Good Evening. We had another very fun, enjoyable and relaxing weekend…I hope you all did too:)!
On Saturday, we woke up early and ventured off to Strasbourg, France. It took us only one hour to be in another beautiful country.
The first thing we saw was the Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg. We were awed by the Cathedral’s size and architecture; historically it was the tallest church in the world until 1874 and now is the 6th tallest church in the world. Inside is the astronomical clock dating back to 1834. Everyday at 12:30pm, it performs a moving entertainment of chimes and blessings. What we did not know was that we needed to purchase a ticket by 11:00AM, because at Noon the doors close. There is a hour in which you can purchase a ticket and enter the Cathedral, otherwise, the Cathedral is too packed at 12:30PM for the famous movements (lasting 3 minutes) to be viewed. On Sundays, people can watch the clock’s movements for free, after Mass, but we were told that the crowds are huge and it is difficult to see the clock. So, this is something we definitely want to go back to see.
After viewing the Cathedral, we strolled the small, brick-paved streets. While walking the streets, it really felt like we were in a movie. There was a variety of music being played by musicians, beautiful restaurants with everyone eating outdoors, and lovely boutiques. Matt and Elle enjoyed some geleto together; Elle let me have some of hers and it tasted like fresh strawberries- delicious.
After walking the streets, we enjoyed a picnic and purchased our tickets for the city boat tour. The river created a sort of island city and the bridges to the ‘mainland’ were just as colorful. The boat was not covered, so we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather (though Britta got a little burned on her scalp). While cruising around, Matt used headphones to listen to a guided tour in English; the commentary was provided in 8 languages. During the boat tour, Britta fell asleep. So needless to say, after the boat tour we walked back to our car. We had hoped to walk around the Petite-France (“Little France”) area, but can also do this when we come back to this beautiful city.
*When we arrived to the city, we did not really know where to park, so when we knew we were close to the Cathedral we found a parking spot and took it. Let us just say...we got in our exercise for the day…especially when walking back, Matt was carrying Britta (sleeping), I was carrying Elle and both Matt and I were wearing backpacks!
*We also learned that Elle’s flip flops do not work out when we are walking around on brick, uneven roads; her sneakers will be worn at all times (or at least 75% of the time).
*We learned that even on these quick day-trips, we may stay in a hotel on Saturday evenings. By the time we get packed up on Saturday mornings, we do not arrive to the location until around noon, so then we eat lunch and around 3PM the girls must take their naps. Thus, 3 hours is not a lot of time to really take in the sights of a new city. Instead, the girls could nap at the hotel and we could venture out again in the evenings. Then, when we wake up on Sunday, we could look at the things we did not get to on Saturday and then drive back home when they nap.
*We must buy some neck supports for when they sleep in the car & an umbrella stroller for Elle.
But, some items we learned from our last outing, to Heidelberg that worked well…
*Britta did not mind riding some in her backpack!!
*Packing a picnic, for the Saturday noon meal works great!
I think our next outing is going to be to Zurich, Switzerland. I read that the city is breath-taking AND, most importantly, they have a zoo with over 2,000 animals being exhibited! They recommend being there by 10AM to watch the animals get their daily baths. I know the girls would love this; we would do the zoo on Sunday before we left!
Matt and I were laughing this evening while reminiscing about how the first thing Elle said, while standing outside the Cathedral was, “Mom, look at all the puppies!!” Elle also thought the Cathedral was another Castle. I am pretty sure that soon, she is going to think that our sight-seeing consists of seeing animals, eating gelato and touring a variety of different Castles-LOL But truly, the main thing is that we are seeing these amazing parts of the world as a family…and having fun doing it!
Today, we attended our first international church service. The church was filled with people from all over the world. After church, we went into Mannheim to eat lunch at one of Matt and my favorite restaurants- Vapianos (I think this franchise exists in some US Cities too). It has an Italian menu and I had recalled seeing other children eating there when Matt and I ate there on our house-hunting trip in March. There was a kids festival going on downtown Mannheim, but it was too rainy and cold to partake in any of the acitivities. Elle wanted to climb one of the rock-climbing walls!! This evening…we just relaxed…
Well, good night…I am sending my love…like I always do.
No comments:
Post a Comment