Cruise Report - Strasbourg

It was a busy week, so I didn't get a post finished midweek as I originally intended.  I did finally finish the bucket hat I intended to wear on the trip, so it never was worn but is ready for the next one.  Or for my daily walks.  I somewhat made up the pattern, although I had one for reference, because most of the ones I found online are for heavier yarn and I used Fiberlady's Bouncy Boo.  I wanted the hat to fit over whatever hairstyle I decided to make; I'd purchased a hat but it worked only if my hair were very flat, and without a high clip or ponytail or even braids.  So it's getting donated (it didn't cost much) and I made one to fit me:

  

Photo on the left shows the finished hat, with the pins and marking yarn in place.  I used the pins to keep track of how many rows on the top, so I knew how many stitches to work between increases, because I didn't want them to make lines so kept shifting where the increases happened.  And every so many rows I worked even to keep the shape I wanted.  Rather than have to fiddle with a locking stitch marker or more pins to keep track of where the row started, since I did it continuously, I flipped the marking yarn (the peach bit at bottom) back and forth.  It's easy to pull out when finished - as shown in the second photo.

So, back to the boat/ship and waking up in France.  The Wellness Instructor missed sailing so there were no classes this morning, and I was able to make a slow start.  Breakfast in the restaurant (what they called 'bistro breakfast', that I ate most days, available in the lounge, a small buffet of items) and then the cruise overview presentation.  After lunch, we head out for various tours of Strasbourg, with a bus into town and walking after the guides, who use an audio system to communicate to us.

First, the bus took us about, showing the European Parliament and Court of Human Justice and other buildings of importance to the European Union and humanity in general:

Synagogue de la Paix.  The entry side is quite lovely.

This building keeps being used as seat of government.

Of course, a central item of the tour is Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg, which is a confection:

There is a mini fountain park with hammocks set up outside.

  

The rose window from outside and inside:

We were just before Bastille Day, and they
were already decorating for the holiday.

The clock is a marvel, and we waited to see it chime.
Noon is really spectacular, but 2:00pm wasn't minor.

Of course, we had to see Place Gutenberg:

The Cathédrale is hardly the only church we saw - one guess as to the denomination of this one?

After our official tour ended, we were given free time and instructed to be back on the plaza at the base of the Cathédrale at a specific time, to regain the buses back to the boat/ship.  I wanted to see some more of the town and had noticed these little trains that were used for tours.  So I checked the information and when we were let to our own, I went to the nearest one and inquired whether it was the "vert" or "bleu" route.  The ticket-taker confirmed it was the one I wanted (which toured the part of town we had not seen) so I purchased a ticket and a few minutes later, we were underway:

As you can see, they offer recorded narration in many languages.

We saw many more churches on this tour, along with Important Buildings and bridges over the streams and so on.  I will not overwhelm you with churches, in part because I didn’t take notes about which is which for all of them.

Eventually back to the Cathédrale (both train routes began and ended there) and I had time to do a little walking about and shopping.  There were two things I wanted to purchase: pain d'epices, which is the French gingerbread, and of course, yarn.  In Basel I'd purchased some leckerli, which is Swiss gingerbread, and since I love gingerbread, a comparison seems a logical excuse to buy more.  Our guide had pointed out "the best shop" for pain d'epices and could I find it again?

The simple answer is no, but I found a bakery that had several different options that I was happy to select.  And on the way there from Place Gutenberg I passed a small shop that clearly had things of interest to me:

  

  

This is a chain in France, and what I found interesting is that they have almost no prewound hanks or balls of yarn.  The yarn is on cones (as shown in the top right photo) and they will wind off the amount you request.  So you need to know the yardage you want, and do maths.  I had no idea how much I wanted so made a guess of a useful quantity:

I opted for a blended yarn ('Tendresse': alpaca and wool and silk) in red and purple, and the scrap of grey was in an oddments basket and is very soft.  I made a guess of yardage that should be enough for a hat and mittens.  On the right in the photo you see two types of pain d'epices, plus some pates de fruits, and at the top une canelé which is a special sort of pastry I've been curious to try.  The golden coin at the bottom is a commemorative medal from the Cathédrale.

