On to Strasbourg and an impressive cathedral

After prying Tom's hands from the Mercedes steering wheel, he reluctantly returned the rental car in Baden Baden on October 8.  We then boarded the train for Strasbourg, France.  We arrived at the Hotel Gutenberg in the afternoon.  This historic hotel has four normal floors, a refurbished attic with dormers (a.k.a. the fifth floor) and a sixth floor, which is really the "attic above the attic".  The sixth floor contained huge rafters that were at least 16 by 16 inches thick which ran through the hallways and guest rooms.  However, the rafters were painted white, giving them that "country french" flavor.  

Diane was lucky enough to get a room on the sixth floor.  Remember Harry Potter's room underneath the stairs at his mean Aunt and Uncle's house?  Harry's room was bigger than Diane's accommodations. However, the attic above the attic did have a skylight located over the bathroom sink allowing Diane to view the constellations as she brushed her teeth.  In fact, Diane described her room as "trying to get closer to the heavens" in the same spirit as the builders of cathedrals.  As a savvy traveler, Diane confirmed that there was a fire escape from the attic above the attic.  It consisted of a trap door in the hallway with a nylon chute in which you jumped feet first while keeping your arms raised over your head.  The directions did not illustrate where you ultimately land on the first floor after plummeting nearly six stories through a big sock. We have included a picture of the sixth floor emergency escape information.

After settling in, we were off to the Strasbourg cathedral.   What makes a cathedral a cathedral instead of just a really big church?   In order to be a cathedral, it must be a principal church of a Diocese where a bishop is officially associated.  The Strasbourg cathedral is a spectacular sight with tall spires and beautiful stained glass in hues of red, green and blue that contain strikingly detailed scenes.  While we were in the cathedral, organ music was being played throughout which really enhanced our visit.  We are including some of Diane's snapshots of the impressive entrance to the cathedral. 

The petite France section of Strasbourg has many half-timbered houses. It captures the feel and architectural elements of the French countryside.  This section of the city was filled with music, charm and the smells of fresh baked pastry.  Here are some  pictures of this area.

The next morning we were off to pick up our Avis rental car.  Tom was pouting at the thought of the three of us cramming into a Citroen A-3, after experiencing the Mercedes driving experience.  After our driving fiasco in Baden Baden, we were set on renting a car with GPS.  The only auto available with GPS was a BMW (picture a big smile on Tom's face), so we coughed up the additional cash and headed for the rental parking structure with the BMW car keys.  As we reached the parking structure, Diane pulled the large stainless steel door handle but could not open the door.  Then she tried sliding the door left and right...but no luck.  Tom then attempted to use his parking access card in a slot that looked logical but that only resulted in bending the access card.  At that point the three musketeers once again said "huh!"  Luckily, an Avis employee who was walking a few steps behind (and observing our inability to gain entry) stepped up and "pushed" the door open.  At this point the Americans and the French Avis employee all broke into uncontrollable laughter.  Now...in defense of Americans, unlike American doors, many doors in Germany and France have large handles on the outside which you would assume are for pulling, not for pushing.  However, you push to enter.  (Tom and Diane requested that this fact be documented in  the blog.)

After retrieving our car and loading up the luggage, it was time to head for Blois (pronounced "Blu Wah").  More on our trip to Blois and our visit to the chateau of Chambord in our next installment.

Happy trails,

TNT