Many years ago, we spent a month in Alsace-Lorraine and planned to return in a timely manner, but life intervened and today we would visit this charming city for the first time in 20 years. While graced with many ancient buildings, Strasbourg is also the home of the largest glass building in Europe and is one of the three capitals of the European Union. The Parliament of the European Union meets here once a month in that amazing building. Because of its close proximity to Germany it was selected as the meeting place for many European Union organizations as well as the Council of Europe, which is not part of the EU.
As we were scheduled to arrive in Strasbourg at 11 AM, the River Queen made a technical stop at Gambscheim, France so we could board busses for our morning tour of Strasbourg. This required an early breakfast as our pick-up time was 8 AM. Pretty sure there was some grumbling among the cruisers at the early start. I know the Senior Rambler was not happy about it. Being normally an early riser, it didn’t bother this Rambler as I was looking forward to seeing Strasbourg again after 20 years. We had two options, a walking tour or a canal tour. Naturally we chose the canal tour as the senior Rambler is never an enthusiastic walker tho he enjoys boats of all kinds.
This was another day when our destination was much closer by land than by water and it didn’t take long before our bus reached the boat landing in Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a city of two rivers as well as connecting canals. Although it is a major port on the mighty Rhine, the smaller Ill river also runs through Strasbourg and parallels the Rhine in several places. We would be cruising the Ill through and around the UNESCO historic center of Strasbourg. Because of its strategic location, Strasbourg has been the scene of many battles for territorial control between France and Germany, the latest in the 20th century. Catholic Strasbourg was controlled by Protestant Prussia in the 19th and parts of the 20th century. Thus there is a strong German influence in both its architecture, some of the later buildings were constructed for German occupiers. Perhaps Strasbourg’s shifts between German and French control resulted in a more open attitude towards religious beliefs. The city has both Catholic and Protestant churches and is also the site of the largest mosque in France.
Morning is always a great time for a canal tour and we enjoyed the multitude of swans, the reflections of many buildings on the water and the sun evaporating the mist that rose from the water. The tour was a pleasant way to get an overview of Strasbourg’s varied architecture both historic and modern. However it seemed only a short time until our tour was over and it was time to head back to the River Queen for lunch. Those who wanted could either stay in the historic center or catch a bus back to there later on. The River Queen would not leave Strasbourg until 5:45 PM and Uniworld had scheduled a series of shuttles to and from the city and our mooring spot.
The senior Rambler was happy to head back to the River Queen but needless to say, I had determined that I would take the shuttle offered by Uniworld and stroll around the historic area by myself. I didn’t want to go too far however, as my sense of direction is not the best, and I had no desire to get lost in Strasbourg on my own. Carefully marking the pick-up point on my map, I strolled along the flower bedecked streets on a beautiful sunny afternoon. Then I spotted some workmen in an inflatable boat tied up along the canal wall. It was fun to watch them as they worked to patch the concrete canal wall both above and below the water. However anxiety about catching the shuttle back to the boat overcame me. I headed back to the pick-up point and spotted it fairly easily as there were a number of fellow passengers already waiting there. It was an unseasonably warm day and many had wilted quickly in the heat.
My early return made it possible for the Ramblers to stroll along the river where the Queen was moored. The docking space was called the Bassin des Remparts and seemed to be the home port of a number of live-aboard barges. This was not surprising as many of the barges that travel the Rhine and Danube are family operations. Often you will see laundry drying in the sun or a child’s playpen on deck. Many also have cars on board so they can get around when they are in port. We enjoyed our stroll as the good weather held and there were at least a dozen barges moored along the path.
Tomorrow would be our last full day on the River Queen as we were very close now to Basel. This part of the Rhine continued to divide Germany and France and would do so almost to the border of Switzerland. However, something unexpected happened on our way to Strasbourg. The Ramblers noticed a strange sound coming from the River Queen’s engines, and then then she continued on her way at a somewhat slower speed. Before dinner we had our usual daily announcement about the next day’s tours from Tabea, our cruise manager. Then Captain Hendrick, our personable and accessible Dutch Captain, took center stage.
Captain Hendrick ruefully told us that one of the Queen’s engines was not working, but we would continue on to Basel according to schedule. The River Queen could manage on one engine but would not break any speed records. The Ramblers talked to Captain Hendrick afterwards and he explained that the engine would not be repaired until they got back to their home port of Amsterdam. Of course Amsterdam is a huge port and it would be easier to repair the engine there, but we didn’t envy the folks who would board the River Queen in Basel in a few days. Those who had cabins near the engines would have a somewhat noisier cruise as the remaining engine would have to work harder than usual, especially since the Queen would be traveling against the current back to Amsterdam.
One engine or two, the River Queen brought us safely to our next port on the German side of the Rhine where we would have a final days touring of Alsace Lorraine before we reached Basel.
