A day in Strasbourg, then by bike to Rastatt and on to Neuplotz

Strasbourg is a charming city, and we're glad we decided to take a day to explore.  It is considered by some the capital of Europe and several EU institutions are headquartered there.  The region where it sits is the most prosperous in France, and the city is very cosmopolitan.  It's also very popular with tourists.

The bike path brought us right to the edge of the old city in Strasbourg, which sits on an island in the middle of the River Ill.  Once we crossed over into the old city, we had a km or so of somewhat hair-raising riding as I navigated our fully loaded tandem through the (mostly) pedestrian and bike area on streets packed with people. We found the tourism office and a list of hotels, and soon had a great one located just a few minutes walk from the center.







The city is dominated by its Gothic cathedral, which is truly magnificent.  The outside is covered with beautiful carving and statuary, the inside extensive stained glass windows.

small portion of the front

Some details:









One of the main attractions inside is an astronomical clock (the current, third, model built in the 1800s).  It has faces showing all the saints' days and key holidays, the positions of the sun and moon (including eclipses, when they overlap), and a face showing the locations of the planets of the solar system.  It has an Ecclesiastical calculator, reset at noon each December 31st, which computes the dates of key holidays.  The clock mechanism also links to a large globe displaying the stars and constellations visible in the sky.  There is a complex and sophisticated set of circular cams which adjust the timing and shown locations of planets for their elliptical (rather than circular) orbits.  And the whole is remarkably accurate: the time of Saturn's passage around the sun, 29 years, is accurate within 8 seconds. 







And of course all is highly decorative.  On the quarter hour figures (a child, then an adolescent, then an adult, and finally an old man) walk on articulated legs before a skeleton and ring a bell.  At noon a procession of the twelve apostles walk before Jesus, and an animatronic rooster crows (it's sound regulated by its own set of cams).

The mathematics, engineering, and precision construction, not to mention artistry, embodied in this clock is truly amazing.

There are walking paths all around the island, and many bridges.  At one end of the old city is a neighborhood built around small canals called Petite France. 



Way too much to see in one day.

The next day we set off to continue north along the Rhein.  We had several km of urban riding and a few bridges before we ended up in Kehl on the German side of the Rhein, and then about 10 km as we worked our way around and past the port area.  From there we were on an unpaved path atop a levee, right along the Rhein. 



It was quiet riding, but challenging.  There were very strong (10+ mph) headwinds all day, so it was tiring riding. 

these guys on the Rhein were enjoying the strong winds

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of towns with visitor accommodations along this stretch.  We ended up riding a long day to the city of Rastatt which lies a ways east of the Rhein.

Today was much easier.  After about 10 km of easy dirt path riding we were back at the Rhein.  We took a small ferry (about half a dozen bikes and one car) across to Neuberg am Rhein and continued north. 



From here on we were mostly on very nice and paved bike paths, through Worth am Rhein and eventually to the small and sleepy village of Neuplotz.