I'm not sure why, but I have always wanted to visit Strasbourg. I finally got there and it was pretty much how I imagined it - great. It has a lot of history, awesome architecture, and is just a nice place to be. Very relaxing, very scenic and the people are very friendly (it's outside Paris). It was just a two-day trip, but was still great and I was able to see quite a bit. Also, I got a pretty good deal on the train (which was high-speed and only took 2 hours 20ish minutes).
First thing was to take in the awesome night scenes and get some supper.
Above left is on Rue Martin Luther just across from
Eglise Saint Thomas. I took it mainly for my father. I thought the lighting on the sign was a nice effect. On the right is the Musée alsacien entrance. I didn't visit this museum but I thought the sign was kind of cool.
I ate at
Zuem Strissel which was recommended by Trip Advisor. And since it was my first meal, I had to get some traditional cuisine. For my entree, the salade de chèvre chaud, and for my main dish, the choucroute garnie aux 5 viandes. The choucroute is a Strasbourg specialty. Strasbourg is also known for its
winstubs, which Zuem Strissel is one of.
This is the salade de chèvre chaud (warm goat cheese salad). Look at the size of those cheese chunks!
And this is the choucroute garnie aux 5 viandes (sauerkraut with 5 meats).
By the way, Strasbourg is very generous with their servings!
After eating I walked along the canals (from the Oberrhein / Upper Rhine) and took in more sites. The city is two distinct scenes depending on the time of day and the bridges looked fantastic at night. Above are a couple closeups of the nice flowerbeds along one of the bridges. I was trying to get my smartphone to focus on just one part of the images rather than to infinity. That's a little tricky with a smartphone and there was a breeze which didn't help. I really should get a digital SLR.
Here's a pretty good pic showing how well the bridges are lit. Luckily I also brought my Cyber-shot so I able to set the exposure long enough to get a clear pic - almost impossible with my phone. I forgot my little tripod so I used a trashcan instead. Conveniently, it had a little shelf.
This picture isn't that great, but it's part of the Notre Dame of Strasbourg
Here are a couple more shots showing the quaint and romantic air of Strasbourg. These shots in particular are in the Petite France area. Above is
Place Benjamin Zix and below is looking down Rue du Bain aux Plantes. I really enjoyed how welcoming the buildings looked - I could only imagine it with some snow during Christmas time.
The next day, I checked out and took my bag to the
Bahnhof Straßbourg to store it in a locker. The station is actually very nice and has a cool glass facade. I would have taken a picture but it doesn't do it justice. There are certainly better pictures on the web.
First stop was the
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. You never know what you'll get with contemporary art, but the building was a piece of art itself and they had a great collection of
Gustave Doré work. He was a native of Strasbourg. Here are some pieces that captured my attention...
The building was very nice and very apopros for a contemporary art museum.
This is just above the entrance.
Above left is "
Œdipe et le Sphinx (Oedipus and the Sphinx)" by François-Émile Ehrmann in 1903. Painted when he was 70 (and three years before his death) I was very impressed with the color and detail. The faces portrayed exactly what Ehrmann wanted to portray. Above right is "
Le Singe et la dauphin" by
Jean-Désiré Ringel d'Illzach also in 1903. I have seen a few Monkeys and Dolphins so I finally looked it up. It is a
1668 fable by
Jean de La Fontaine, and the moral is "he who once begins to tell falsehoods is obliged to tell others to make
them appear true, and, sooner or later, they will get him into trouble".
Above left is a very nice drawing of a Fantassin (foot soldier) by Paul PAESCHKE in 1917. Without the date, one could almost know it was an image from WWI. On the right is Plans Verticaux, (1912-13) by
František Kupka. It's hard to explain why pieces of work capture one's attention, but this one did.
I loved the above painting which was one of three maquettes pour le Salon de musique réalisé pour l'exposition d'architecture allemande de Berlin, 1931 (
Models for the music room made for the exhibition of German architecture in Berlin) by Vassily KANDINSKY. I liked the green and the simple, geometric shapes. Below is a mockup of the actual salon - where each wall was one of the three models. I think making the walls with tile was a perfect touch. Looking back, I have no idea why I didn't try to take a panoramic picture of the room.
Above left, an interesting sculpture by René MAGRITTE,
Madame Récamier de David, 1967. On the right, is a composition by
Sophie TAEUBER-ARP around 1926-27. There were a couple other works by her and I really like their simplicity and colors. I also took the picture for reference. I think this would be a great separating wall or a pair of sliding doors.
You couldn't take pictures in the Gustave Doré exhibit, but I did sneak one before I found out. This one (above left) happens to be "
Masques à louer ou non" (masks for rent or not) by André GILL in 1868, but the style was very similar to many works by Doré. It was a collection of some amazing drawings and etchings. On the ground floor, there was an entire room with paintings by Doré. I was impressed. First by his painting skills and second, I was unaware Doré painted as much as he did. The depiction of Satan (above right) is a Doré drawing I've always liked and shows the similarity of style.
Above is a room on the 1st floor. Very nice museum and with
the vast space the building almost dwarfs the collection.
I thought these pics turned out pretty cool. There was a 7 minute contemporary art film that continues to play. When I walked in I saw this rather striking image. One person against a blank screen. I thought I just made some contemporary art myself. I was impressed with her posture and she barely moved. The second image was even more "contemporary". A person watching a person looking into space. I should have submitted this as two large posters. It's better than some of the works.
After leaving the MAMCS, I walked across the
Barrage Vauban and took a nice panoramic of the
Ponts Couverts with
la Petite France behind on the way to the Cathedral.