Going back to the buses we passed the Opera House:

Then it was onboard, and supper, and sailing to Germany.

Cruise Report - Landing Day and Embarkation

I planned to start the series yesterday but was attacked by a nap; I thought I'd lie down for an hour or so before a radio series' weekly programme, and was awakened four hours later when my mother called because my parents were concerned at not hearing from me all day.  At least I seem to be mostly over the jet lag and lack of sleep from the series of different beds.

I was able to capture some nice photos of clouds.

I arrived in Basel without issues other than tiredness from the overnight flight and connexion through Frankfurt.  Luckily I left time to get between the gates (I had a longish layover and spent part of it in a courtesy club) because there was passport control to navigate.  I'd told my travel agent that I wanted to stay in a property from one of my hotel memberships, and it turns out to be a ways out of town.  However, they gave me a free transit pass that I could use on the trains and trams and buses, and they had a room available, so I dropped off my bags, locked up the computer, washed my face and hands, did a quick clothing change, and headed out to explore Basel.

It was hot enough that I regretted packing jeans, but I wanted the different pockets to hold things so they are what I had.  Definitely handy to keep the map and transit pass in a pocket together, some loose change in another pocket, and so on.

After a false start I found the train station and caught the correct one to the town center.  I was glad of the transit pass as several official-looking persons entered the carriage and asked for proof of tickets; mine passed.  I decanted into the main railway station and oriented myself, then headed out to explore some historic locations.  Many buses and trams stop at the station, but I could walk and it took less brain power than sorting which vehicle to enter to go where I wanted.

Inside the Elisabethkirsche; I missed the midday
concert but enjoyed a cool look at the interior.

There were a number of these seats on the steps near Elisabethkirsche, marked for "Flaneurs".

In the area are a number of kaleidoscopes on poles that you can use to look at the surroundings:

And this kinetic water sculpture which was much enjoyed; I believe it's by Jean Tinguely:

I posted a few outside photos last week, and two of the history museum's main room.  It had many side rooms for various things, some religious, some about the guilds, and a few reconstructed rooms.

Then to the Rathaus, or town hall, and Marketplatz:

Eventually I ran out of energy and headed back to the hotel.  I stopped at a shop in the train station for a sandwich, bottle of herbal tea, and ice-cream, the last of which I ate before heading on the short walk from station to hotel as I expected it to melt quickly in the heat.

The next day was rainy in the morning, following storms overnight, so I lazed a bit and then took my luggage to the dock.  I was able to leave the luggage and do pre-check on the boat/ship, and having notice a tram stop just up the hill I caught one into town to explore a bit more.  This is when I learned that on Wednesdays there are pop-up markets - food stalls and farmers on the Marketplatz, flea market type in front of the history museum.

My goal for this day was to find the other historical museum that I'd missed the day before, and I accomplished this.  So I spent several hours wandering about looking at restored rooms (the family's private areas had transitioned almost intact; many of the public spaces had been repurposed) before catching the return tram to the dock and boarding ship.

A tiny musical instrument in one of the private sitting rooms.

The first dollhouse I saw.  There were many more.

Once I hit the toys, I took a lot of photos - these are a very few showing the range of items:

Tiny knitted stockings in a dollhouse chest.

Not a dollhouse item, but a huge, human-sized house organ, with history of being played:

Finally in midafternoon I headed back to the dock for official boarding, and unpacking in the room that would be my home for the next week:

Just left is a small desk and television and the 
cupboard/closet; to the bottom right corner is
the bathroom with shower and nice amenities.

This report is long enough, so I'll continue in another one.  We cruised overnight from Switzerland to France, and the cruise director made much of how easy it is now that they don't have border controls as in several points part of the ship is in one country and part in another.