Mai Tai Tom Stays On Track Through Belgium, Paris and Strasbourg
Chapter Fifteen: Branching Out In Strasbourg
Day Fifteen: Any Pew In A Storm, Going Back In Time, Flambée Me, Watch Out For That Tree, Bureaucracy Failure, Wine Time, The Day Of The Living Dead, One Saint Peter’s Deserves Another, That Was Fast, It’s A Lock and The Return of The Singing Gondoliers
Since it was pouring rain when we awoke, Tracy and I did something we rarely do on a trip … eat breakfast at the hotel. We met a nice couple from San Diego whose travel adventures put us to shame. I asked if they traveled independently, and she replied, “Yes, we do now, but once we took a Viking cruise.” Not wanting to say anything negative (I am polite on occasion), I asked how they liked it. Her answer was succinct, “We wouldn’t do it again. I never want to be one of the lollipop people.”
The rain had subsided so we stepped out for the day, but as soon as we exited the courtyard, the skies opened again. Luckily, St. Thomas was just down the lane.
We also once again paid our respects to The Thin Man.
After the quick stop to dry out, we headed over to La Maison de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame to meet up with Kim and Mary. I think that tourist train actually was after us.
We were happy we hadn’t picked this morning to see the cathedral. Enough said.
Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame, claims to “have one of the finest collections of medieval and Renaissance art in Europe, exhibits masterpieces of Alsatian art, created during the Romanesque era (early medieval period) through the Middle Ages and until 1681.”
The museum is housed inside a series of Gothic and Renaissance-style houses. We saw fragments from the cloister of Saint-Trophime church in Eschau, constructed between 1150 and 1175.
Artifacts galore were displayed from cathedrals throughout the region. This Virgin & Infant was created for the portal of Saint-Laurent de la Cathédrale.
Of course, there were a number of statues and other artifacts from the Strasbourg Cathedral.
I believe she’s a little mermaid.
This is the original Ecclesia and Synagoga that used to be at the cathedral (now replaced by replicas). The story behind it is long, interesting and disturbing.
Part of the cathedral’s facade was replaced in the early 1900s.
I don’t remember if these are the “Wise Virgins” or the “Foolish Virgins.”
I wondered if these 13th-century lions were on the Mane portal, but instead I found out they resided on the western façade.
This guy had reached the end of the line.
This relief from 1252 depicts the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of his son Isaac.
We kept on traveling out and up.
The Dormition of Virgin Mary fresco fragment dates back to the late-15th century. It was rescued from the ruins of St. Magdalene Church in Strasbourg after a fire in the early 20th century. The museum was given the fresco in 1946 and it was restored in 2017.
Intricate pieces were next, including the one on the right. It seems Nautilus Shells were fashionable as decorative pieces in Victorian homes in the mid 19th century and as part of natural history collections.
The stained glass windows told stories like Adam in the Garden of Paradise, and Christ washing the feet of the disciples.
St. Martin Sharing His Coat came up next.
Nancy Sinatra popped in my head while looking at this piece.
A painting with the lovely title of The Dead Lovers (aka The Rotting Pair) attracted our attention. I’ll let Wikipedia tell you the details: “The Dead Lovers depicts the young couple as putrefying cadavers, infested by snakes, worms, a toad, and insects such as flies and dragonflies. In spite of this, the two ‘living dead’ still appear quite robust, and still display signs of mutual affection, such as the bride’s hand on the bridegroom’s shoulder. The Dead Lovers serves as a reminder of mortality.” It originally had a companion piece called A Bridal Couple, which is on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting hit the mark.
Staircase alert!
This pooch stood on the Strasbourg Cathedral for nearly 700 years (or 4,900 in dog years). It was replaced in the early 20th century.
The Stoning of Saint Stephen is from 1522.
Next we entered La Salle Administrateurs Restaurée (The Administrator’s Room).
Featuring the “finest example of Renaissance interior decor” …
… which, naturally, includes a squirrel and some of his friends.
Tobias Stimmer, who was instrumental for the decorations on the Astrological Clock in the cathedral, was responsible for The Seven Days Chariots in 1571.
This was the design of the clock sculptures.
The tour was nearly complete, and Tracy so wanted to take that corner cupboard.
However, Krieger, Warrior and allegory of the planet Mars, had other ideas.
Speaking of Tracy, she was enamored with this staircase.
A couple more stained glass windows, and Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame was, as it showed us, history.
Autumn leaves greeted us in the garden.
Although we had only finished breakfast a short time ago, I was once again hungry. Kim and Mary continued exploring while Tracy and I meandered a nearby cobblestone street lined with restaurants and shops …
… finally stopping at Au Vieux Strasbourg, a charming little Winstub.
