the places I visited in my week here.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg: Don’t go here right away. Visiting the cathedral and its side attractions (climbing the bell tower or visiting the Astronomical Clock) will be much more edifying if you instead start with a trip to the Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame. Here you’ll get to learn some history of the cathedral and see some original gothic structures and statues up close. (Most of the current statuary in the cathedral are copies of works destroyed and damaged in the wake of the French Revolution). You can also see copies of original plans for the numerous additions and embellishments of the cathedral through the centuries. The museum houses a modest collection of mediaeval and Renaissance art as well as religious artifacts from those eras.

Statuary with any religious significance at the Cathedral was ordered destroyed following the French Revolution. Some relics were saved and can be seen in the Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame.

Palais Rodin: As I mentioned in an earlier post, the former palace houses three separate museums. The Archeology Museum has exhibits from the palaeolithic to Roman periods, including a model of the massive 20 hectare Roman encampment of Argentoratum, the site of future city of Strasbourg.

The Fine Arts Museum covers five centuries of European painting. Given the environment, it’s not surprising that much of it depicts various biblical events, including God creating a world that apparently included a unicorn. There are also several painting of infant Jesus that make him look morbidly obese. Anyway, certainly there are more impressive collections of fine art in France, but for $10, I won’t quibble. I also like that the works are quite accessible, allowing you to take a close look at the materials and techniques used by the painters.

Giant baby Jesus by Italian artist Lorenzo di Credi.

The unicorn doesn’t seem to have a mate in this 1575 painting by Melchior Bocksbeger. The Irish Rovers song suggests that doesn’t happen until Noah forgets to load a pair of unicorns on the Ark.

And finally, there’s the Decorative Arts Museum, which was actually my favourite. This museum is located in the former Palace Apartments of bishops, princes, kings and emperors and strives to recreate the luxurious accommodations of Louis the XV, Marie Antoinette and Napoleon. The bigwigs didn’t come here often, of course, but they needed nice digs in case they dropped by for a celebration. Apparently, a smaller bedroom they designed at great expense for Napoleon was never slept in. Not by the emperor, at least.

One of the interesting tweaks at the museum are the anachronistic additions that local decorative arts students were allowed to add to the formal displays. A circle of feet in the entrance hall, misfit chairs in the game room, torn negligées in the royal bedroom, cigarettes and a Big Boss mug on the desk in the study. I didn’t see anything unusual in the library room tho, unless you count a small bucket collecting drips from the leaking roof. Somehow I don’t think the students would get an okay for that trick.

1. Feet 2. Creepy chairs 3. Fumer tue 4. Cool library 5. One good tureen deserves another 6. Clockworks 7. Original crowing mechanical cock and the face of the astrological clock

Did you forget that this is a decorative arts museum? I did, until I got to a room full of tureens in the shape of boars, ducks, lettuce, etc., then a room of plates, then silverware. It felt like I had walked into the dining room of a maiden aunt. Even the room full of jewelry failed to perk me up. I was losing interest fast. Then I came across a room that seemed totally out of place, full of rusted metal gears and a giant mechanical cock (not that kind!).

Amazing! Hidden among all the porcelain pomp was the original clock mechanism and face of the Cathedral’s Astronomical Clock that was replaced in 1843. I didn’t realize its significance at the time because I hadn’t yet done the clock tour, but it’s terrific they still have it. I’d have thought it better suited for the Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame, tho. Anyway, the museum continued upstairs with what looked from a distance like a collection of miniature cars and trains and stuff, but the security guard told me it was closed because there wasn’t enough staff that day. Personally, I’d have just reassigned the guard in the tureen room.

What’s next? Yes, the very popular Batorama. There are four itineraries available on these large boats, starting from the 17-minute trip to or from the Cathedral to the European Parliament. I took the longest cruise, the 70-minute trip up the Ill River, through the locks of Little Paris and around the Grand Ile to Neustadt, then to the European Parliament and loop back via the Ill to return to the Batorama pier near the Cathedral (€14.90). A running commentary is available in multiple languages. Is it worth it? With a capacity of up to 131 passengers, it sure is to the tour operators! I found it worth the investment tho. It’s a good way to get familiar with the major points of interest and their locations, though it’s not great for taking photos because of the boat’s plastic canopy and the poor sight lines from down in the canal. In fact, be prepared to be tourist bait yourself as people love to take pictures of the boats as they go through the locks, which takes up a good 15 minutes of the 70-minute trip. It helped me plan the next legs of my sight-seeing tho, so I’d say do it, but do it early in your trip.

Little France, looking toward the everpresent Cathédrale de Notre-Dame de Strasbourg.

The European Parliament and Parc de l’Orangerie are right beside each other in the north-east section of the city, about a 25-minute walk from the city centre. You can take public transit, too, of course. But I recommend the walk so you can appreciate the local architecture … and get in some steps after eating at all those French-German restaurants. You can also drop into the Jardin Botanique of Strasbourg University on your way back, then admire the beautiful neo-renaissance architecture of the imposing Palais universitaire de Strasbourg.

1 European Parliament 2. Council of Europe 3. Parc de l'Orangerie 4. Pavillon Joséphine (in parc) 5. Netherland's EU delegation house 6. Hanging Gourdon (get it?) at the Botanical Garden 7. Palais universitaire de Strasbourg

Oh, and can we squeeze in one last museum? I had stopped at the Musée de la Ville de Strasbourg on my first day, but I only picked up a pamphlet, intending on returning later. After all, it was close to my hostel and I was sure to run out of things to do after a few days, right?

I saved the best for last, but that was quiet unintentional. The museum contains a judiciously selected and engaging collection of artifacts representing, in chronological order, the city’s history from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Audio guides provide detailed information about the displays and several allow for interaction with the objects, such as two helmets from the Roman era that children and adults alike line up to place on their heads, to both appreciate the weight and snap a few selfies. The museum also takes us through the city’s transition from Roman to German to French to German to French to Nazi and back to French again as Strasbourg’s proximity to the French-German border make it a frequent spoil of war over the centuries. I had to rush through the museum (in two hours) since I had waited until mid-afternoon, but I could have easily spent twice that long (and had a chance to try the helmets!) if I’d planned a little better.

1. Simpler empire times 2. Canon to the left of me 3. Strasbourg's bell-makers were world renowned 4. Cutting edge craftsmen 5. A model city 6. The Nazi's didn't trust the loyalty of many Strasbourgeois

That’s it for Strasbourg for now. I arrived in Paris Monday night and am ready to explore this complex and intimidating city that some consider, I am told, the centre of the civilized world.

Thanks for sticking with me on this eye-opening journey. But I think I will try to cut down on churches and museums for a few days, if you don’t mind. I’m thinking, since it is Toussaint Day here, I might concentrate on the dead, instead.