Overnight we had the door to 'our terrace' open so we could hear the rain when we awoke. We therefore decided to take swimming gear when driving in case we ended up at Baden Baden for a spa. After breakfast we headed for Strasbourg with umbrellas etc.

We were caught up in a traffic jam because of road works and John enjoyed seeing the family behind us rocking to music when we stopped . This reminded us to turn on the radio as most songs seem to be in English.

The Tom-Tom took us safely to near the city centre and we headed for the fairly obvious cathedral. They had a number of signs in three languages so it was easy to view without a guide. It was clear from the outside that it was gothic and the general resemblance to Cologne Cathedral was clear. The pulpit (dated 1485) reminded us of the one in Vienna as it was intricately carved. As usual I loved the stained glass (from the 13th and 14th centuries) as it was so richly coloured. There was also a display about the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1988.

The information sites told us it was started in 1176 and completed in 1439. Until the 19th century it was the highest Christian building. The organ and nave are built to represent a large ship, and date to 1240.

We were just admiring the illuminated Mount of Olives when the lights went out and we were asked to exit please. We had already noted that one of the side chapels was for prayer (and not tourist viewing by implication) so assumed that the cathedral was being cleared for a service.

We went next to the area where the Astronomical Clock was and saw it strike 11am. The on site information said the main display was at 12.30pm but to see that you had to pay and see a movie about the display . The price was reasonable but we did not want to spend an hour in that way so we moved on.

At the Information Centre we bought a tourist guide to the Alsace – I hesitated as it would have been useful the previous day but decided it would be good when we come back!! It proved to be worthwhile as we ended up planning our afternoon around the information in the book.

We spent time in an Internet Café getting up to date with our blog then had a big lunch in the nearby square. The weather had improved - no more rain and periods of warm sun throughout the rest of the day. We went via the Cathedral back to the car, stopping to admire the Maison Kammerzell, touted as the most beautiful house in Strasbourg. It is certainly intricately carved. The cathedral area was very busy with buskers, sellers of umbrella-hats and sunglasses, and there were lots of cafes.

We then drove to the North of the Alsace to see part of the Maginot Line . This was a lime-Kiln Fortification and although heavily bombed by Stukas in 1940 it was not captured. The full tour took about 2 hours so we just looked at the outside. There were children playing on the tank outside when we arrived and a fairly big tour group was about to enter the 4km of tunnels when we left.

We then drove West on back country roads to see the Lichtenburg chateau. It is built on a rock where the sides were carved out with a pick. We just walked around the castle and admired the imposing site. Our book told us it dates from the 13th century and is the backdrop for many theatrical performances.

We then headed south to see the northern part of the Vin des Pays.or Alsace vineyard route. We set Saverne as our destination and the Tom-Tom again took us on country roads. When we were in the town we asked it to take us to a supermarket and we found a big one so we were able to get a thermos and a small chilly-bag as well as food. The town deserved a longer stay but it was after 5pm so we moved on.

We made our way south to the very pretty town of Obernai. It is the sort of place where there is a picture at every corner but then we have seen many such places in the last few weeks. I still took lots of photos, including one of the ‘most beautiful well in Alsace’!! We then wound up the hill to a memorial that we knew about because there was a cache there . The cache notes read:

Between 1942 and 1945, 130,000 Alsatians and Mosellans were forced to join the German army. 40,000 of them died, most of them in a foreign country.
To honor the memory of these 'malgré nous' and to ensure that their drama is not forgotten, l'Association Des Evadés Et Incorporés de Force (the A.D.E.I.F) erected a memorial - a white cross which dominates Obernai and its valley.

The memorial was well worth the visit and the views over the town were lovely but unfortunately the site is clearly popular with some less pleasant young local hoons so we didn’t stay to collect the cache although we did work out where it must be.

Our final aim was to find the Le Struthof Concentration Camp site, part of which is a museum. It was the only such camp on the left bank of the Rhine. The Tom Tom let us down as we could not get the site entered with the information we had . We decided to head west and hoped to see an appropriate sign. However we ended up going for about a 15 km round trip from a nearby town without success. The drive took us up through a lovely forest and we did see a real wild fox by the side of the road so it was still a worthwhile drive. We also discovered the town only 1 km away from us (Barr) is well worth a more detailed visit but we don’t have time!!

We then went back to the BnB to have our tea on the terrace, watching the shadows fall over the village and then the surrounds, until the cold sent us inside. We saw a couple walking the cycle track (there is a cycle track right down the Alsace) with their poodle – it looked so French. We ate some of the food we bought at the supermarket, drank some of the wine and still have food for tomorrow’s lunch.

We enjoyed yesterday but, if anything, today was even nicer. I would still love to come back here and have a half day to just walk around a village. We really must buy a winning Lotto ticket.