It was more comprehensive than I expected it to be and I almost wish that we would have done it earlier because it gave me a better idea of the layout of the city. Then again, I'm glad we were out and walking while the weather was nice.
We had caught a glimpse of one of Lauren's favorite parks from when she visited Strasbourg while studying abroad a few years ago, so after the tour via water we strolled over to the Place de la République, the Republic Sqaure. We passed through an art market along the way which distracted us for a bit.
The majority of the paintings fell into one of three categories: landscape/flowers, nudes, or contemporary. While there were a few that caught our eye and we picked up a few cards from artists like Brigitte Di Scala and Yvette Higelin, there was nothing there that either of us could live without so we continued on.
The Republic Square is interesting not only for being very peaceful and picturesque, it's also the junction between the historic 'old town' and modern 'new town'.
Surrounding the square are the Rhine Palace, National Theater of Strasbourg, and National and University Library of Strasbourg, all built in the late 19th century in German Neo-Renaissance style. The central war memorial depicts a mother, symbolizing the city of Strasbourg, holding two dying men in her lap, one French and one German, as she is finally able to bring them together in peace.
We then headed back in the direction of the cathedral for lunch at Flam's, a restaurant specializing in flammenkuche. Don't be deceived by the name or the appearance. Although this Alsatian delight may look like a simple thin crust pizza, it's oh-so-much better.
The basic ingredients are a creme fraiche base with gruyere cheese, onions, and tiny pieces of ham on top of a surprisingly tasty dough. I tried the "Flam of the Moment" with potatoes, chives, and another type of cheese while Lauren ate the "Cheese Special", fromager. They even thought ahead enough to make each of our flammenkuche half-and-half so that we could both enjoy them at the same time fresh out of the oven. Not only do I recommend trying this if you're in the region, but in my limited experience Flam's makes a mean flammenkuche.
We made one last stop by the cathedral and got a better view of the astronomical clock in the south transept. The current one was built between 1838-1843 and is surprisingly accurate, indicating leap years, equinoxes, solar time, sign of the zodiac, phase of the moon, and position of several planets. It even calculates Easter as defined by the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, who decided that it should fall on "the Sunday that follows the fourteenth day of the moon that falls on March 21 or immediately after."
Legend says that the man who created the clock, Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué, had his eyes gouged out afterwards to prevent him from replicating his work, but the same is said of the man who created the astronomical clock in Prague. If both of those do happen to be true, then I think I'll not pursue innovations in astronomical clock making considering what history says becomes of the greats.
I had to head out to catch my train after that, so with a quick stop at the flat to pick up my bag and an au revoir to Lauren I boarded the train back to Basal, Switzerland where I could then fly back to Vienna. I would like to take this opportunity to point out that contrary to what a person working at the train station along the way to Freiburg told me, the airport was not an hour's bus ride away; it took fifteen minutes to get from the main entrance of the train station to the main entrance of the airport. Oh well, better too early than too late!
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