Stopover in Strasbourg

On our way home from our adventuresome weekend in Alsace we decided to stop for a while in Strasbourg, which we hadn't visited in several years.  The first place we went after finding a very nice parking space (it was a holiday after all) was the Gothic cathedral begun in the 12th century but not completed until the 15th when it became the tallest building in the world and remained so for several centuries.

The amazing thing about this cathedral is the lavishness of the work done on it.  It's really no wonder that it took centuries to complete when you consider how many figures went into the constuction of just this one portal.

The detail is mind boggling with whole stories carved into the stone.  I'm sure you could spend ages studying the meaning of all these figures and in fact, I'm sure that people have done just that.

Of course the inside of the cathedral is also stunning, especially the stained glass windows.

The real tourist draw however is the
astronomical clock constructed in the 19th century, able to calculate leap years, equinoxes, Easter, the phase of the moon and the position of several planets, among other things.

I also particualarly liked this baptismal font which was carved in stone in layers a little like a Chinese puzzle.  Unfortunately, the photo doesn't really convey the workmanship involved.

We spent the next hour or so wandering around the old town, which is really quite charming, although not very large.

It was getting late and we wanted to have lunch before continuing on home, but since this was a spur of the moment visit I hadn't prepared by choosing a place to eat ahead of time.  We had to go by instinct, or maybe more aptly, sheer chance.  After studying the menu we walked into a restaurant that was less than half full and sat down at a table for six.  There were tables for two but they were the size of small handkerchiefs and even the table for six was a lot smaller than our dining room table.  We waited for a minute and nothing happened.  Frank went to the back to the restroom and a waitress came to the table and told me (in Frence of course) that we couldn't sit there, it was reserved for groups.  I couldn't argue with her so I just nodded and waited for Frank to return.  When he got back I told him what she had said and went back to the restroom myself.  I had to wait for a while and when I returned Frank told me that a waiter had come to the table and told him to leave!  Frank doesn't like to be treated like that and told the waiter he would have to call the police!  However, after being treated like scum we weren't really interested in eating there and gathered up our things and left.  It really put a damper on the whole day and we decided to leave Strasbourg and drive home.  Although actually, to tell you our dirty little secret, we passed a McDonald's on the way back to the car and had lunch there.  The experience certainly left a bad taste in our mouths.  I have no idea what their problem was.  I hope that by the time the Tour de France begins, they will have learned better manners!