Unexplored Europe. Strasbourg
We traveled for one day from Saarbrü cken to Strasbourg. At that time, the train schedule was changing and the only direct train departed only at 11:54 with an arrival in Strasbourg at 13:37. It was too late for a day trip, so I chose the option with a connection:
Saarbrü cken (08:40) - Sarreguemines (09:10.10:14) - Strasbourg (11:37).
In the first section, the Saarbrü cken tram No. 1 of the STB company was transported, in the second section, the French TGV class train. The cost of such a trip RT is 29 euros for two according to the "Saar-Alsatian ticket" (Saar-Elsas ticket), the ticket is bought from the DB machine on Hbf. If you decide to buy a ticket at the box office, then the cashier will take a commission of 2 euros. The tram departs from Station Square, it is very comfortable, there were few passengers, and stops are frequent. Through Saarbrü cken along Kaiserstrasse, which is theoretically central in the city, but there are no sights other than the Town Hall.
Imperceptibly, the tram gets out of the city limits and keeps its way to the German-French border. And here is the border station itself "Bad Rilchingen - Hanweiler". Of course, there is no border as such, but the border booth, just in case, was left. At 9:10 already in Sarreguemines, the station is very small, there are no more than 10 seats in the waiting room, of the arriving passengers, no one is waiting for the train to Strasbourg, everyone quickly rushes about their business. We have an hour of free time, we decide to take a walk and see the town. Sunday morning, the streets are completely empty, institutions are closed a priori, and "patesseri" and "boulangerie" open later. From the very first minutes I recognize the French flavor: a big poster about the match of the French Championship in French (freestyle) wrestling: Saargeminues vs Nancy. For some reason, I immediately remembered the good old French comedy, in which there were competitions "Paris" - "Province".
Yes, and the show "Big Races" - where they competed city-to-city, or even country-to-country - is also a French invention. Gradually we go to the embankment of the river, on the opposite bank there is a square, there is a beautiful bridge. On the embankment of the opposite bank, we notice a revival, a lot of cars, the townspeople rush to the opposite bank with baskets. As expected, there is an agricultural fair on the opposite bank. Where you can buy various agricultural products, including live chickens, geese, rabbits, piglets, goats, donkeys, as well as a cow with a calf. An important difference between the European fair and the domestic agricultural market is the availability of POS-terminals for payment by cards, naturally wireless ones. The latter looked very colorful on tables made of J.
But there is not much time, we return to the station, where a comfortable TGV with traditional French melodies is already waiting for us before the announcement of stops. The road to Strasbourg passed by endless French fields, on one of which we even observed French hunting. Finally, by a large number of branching railway lines, it became clear that a major railway station was approaching. The Strasbourg station is a huge glass building (which, as it were, covers the old building of the old station), integrated with an underground tram station (there is no metro in Strasbourg), in the passage between which a very original WC was found - a door with a combination lock that will open if coin acceptor insert 3 coins: 20 euro cents, 10 euro cents and 5 euro cents. Any other combinations (20 + 5 + 5 + 5) are not suitable, the machine also does not give change, the 50 cent coin was pushed back with enviable persistence ...
The station is located on a beautiful square in the Belle Epoque style, from where 5 streets scatter in different directions. We choose the shortest street to the center - Maire Kuss. The area is not yet touristy - there are many fast foods and cheap hotels. The center begins with the embankment of the canals that encircle the historic center. In some places among the buildings of the 19-20th century. in. you can see half-timbered 19-17 century. in. The bridges thrown across the canal are also old in places, with characteristic wooden towers. Along the Quai Desaix promenade we are moving in the direction of the Petit France quarter (Little France). The river in this place flows through the rapids, it is blocked by a dam by about 1/3. All elements of this hydraulic structure look so old (even overgrown with moss in places) that their technical serviceability in general raises questions. As it turned out, not in vain.
After a couple of minutes, a narrow and long boat with tourists (very similar to the Parisian "bato-mush") floats out onto a wide water space, having turned rather famously, this watercraft recovered in the direction of... this very old gateway! And surprisingly, it fit into it, although the distance between the sides and walls of the airlock was less than 1 meter. Further, as expected, the gate behind the boat closed, the dam started working, the water level in the lock began to drop until it synchronized with the level below the threshold. Then the front gate began to open. But something went wrong: halfway through the gate "stuck", opening at an angle of approximately 30 degrees. The ship in them, of course, did not pass in size. After a moment of confusion, the captain (or the first officer - the boat was driven by two), went out to the edge of the side and called somewhere on a beating. About three minutes later, a man in overalls ran up from somewhere with a quick step.
Assessing the scale of the situation, Monsieur the engineer went into an inconspicuous booth on the edge of the coast, and performed some secret manipulations, as a result of which the gates opened completely and the boat continued its journey J. The Petite France quarter is located on a narrow peninsula and consists of several rows of houses right on shore, so that from the front door you can step on board the boat, almost like Venice. Buildings of varying degrees of antiquity, mostly stone, but half-timbered buildings are also found. There are many vases with flowers on one of the houses from the outside, as well as on numerous bridges. Opposite - there is a building of an old dam (built by military engineer Vauban), if you climb it - a very good panorama of the old city opens up. Having reached the end of Petit France, we go to the fashionable-looking, antique-built Regent Petit France hotel. To the left of it leaves Rue des Moulins, partly turning into a bridge.
