Karlsruhe, Durlach & Ettlingen (18/03/2017)

Originally the plan was to visit Frankfurt and after taking the bus at 4am from Strasbourg (the only one which would reach Frankfurt before midday) I reached Karlsruhe at around 5am. I had to wait though for about one hour and a half before my connection to Frankfurt would arrive. It was quite cold and it had already started to rain, so I decided to lay on the bench at the outside stop and sleep a bit. After waking up well ahead the scheduled departure I impatiently waited for my bus to arrive. After other buses with different destinations arrived and left, I began to worry and then a bus headed to Frankfurt stopped by. I asked if I could hop on even if it had a different number than mine but the driver said no even though I tried mentioning mine had not come at the set time. So i waited more and finally gave up believing either that I had missed it (though I did spent the whole time in front of the bus stop) or that it just never came. So after considering my options, I decided not to return to Strasbourg immediately but rather book another bus later on (as my original one would have left Frankfurt) and instead visit Karlsruhe. I reached the train station and found that there was actually a bicycle that hadn't been locked. I thus decided to borrow it and explore the city with a bike as it would be faster and easier. I headed east and reached Schloss Gottesaue a reconstructed Renaissance castle. Riding further east, about 15 minutes later I reached the small town of Durlach. The town featured a small yet nice historic center, with the Karlsburg Castle, a 16th century residence of which only a part remains, a main church in the Baroque style and a medieval tower gate called the Basel gate as it faces south towards that city. After leaving the town I headed south and after biking for about 50 minutes up and down several low hills under pouring rain I reached the town of Ettlingen. Also featuring a nice historic center I entered from the northern side, crossing a bridge over the river Alb and reaching the Marktplatz, which hold the Baroque town hall. Its tower serves also as a city gate and was the door to the main square, from there I then visited the nearby St Martin Kirche also baroque in style. From there, on the southwestern end of town I arrived at the castle. Also built in the baroque style, it featured a nicely decorated front facade and a fountain made of red stone. Rain was still pouring, and I decided to bike back towards Karlsruhe. In half an hour and without the hills from the previous part, I reached the city, passing by the Marktplatz and reaching the main attraction, the Karlsruhe Palace. The Palace was built during the 18th century by the Margrave of Durlach who decided to leave the town and build the palace here sparking then the rise and development of what is now Karlsruhe. Inside was the Badisches Landesmuseum or Baden State Museum, with objects dating from prehistory to the modern times. Particularly interesting was the archaeological section as well as the applied arts one. After visiting the museum it was time to go so getting back on the bicycle I headed towards the train station where I left the bike I had borrowed and took the bus finally back to Strasbourg, drenched in the rain I had got all day.

Schloss Gottesaue

Basel Gate in Durlach

A street in Durlach

A street in Ettlingen

St Martin Church in Ettlingen

The main square in Ettlingen

Ettlingen Castle

Karlsruhe Palace

Heidelberg (11/03/2017)

