It was another busy day today! We landed en France ce matin, so we were bused into the beautiful and ancient city of Strasbourg for a walk around the city center. We visited La Petite France’s Notre-Dame cathedral, which looms so high over the oldest parts of the city—the stained glass windows survived WWII only because the Nazis hid them in the caves of the salt mines of Heilbronn, Germany, and the Monument Men found them! Like in the movie!
There was also a clock the size of a house that keeps the time, the month, the year, the season, the zodiac sign, the holidays… and pays homage to science and religion and astronomy and art all at the same time. this clock might stay busier than my phone and watch combined. We were there to hear it tell us it was 10:30, and the old man of the first half hour was replaced by the young man of the new half hour as a skeleton kept pace. As I said. Busy clock.
After that, we rebounded the ship for a picnic on the top deck! We were served American cheeseburgers, Alsatian fries, and German beer, as is only appropriate. The British couple behind me advised me that they were watching me to see how to assemble a proper cheeseburger, so I made sure to offer tips—ketchup for your fries, not mayonnaise, and yes, you must put cheese on the burger. Tomato will make the bun soggy, so be sure to put lettuce as a barrier. I hope they were as pleased as I was with our menu this afternoon….
Then, some history to cap the day—we went to see the fortress on the Maginot Line called Four a Chaux (the Lime Kiln). We were warned that it was cool in the fort, but it was actually 54 degrees in there, as it is every day of every season. A person could not tell if it were day or night, December or July, Monday or Friday down there; you’re completely closed off from the world, but also surrounded by hundreds of soldiers and hemmed in by pretty narrow walls in some places. It’s damp, as water runs down some of the walls and down the ditches beside the walkways; one has to walk carefully among the railway lines that brought ammunition from the surface to the different tunnels and turrets in the fort. We saw the kitchens, the infirmary, the dentist chair, the officers’ quarters, the soldiers’ quarters, the (single) hot-water shower, and all the other places the men might need in order to maintain this boundary between France and Germany. History tells us it did not work, necessarily, as intended, but one cannot deny the ingenuity of the Alsatian population willing to fortify the borders in this way. As we headed out of the fort, we had to go down 215 steps, after having climbed 100 steps to the top, where the French fired on the enemy, only to be greeted by the machine guns poised at every corner near the entrance and exit. This place is cold, she says, because of its depth in the earth, but also maybe because it’s haunted. You cannot change my mind on this.
And, finally, a surprise! Mom and Dad came back to a room stocked with French and German cheeses and chocolates and sparkling wine, and at dinner (a formal dinner! With six courses!), they were given flowers and balloons and cake and ice cream and champagne and all the applause from the whole boat!! It was the sweetest way to usher in their fiftieth year of marriage and the inspiration for our trip. I love them so, so much, and I’m eternally grateful that they are my parents and that their love has endured this long. We’ve had some hard times and some tears in those years, but we’ve also had fun and celebrations, and we always have each other and so much love. May they have another fifty. Cheers to Joyce and Larry!!
Edit: I can’t get the pics to load! Will try again at breakfast.
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