While the exterior of the
Cathedral is impressive, I thought the interior was not necessarily awe-inspiring. Maybe I've seen too many churches, but it was quite dark and the corner with the famous
astrological clock seemed even darker. The picture on Wiki is good but I think there is additional lighting added. A nice thing about the clock is if you miss the 12:30 chiming (most popular) it still chimes throughout the day. But I will say, it had one of the most ornate and colorful organs I've ever seen (above).
Above is from the front of the chapel looking back to the Rose window and organ.
Below is the southeast side of the cathedral which faces
Palais Rohan.
This is a panoramic of the square just in front of the cathedral.
Next stop was the
Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame. This was an interesting place. The collection was quite varied ranging from stained glass to sculptures, and for the most part, very old. But for me, the coolest thing was the building. It was an old house/mansion and as you navigated through it you actually opened the doors to individual rooms. With the squeaking floors, the well-used staircases and unique rooms, it was like visiting an friend's house. And each doorway hid a different collection.
Above left, is a detail of one of the very old panes of stained glass. I was impressed with the condition of these windows - several being complete. On the right is a little courtyard you walk through with a telescope for viewing the cathedral. It was free which is nice because there is a lot of impressive detail on the church.
This statue (above) was in a room full of statues. I think the clean break on his face made an interesting effect. The more I looked at it, I started to see Einstein's face in the break. Just to appreciate what you're looking at, this statue is about 600 years old. Nice.
These two guys are on a wall with 2 or 3 other busts. These are wood and are over 500 years old.
This is a detail of
St Mary Magdalene and St Catherine,
Konrad WITZ, vers 1440. This is actually St Catherine. I had to take the picture because it was a great painting, but also because I am always amazed how paint can hold such detail and clarity for hundreds of years. It really is amazing.
Next stop;
Musée des Beaux-Arts (
Wiki has more info) which is conveniently co-located with two other museums. This place had a pretty good collection and was nice to navigate as it's just one floor. Here are some works of interest to me...
I had to take a picture of
Portrait of a Young Lady, RAPHAEL, 1515-20. First, because it's Raphael but mainly it was an attempt to show the impressive detail. In particular I was trying to capture the little jewel on her headdress. Once again, I need to get an SLR. Seriously. On a side note, it's nice we just call Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, "Raphael".
This is one of the best paintings of Christ I've seen.
Le Christ tombé sous la croix,
Giuseppe Maria CRESPI, vers 1735-40. I don't think I was familiar with CRESPI, or "Lo Spagnuolo", but I like his style. Even his
self-portrait is full of emotion. This painting of Christ immediately grabbed my attention. The fatigue, pain and distress are evident on his face and the scene isn't the typical post-cross or on-the-cross. You can see how he dreads the burden of the cross let along the pending crucifixion. And the Roman soldier gives Him no rest as he insists he gets up to carry His cross.
Adoration des Mages,
Valerio CASTELLO, vers 1650. I took this for a couple of reasons. First, it's over 300 years old and the detail is terrific. Second and foremost, I always love how paintings of certain eras show men with piles of flowing hair and beards. I don't work with oils or acrylics but I think painting hair must have been fun after successfully capturing the face.
Clair de lune,
Philippe-Jacques LOUTHERBOURG, 1777. LOUTHERBOURG painted several dynamic scenes but I took this picture simply because I love scenes like this. Moonlit clouds are one of the coolest things to see. I have seen moonlit contrails and that is also an impressive image.
Two more paintings which impressed me. On the left, Perroquet (étude) by
Jean Baptiste OUDRY. OUDRY has several wonderful paintings, many of which are of nature and animals. I took this pic because I love birds but also because it was just an "étude". It goes to show how some peoples sketches and studies are incredible works of art. Not normally the case with my sketches.
On the right,
Portrait de Léon Cogniet, peintre, by
Léon BONNAT, 1880. BONNAT has done some wonderful portraits and this one is no exception. The detail and realism are amazing and I love how the black background really contrast the face and force the viewer to look into his eyes.
This is a view of the courtyard of the
Palais Rohan (leaving the museum) with a nice view of the cathedral in the background. I loved the cloudy weather but it can make pictures (look-up) pictures tricky. Most of them are washed out but this one turned out okay.
I also visited
Église Saint-Paul de Strasbourg, but sadly it was was close - I think for renovations. There were signs pointing towards an entry but all the doors were closed. Maybe I was just too late. The church is beautiful and quite massive, however most of my pics were washed out or the cathedral was much to dark. Instead I took this 'artsy' pic from across the canal showing just the back portion of the church.
I also visited the
Musée Tomi Ungerer. He is a local artist / celebrity and the museum had some good reviews online. However, what I didn't know is
Tomi Ungerer's work ranged from illustrating children's books to adult erotica. When I visited the temporary exhibit was Tomi Ungerer : Femmes Fatales and I have to say I was surprised. Some of it was pretty dirty and it's interesting that was the same man drawing images for children. I guess it goes to show you never really know anyone and humans are complex creatures. Below is the petit journal for the exposition temporaire:
After my sightseeing, but before my train, I wanted to get one more diner of local cuisine. I also wanted to return to the area around Place Benjamin Zix so I tired
la Corde à Linge. It has nice outside seating right in the place and if you're inside there are several windows - both good for people watching. Also, you can eat throughout the day which is nice since some restaurants don't serve between lunch and supper.
Above left was my main course - the spätzle was great. Their logo on a beer glass.
On the way to get my train, I took one last photo. This is
Église Saint-Pierre le Vieux and while not an overly impressive it's kind of the first/last monument you see if using the train station, and I thought the lighting was terrific.
En fin, it was a great trip and the ville pretty much met or exceeded all of my expectations! Another great thing about Strasbourg (if visiting museums) is you can by a day pass for 12€ (en 2014) for touts les musées and they're sold at any museum - you don't have to visit a special office. It was fantastic. If you ever are in the area, make sure you visit Strasbourg.
- mm -
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