Strasbourg, France

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We got off the ship at 8:45 for our tour of Strasbourg. There were five ships in this port, and some of them were docked side by side, so passengers from other ships had to go through other ships to reach the shore. The bus ride to the town was about 15 minutes, and we walked around the town. Our guide took us to a free and clean restroom near the Cathedral. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go inside the Cathedral because it was Sunday. The architecture of the Cathedral was very ornate. We also went by St. Thomas church, where Mozart played, and Albert Schweitzer also played the organ. 

After the tour, we had an hour to go shopping before we returned to the bus. There were a lot of decorations with storks because every year the storks stop here as they migrate to South Africa. Some nests could be 1000 lbs!

The guide told us this story that parents tell their children about how babies are made:

The stork is sitting above a hidden lake. When a parent wants a baby, they go to a well and yell down the well, saying they want a baby. This wakes up the old gnome. The old gnome takes his net and tries to catch girl or boy souls in the lake. Girl souls are harder to catch than boy souls. When the old gnome catches one, he gives it to the stork. If the parents put a piece of sugar on their windowsill, the stork will deliver a baby to them.

Around noon, we headed back to the boat and had lunch. Darryl from Abiline, TX joined us (Beth, Barb, Betty, Don, and me). He told us about Grand Circle Travel, which we want to check out. After lunch, we went back to our cabin to pack, and then it was time for Afternoon Tea. After tea, we went back to our cabin to finish packing. 

After dinner, we went back to our cabin. We have to have our suitcases outside our cabin by 6 am.

Original photo by Pat Hensley