This time we decided to head eastward and cross the border into Germany, visiting the city of Heidelberg about 2 hours by bus from Strasbourg. After arriving and exiting the bus we headed towards the city center which was about 15 minutes walk. Walking along the Hauptstraße, or main street, we passed several pretty buildings and entered the first church we encountered along the way, the Providenzkirche. Built during the 17th century it belongs to the Protestant church and as such it was rather empty inside and was actually even used as a bar/club by students. Walking further on we took a right on a side street and reached another church, the Peterskirche, which was unfortunately closed. Right nearby was the University of Heidelberg, Germany's oldest, dating to 1386. On the university square stand the two buildings of the old town campus, with the old university building dating to the 18th century on the northern side and the newer one dating to the 1930s at its southern end. Also nearby is the Jesuitenkirche, a baroque building dating to the 18th century and belonging to the catholic community. The interior was quite unadorned and white but featured a nicely decorated main altar. Through a door on the side a small museum featuring sacred art was also a nice addition and for free. After visiting the church we were back on the main street and not much later reached the Marktplatz, with the Heiliggeistkirche or Church of the Holy Spirit at its center. All around the square's perimeter are pretty houses, some of which have fully decorated front facades, and east of the church stands the Hercules Fountain and further east the Town Hall. We entered the church and visited its Gothic interior in red and white bricks and stone and then up the baroque bell tower (1 euro each) where we had a beautiful view over the surrounding old town, castle and river. Back down at street level we walked on passing the Kornmarkt, called so because it was where the corn market took place, and then started our ascent to the castle. We reached the castle gardens first and enjoyed an amazing view over the city with the sun still shining bright on this warm march day. After eating our lunch on a bench in the garden, with a funny duck trying to get some scraps from us we decided to visit the castle itself. Being destroyed several times during its history, particularly in the 17th century during the Thirty Years War, the castle is mostly in ruins. Towers, walls and other buildings that form it are still in state of ruin which shows its long dramatic history. After buying the entrance ticket (4 euro for entering plus 2,50 for the guided tour which was mandatory to see the interiors) we started our visit of the grounds. Passing through the tower gate, which was one of the few fully surviving elements, we entered the castle courtyard surrounded by buildings such as the Friedrichsbau, or Frederick the 4th's palace with its renaissance facade and the Ottheinrichsbau which hold the pharmacy museum. After joining the next guided tour we saw the interiors, which were filled with stuff from the castle's time but from other castles or residences as the original stuff had been destroyed or burned in the past. We then ended the tour with a visit to the Heidelber Tun, considered to be the world's largest wine barrel, constructed in 1751 it is able to hold up to 219 thousand liters of wine. It is so large we were even able to walk on top of it where they had built a platform which is occasionally even used for dancing. In front of it stands the barrel's guardian, Perkeo, a 17th century court jester which used to stand guard of the wine barrel. After the castle's visit we descended back down into town and reached the Old Bridge. Built in the 18th century it follows several bridges built int the same spot before it. At its southern end, facing the city stands a nice bridge gate and below it a sculpture of a monkey, which when stroked brings good luck. After crossing the bridge and the Neckar river, we walked up the hill on the other side and walked along the Philosophenweg or Philosophers' way, which had a great view over the city. We then walked back the same way, crossed the bridge again, walked through town and entered the Kurpfalzisches Museum, or Palatinate Museum. Containing everything from paintings, some of which had views of Heidelberg as well as Perkeo as the subject, to porcelain, furniture etc. After visiting the museum, it was time to go, so we headed to the bus station where we took our ride back to Strasbourg.

Interior of the Church of the Holy Spirit

View from the bell tower

The Markplatz

View of the old town from the castle gardens

  

View of the castle courtyard

The world's largest wine barrel

   

View of the old town from the other side of the river

Nancy (05/03/2017)

After taking a bus from Strasbourg we reached the outskirts of Nancy two hours later and then had to take the metro to the city center. We got off and began our visit with the Cathedral; dedicated to the Annunciation and to St Sigisbert, it is a great example of Baroque architecture. After visiting its interior we weren't far from reaching the main attraction of the city: Place Stanislas. The square, built in the 18th century under the rule of Stanislaw Leszczynski both King of Poland and Duke of Lorraine, was supposed to be the connecting point between the older medieval part and the newer 17th century part. Surrounded by grandiose buildings such as the Hotel de Ville, the Opera House, the Fine Arts Museums and opened on its northern side by the Arc Héré a triumphal arch. At its north eastern and western ends it featured two fountains surrounded by a golden wrought iron fence. Crossing under the Arc Héré, we reached the long Place Carriere, another of Stanislaw's additions to the city, then reaching the Basilique St Epvre. Built in a neo-Gothic style during the 19th century it featured a large dark interior with nicely-made stained glasses. From there we reached the northern part of the city where the impressive Porte de la Craffe dating to the 14th century. Right next to the gate, we stopped at a bakery called Gollé where we tried a small raspberry cake which tasted really good. After that we headed back to the main square where we decided to visit the Musee des Beaux Arts. Entrance was 4,5 euros and hosted paintings from the medieval times all the way to the modern era, including from famous artists such as Tintoretto, Friant etc. Then we walked back northwards and reached the Musee Lorrain hosted in two connected buildings, the Ducal Palace with a Gothic facade dating to the 15th century and which used to be the home of the Dukes of Lorraine, and the Eglise des Cordeliers also gothic in style. Entrance was 4 euro and the part in the palace featured objects and paintings from antiquity all the way to the 19th century, while the church featured gothic sculptures along with farming tools and furniture of lorraine's past. After a short break where we had some taboulé for lunch, we headed out and south reaching the bottom end of the city, passing the southern gate and reaching the Eglise de Notre Dame de Bonsecours, which is the resting place of Stanislaw Leszczynski but was unfortunately closed. It was then getting late, and getting back into the city center to see the main square by night before taking the bus back to Strasbourg.

