14 May: A morning in Strasbourg

The historic city of Strasbourg is very compact, tucked into an island surrounded by the River Ill. Everywhere there are charming old buildings, some criss-crossed with crazy gables and painted beams, uneven with age; later ones in the severe French style, with straight lines, exact proportions, and shutters, with the windows opening inwards.

We were heading for the famous cathedral, but were side-tracked-fatally - by a little square full of open-air book stalls. I’m not sure how we will get it home, but I was seduced by a three-volume biography of Maurice de Talleyrand, a favourite of mine.

Strasbourg cathedral, one of the greatest Gothic churches, is another jaw-dropper, this time in red sandstone.

What power of mind could imagine the initial idea? Let alone have the skills to calculate the stresses and forces acting on mountains of stone, somehow magicked into soaring veils of stone lace?

Walking inside is like entering a jewel box of vivid colour, everywhere you look. Mighty pillars that somehow look like graceful treetrunks. Then at the end, the rose window glowing out of the darkness. And all this extended, repaired, maintained for 900 years through weather, war, and revolution. Everywhere beautiful statues, (eg Joan of Arc), altars, carvings, an organ somehow mounted halfway up the wall, and a magnificent old clock.

Emerging into the sunlight, we found an ice-cream shop - just the thing for a hot afternoon. Neil chose pistachio and chocolate; I had melon. Delicious. Don’t know why they din’t make it at. (They also had kiwi!! N)

A more serious note as we walked back was a squad of six French soldiers, in full battle gear, with machine-guns at the ready, fanning out through the crowd. Turns out there was a serious manhunt on after a prisoner escaped that morning; two prison officers killed, and others seriously wounded.

Back to the apartment for the challenge of the afternoon: 1: finding the laundry and 2: making it work!

Neil had found the local branch of the famous Paris store Galèries Lafayette, potential target tomorrow!Läs mer