Rhine Getaway Day 6

This wonderful day was a blend of old and new, France and Germany, crowds and solitude.  We docked in Kehl, Germany and took a bus ride to Strasbourg, France.  It is a very modern city and the seat of the European Parliament.  There were huge contemporary steel and glass high rise buildings with their clean lines and sparkling facades.  One very charming feature in the midst of the modern city was a residential street lined on both sides with trees.  The trees had been groomed flat on the tops, and each and every tree had a huge stork's nest on the top.  By huge, I mean several feet in diameter.  To our delight, the young storks had recently hatched, and we saw their cute heads peaking over the tops of the nests.  Their parents took turns guarding the nests and flying off for food.  The storks are very honored residents in Europe, perhaps still symbolizing wealth and fertility.

After seeing the very modern parts of Strasbourg, we walked to the Medieval section known as "La Petite France."  This was an amazingly beautiful area of very old row houses along picturesque canals.  In the Middle Ages, this section of town housed the merchants and tradesmen.  Their houses were lovely with window boxes of flowers and timbered walls with the famous exposed beams.  We were told that although beautiful, it was very smelly in olden days when tanneries were full of rotting livestock.  Some of the oldest houses are still standing, but most have been rebuilt since Word War II.  The reconstruction has been so good, that it is often difficult to tell which houses are authentic and which are reproductions.

The grandest structure in all of Strasbourg is the incredible Gothic cathedral.  Its detail and grandeur are truly indescribable.  One could study the millions of intricacies for years and never capture all of it.  The sculptures, carvings, stained glass, paintings, organ pipes, columns, spires, and shear loftiness are more than a mortal can absorb.  Perhaps the excess to mortals is an attempt to reach God.  I have to admit that it is quite an impressive attempt.  At the same time, I know that God is pleased with the humble and pure in heart and does not require ornamentation of this scale.  While all of this is beautiful, it cannot replace obedience to the laws of God nor does it forgive disobedience.  In terms of pure religion, the grandeur of the cathedral can miss the mark.  In terms of human artistic accomplishment, it is probably unmatched and is certainly a thrill to behold.

It was interesting to note the many merchant stalls that were mounted on the exterior walls of the cathedral.  The entire building is surrounded with ordinary or even tacky tarps and trinkets. I couldn't shake off the image of Jesus making a whip of braided cords and overturning the money changers' tables outside the temple in Jerusalem.  If this grand structure exists in praise of God, the retail establishments anchored to its walls seem out of place.

We were delighted to discover Gutenberg Square in Strasbourg.  We were grateful to stand on the spot where the inventor of the printing press is remembered.  Our love of reading and our extensive library may be attributed to this man.  Moreover, we thank him for allowing the Holy Scriptures to finally be in the hands of the common man.  On a less spiritual note, I was able to fulfill another dream.  I bought a baguette in a French bakery.  It was delicious!

Strasbourg is a lovely city, and it is full of delightful sights.  It was a very warm day, and after several hours of walking in the heat and crowds, we were ready for a slower pace.  After lunch onboard the ship and a much needed nap, we decided to use the late afternoon to walk across the footbridge over the Rhine that spans the border between Germany and France.  To our surprise, there is no border patrol, no guard house checking passports, and not even a visible boundary marker between the two countries.  One may walk or bike or drive from Germany to France and back without any notice at all.  This is historically amazing.  For centuries, there was war between Germany and France, and the border was constantly shifting.  This is still evident in the border towns where there are German place names in France and French names in Germany.  The Alsace was a much fought over region for ages.  In our day, we peacefully strolled between the two without a trace of obstacle.  The Rhine is fairly narrow at this point, and it was interesting to hear a different language spoken on each bank.  We walked from Germany to France and sat on a park bench at the spot where the French first crossed the Rhine into Germany during WWII.  At the now tranquil spot we enjoyed a cup of ice cream on the French bank and watched the river traffic on the breezy late afternoon.  When we crossed back into Germany, we paused to listen to a Celtic piper playing in the center of the bridge, right on the border between the two former enemies.  It was both poignant and pleasant, and quite private.  The crowds from the city were not here on the bridge.  We could stroll and reflect at our peaceful leisure.

Back on board the ship, we enjoyed a German meal and entertainment.  It was much better than what we had experienced earlier in the trip in Rudesheim.  It was a pleasant ending to a wonderful day.