Interior of the Cathedral

One of the fountains on Place Stanislas

View of the northern end of Place Stansilas with the Arc Héré

Close up of the Arc Héré

View of the Place Stanislas

The Porte de la Craffe

View of the main square from the Fine Arts Museum

Night view of the main square with the Cathedral in the background

Zurich (25/02/17)

Two days after our trip to Metz we decided to visit the Swiss city of Zurich. Leaving at around 6:30am we took a direct bus and reached the destination after nearly three hours. After getting off the bus we headed towards the city center and stopped to visit the Swiss National Museum first which was just a few hundred meters from the bus station. Entrance was 8 Swiss francs and the museum hold objects from the prehistoric times up to the renaissance including an exhibition on modern day immigrants at the end. Particularly nice was the collection of Gothic art including altarpieces and paintings. Exiting the museum we headed further in the city reaching the Lindenhof, the highest point in the old town. This used to be the location of the roman castle when the city was founded by the Romans, and now serves as a perfect panoramic point to observe the old town. The view from up there was very nice, and most of the eastern part of the old town across the Limmat river was visible. After descending back down the hill to the other side, we walked through some pretty narrow medieval streets lined by nice houses and reached the Church of St Peter. It was open and free of charge so we decided to take a look inside. Originally older, the current building dates to the 18th century in the Baroque style, being protestant it is mostly lacking in decoration but still has a fresco dating to the older period in the apse. The bell tower features a large clock on its north-facing side, considered to be Europe's largest clock face. Not far from there we reached the Munsterhof, the largest square in the Altstadt. Surrounded by tenement houses, on its southern part stands the Fraumunster. As the entrance to go in was paid we decided to skip and cross the bridge over the Limmat heading for the opposing church, the Grossmunster. The Cathedral, built during the 13th century features a Romanesque style and is topped by two twin towers. The interior though mostly unadorned, features classic Romanesque-styled architecture. Below ground level, there is the medieval crypt holding a medieval statue of Charlemagne, believed to be the one who initially commissioned the building of the cathedral. Exiting the building we headed south and reached the square where the Opera House is located. Despite being February, it was quite sunny, and many people were out in the square enjoying the warmer weather. We decided to continue on along the waterfront coasting the Zurichsee or Lake Zurich and enjoy the weather strolling around. We saw different duck species and several boats out on the lake as well as many other people enjoying the sun and lake as we were doing. We walked half an hour and then decided to start heading back towards the city. On the way, we took a detour and tried to see if the Botanical Garden was still open. Unfortunately closed, we were still able to see it from the outside and enjoy a different view of the city from a hillside. Heading back we traversed the old town once again, and took pictures and enjoyed the view from the Lindenhof again this time during night time as the sun had already set. Finally, we reached the bus station and took the next bus back to Strasbourg.