It’s located on Rue du Maroquin, which was once an important artery with processions of visitors going to the Cathedral.
It had a lovely interior …
… and, more importantly flammekueche (tart flambée). If you can light a meal on fire at the table, I will order it. I ordered the Apple Flammekueche, and when they poured the Calvados, they went all Jim Morrison on me.
To quote the Barefoot Contessa, “So good.”
Tracy’s non-flammable onion, bacon and mushroom tart was also terrific. This place was a wonderful find.
We had a little time before meeting back up with Kim and Mary, so we took a spin around town.
Then we walked along the banks of the River Ill, which fortunately none of us had felt during our trip.
You can find street art even near a river.
Like most of this trip, the weather was brisk, which surprised me because usually late September trips tend to be on the warm side. It was, however, a welcome change from the heat we’d experienced in Southern California before we left.
Walking back to the hotel to freshen up, we encountered lots of yellow tape and police officers, which, of course, is never unusual for me (see York). Getting closer, we learned a tree had collapsed on the building across the street from our hotel.
The front desk person told us his neighbor had warned the authorities that the tree was dead and had requested permission to remove it a few weeks previously. Permission was not granted, so the bureaucratic red tape turned into a yellow tape mess.
Mary had booked 3 p.m. wine tasting at Le Comptoir des Vignerons Alsaciens on Place Gutenberg. On the way over, during a slight drizzle, this guy said the rain doesn’t bother him, and just told me to “grin and bear it.”
As the name implies, we would be sampling wines from the Alsace region. Expectations were low as the wines I have tasted in the US from this part of the world have never been stellar.
Well, these aren’t your father’s Alsatian wines. On second thought, if you were from this region, they were. It was a far cry from my days of early adulthood when I thought a $3.99 bottle of Fetzer Gewürztraminer was sophisticated.
Emmanuel, the very knowledgable sommelier, and his selections of Crémant, rieslings, Auxerrois, Klevener and Gewürztraminer wines were crisp, and for the most part, delicious.
We spent a little more than an hour, and, of course, lined the pockets of this establishment, and left quite satisfied.
Walking outside we came upon dozens and dozens of people in a large group following their leaders with the “lollipops.” It must have been quite a day, because, to a person, there was no smiling, no talking and a vacant look in their eyes that I have only seen in zombie movies. We made a vow that if any one of the four us ever suggested taking one of these tours, they would be summarily voted off Travel Island.
Since the day wasn’t quite over, Tracy and I took a late afternoon stroll to nowhere in particular, and wouldn’t you know another church was dead ahead. This time it was the oldest St. Peter’s Church in Strasbourg, Église Saint-Pierre le Vieux.
Since we needed to get back to the hotel and freshen up for dinner …
… we only spent a short time in here.
I don’t know which shop this was on our walk back to the hotel …
… but I knew it would be a Tracy photo op stop.
Upon return to the hotel, from our room we could see the tree had already been removed from the roof, while a crane and crew were removing the debris. Pretty impressive.
We had inquired at the desk earlier in the day for a dinner recommendation, and came away with the name of an Italian restaurant that was a particular favorite. It was a little past seven, and the streets were pleasantly quiet.
Located five minutes from the cathedral, the Villa Casella had a lovely tree-lined patio, but that darn rain would preclude us dining outside on this evening.
The interior had a nice ambiance, and the food was terrific.
We shared a tasty, thin Focaccia bianca alle erbe aromatiche, cut like a pizza.
Kim loved his linguine with clams, while Mary enjoyed fresh bucatini with prawns and burrata.
Tracy opted for the pappardelle with beef cheek ragout, and I thoroughly enjoyed a great risotto dish. All our meals were delectable.
Instead of dessert, we decided to go back in time to Venice 2005, when we first tasted a sgroppino, a frothy combination of lemon sorbet, vodka and Prosecco. Thanks to a little too much wine and the help of an equally inebriated Brit, we dubbed these Singing Gondoliers. (Recipe).
Tomorrow, we’d catch a train to a town that I must now make sincere apologies to. I had visited in 1984 on my first honeymoon, and Tracy and I stopped here very briefly in 2003.
Chapter Sixteen: Give My Apologies To Colmar
Day Sixteen: Third Time’s A Charm, What Was I Thinking?, The Flowers Of Colmar, Collegiate Church, Father Of The Statue Of Liberty, Relaxing Canal Side Dining, Sweet Stalling, Art In The Monastery, Remarkable Retable, Right Down My Allée, Fromage et Salami Dans Le Jardin & Finally A Strasbourg Blue Hour
