Strasbourg - Germany or France???

Today we're in the charming city of Strasbourg, France, where the local joke is that the city keeps 2 sets of street signs, one in French and the other in German, so they'll be ready for whichever country is currently in command! Over the centuries it has been passed back and forth between France and Germany many times, but for now, it's a French city. There were swans all around our ship when we docked.
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I'm getting pretty good at weather forecasting.  Even tho it's dark when I get up, if I see stars, I know we're in for a beautiful day, and I was definitely correct today. As we drove into the city, we could see huge stork nests in the tree tops and were told this bird is the city's symbol -- no wonder we saw so many stork designs in the markets!

Once in the city we were supposed to take a canal cruise through the small rivers that run through the old city, but previous rains had raised the water levels so high, we couldn't pass through the bridges.


The substituted itinerary, however, was even better than seeing the canals.  We now had time to go into Strasbourg's famous cathedral which was begun in the 1100's.

I've seen a lot of cathedrals in Europe, but this was the most impressive one yet.  Our guide was excellent and pointed out sites I would never have noticed.

  Its famous astrological clock was amazing.  Although hard to visualize from this photo, every 15 minutes various figures on the clock strike the time by performing various motions.  For example, on one level there are the 4 stages of life -- birth, adulthood, maturity and old age.  On the quarter hour one figure moves to center front.  One angel on a lower level strike the hour while another turns an hour-glass upside down.  This clock keeps perfect time.

Lining either side of the sanctuary were the cathedral's 12 heirloom tapestries that portray the life of the Virgin Mary.Only at Christmas are the beautiful tapestries displayed. Photo above left.
                                      
  Once outside the cathedral and armed with maps and our guide's directions, we began exploring some of the city's 11 Christmas markets.  One of our favorites was the Christkindelsmarik in the Place Broglie.  Many of the vendors had traditional wares that they had created themselves. 

We bought large Gingerbread cookies at one stall.  Ours were a bit smaller than the one on this building, but it'll be a miracle if they make it home.   

Although we'd already managed to purchase our first Gluhwein from this market, hunger was grabbing our attention.  Some opted for the delicious potato pancakes we'd seen in other areas, but I was longing for a traditional bratwurst on a crusty bun.  I found something even better.  At this stall they were putting a mixture of spatzel(German noodles made out of potato flour) and kraut.  It was delicious!!

There were more markets and we managed to visit several, but just as delightful were the street scenes.  Each street had different decorations.  One had huge glass boxes that contained priceless Baccarat crystal chandeliers while others were silver balls or white stars.  I'm sure there were many we didn't even get to see.

 One lady was playing an organ grinder and on another street Santa zoomed by on his bicycle.  I tried to get a picture of his face but gave up after running halfway across a row of market stalls.