The Swiss National Museum

View of the old town from the Lindhenhof

The Grossmunster

Statue of Charlemagne inside the Cathedral

View of the mountains across the lake

Sunset

Night view of the old town

Metz (23/02/17)

We left Strasbourg early in the morning and reached the city of Metz about 2 hours later. After exiting the bus we headed immediately towards the city center and started on the eastern side with the first feature, the Porte des Allemands, approaching our eyes. A fortress gate including a bridge, the structure dates to the 13th century. Not far from the gate we reached the Eglise Sainte Eucaire in a Gothic style. We walked further and eventually reached one of the cores of the city: the Place Saint Louis. Line by arcades and burgher houses it the commercial center of the old town. After seeing the square we proceeded to visit the Eglise de Notre Dame de l'Assumption dating to the 17th century and built in a Baroque style. Apparently in this church, the young Paul Verlain was baptized, as he was born here in Metz. Continuing our walk we eventually reached another square, this time smaller but altogether still quite pretty: the Place Saint Jacques. At its center stands a column with a statue of Mary at its top and all around are cafes and restaurants which were still quite empty as the weather was quite cold. We then took some sweet snacks from a vendor on the eastern end of the square. After walking just a little further we eventually reached the other core of the city: the Metz Cathedral. Mostly built in the Gothic style between the 13th and 16th centuries it holds the largest expanse of stained glass in the world, most of which from famous artists throughout history such as Hermann von Munster from the 13th century and modernist Marc Chagall from the 20th. As soon as we entered, in fact, the interior was immense and amazing with a huge nave all decorated with stained glass. After visiting the halls for a while we came back out into the city and it started to rain. We quickly admired the sculpted extior too, built in the local yellow Jaumont Limestone and saught refuge from the weather inside the covered market right on the opposite side of the cathedral's main portal. After waiting for a while for the weather to calm we headed back out again and decided to cross the Moselle river and get to the other side where the Place de la Comedie is located. As a scenic backdrop for the square stands the Opera Theatre built in 1752 and the oldest opera house working in France. After appreciating its baroque-neoclassical architecture we headed on towards the Church of Saint Clement and the Basilica of Saint Vincent, both unfortunately closed. Not far is the largest of the Ponts des Morts, two bridges dating to the medieval times; the larger one still spans the Moselle river. Called so because whenever an inhabitant died at the time, they would have to donate their clothes to the Hopital St Nicolas who had paid for its construction. Walking then back into the city we reached the Temple Neuf, built on the southwestern end of the Place de la Comedie between 1901 and 1905 in neo-romanesque style during the Wilhelmine period when Alsace and Lorraine were under German rule. As it was also closed we admired it from the outside and then headed towards the Chapelle des Templiers. This so called Templars Chapel, is probably one of Metz's oldest buildings dating to the 12th century but was also unfortunately closed. That was quite unfortunate as I had seen online it contained some fine medieval frescoes as well as more modern ones inside. Not far is the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains. Under renovations, this church has the typical Roman basilica layout and dates to the 4th century. Because of that it is the oldest church building in France. Down the road we came across the Palais du Gouverneur a beautiful neo-renaissance palace built in 1905. Reaching the southern end of town we came through the Porte Serpenoise one of the remaining city gates and turned around heading back into the city. Traversing the entirety of the city center we reached the Musee de la Cour d'Or. Entrance was 3,30 euros and the whole place was really large as it was contained in what used to be a palace. Inside was an archaeological section with several gallo-roman objects and structures including a Mithras altar. Another part, which included medieval objects, included a beautiful granary with gothic arcades beautifully restored and preserved. Finally on the top floor was the section dedicated to fine arts including several paintings with Metz as the subject. After visiting the museum we decided to head to Centre Pompidou Metz located close to the train station right outside town. Built in 2006 it holds a large array of modern art pieces. After visiting it we still had quite some time before our bus back to Strasbourg so we decided to have dinner and walk around the city center further. We had dinner at a place called La Fabrique, serving Iranian food, where we had a lentil soup and a large dish with different things on it. After eating we walked through the city which as it had darkened took a nice cozy appearance with street lights illuminating it all around. Not much later we arrived at the bus station and eventually took our bus back home.

The Porte des Allemands

View of the Cathedral

The interior of the Cathedral

Some of the stained glass windows

View of the Cathedral from Place de la Comedie

The Chapelle des Templiers

The Basilique de St Pierre aux Nonnains, the oldest in France

The Palais du Gouverneur

Interior of the granary in the Musee de la Cour d'Or

Night view of the Temple Neuf and the Cathedral