This bridge was also not easy. As soon as we passed through it, the same monsieur already known to us with an assistant, began to block it with barriers. As soon as the bridge was blocked, the engineer pulled the lever - and the bridge instantly became movable, turning around its axis by 90 degrees. And at that time, another "bato" with tourists calmly sailed along the canal. And after 2 minutes the bridge returned to its original position. In the meantime, we went to Place B. Zix. The tourist quarter already dominates here - cafes, souvenir shops, etc. Along Fosse des Tanneurs street, we exit to the Main Street - Grand Rue. It's surprisingly not crowded here. Most of the shops are closed (apparently due to the fact that Sunday). But walking along this street is extremely pleasant. The fact that in the historical center of Strasbourg the names of street names, in addition to French, are also duplicated in German, drew attention to itself.
For the historical center (in particular, in the area of the Republic Square or the Central Station) this was not observed. We are gradually approaching one of the central squares of Strasbourg - Gutenberg Square. There are festivities on it today - the “French carousel”, a local brass band, many tents with various goodies, including two tents with young wine (1 glass - 1 euro). We have lunch. From Gutenberg Square you can already see the Cathedral on the Central Square. In fact, this is the center of Strasbourg. The number of people walking per square meter exceeds reasonable limits - in principle, the explanation is simple - it's warm, Sunday, maybe school holidays begin .... To the left of the Cathedral is an old quarter dominated by a corner house called Maison Kammerzell (built in the middle of the 15th century), distinguished by a colossal amount of carved decoration and has 75 (seventy five) windows.
To the right - Castle Square, on which are located Post office, as well as the Rogan Palace (Palais Rohan), the street goes downhill < strong>Rue du Maroquin, which stretches along an endless line of cafes and restaurants under red tents. In general, I am not a frequent visitor to France, Strasbourg for me is only the third French city visited all the time, but the red tents (umbrellas) over the tables, as well as the red fabric "visors" over the entrance group to cafes / shops, have become integral symbols of France ingenerally, and the holiday in particular J. We didn’t enter the Cathedral, because there was a solid queue at the entrance. Paramilitary security was also present. If you wish, you can climb on foot to the dome of the Cathedral (entrance 6 E). Further plans are to go to Republic Square, where we can take a tram to the European Quarter (a complex of EU offices), located in a very remote area, almost outside the city.
And then - in fact, already to the station by tram to the return train. So, along the street Rue de Dome past the information center with paid maps of the city, we go to the square < strong>Broglie (on the way I met a small Monop', which, unfortunately, did not contain my favorite cognac Coursel). This square is famous for the presence of Hotel de Ville (colloquially – City Hall J), as well as the old building of the Opera, between the entrance columns of which there is a restaurant J. On the bridge over the canal we cross to the opposite bank, to the right - Marseillaise Avenue (Avenue de la Marsellaise ), to the left - Jacques Sturm embankment (Quai Jacques Sturme). Both names sound very militant.
In contrast, Republic Square, immediately after the intersection, is a large quiet park with benches and a fountain (very cool in the 25-degree heat in mid-October J) and a large interchange a node of tram routes connecting this area with almost all areas of the city. On opposite sides of the park are the City Theater and the Rynn Palace (the latter houses one of the city's museums). To get to the European Parliament, you need to use the tram number E, and to get to Strasbourg Gare < strong>– number C. The cost of one trip for 1 person is 1.80 euros. If you buy a daily unlimited (valid for a company of up to 3 people) - then its price will be 6.80 euros. Tickets are sold only in vending machines at stops, vending machines accept only euro coins or payment cards.
Before boarding the tram, the ticket must be punched in an electronic composter, also at the bus stop. Trams run at intervals of 12-15 minutes, very modern and fast. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the European Parliament, but the distance is very decent, the route passed through the old, but not tourist areas of the city (at least not a single cafe was seen). The complex of buildings of the European Parliament is located on the outskirts, there is already a private sector around, you can’t get close to the building itself, fences are installed for 40 meters, but the photos still turn out to be very picturesque. Immediately behind the main building there is a river with a promenade on both sides. On the opposite bank, as I understand it, it is also a continuation of the European Quarter (but the bridge was far away, so we didn’t cross). By the way, there was a pier behind the fence, obviously for official river transport.
Buildings around - one-story and suspiciously typical (absolutely without decor) in even rows are solid simple houses, with virtually no courtyards. Personally, this inspired me to think about some kind of official housing, especially since there were no residential high-rise buildings or hotels within a kilometer around... We also returned to the station by trams with a change at Republic Square. The C tram also passes through the center, tangentially passing the Place Kleber with old buildings.
There were no direct trains at all on the return route (the direct bus was too early), so we decided to return by the same route:
Strasbourg (18:15) - Sarreguemines (19:36.20:16) - Saarbrü cken (20:46).
Everything is clear without delay. I noticed that our evening STB flight was accompanied by the police.
