Strasbourg, City of Art and Architecture

Wayne at the Gare de Strasbourg

The Strasbourg train station has a huge glass bubble completely covering the facade of the old building.  It was added when the high speed train line came in.  It seems to provide cover as one leaves the historic building and enters the underground tram station.  As we walked there today to rent a car, it appeared at the far end of a road between the medieval buildings.  It looked somewhat like an Anish Kapoor sculpture.  Our car rental is for Sunday when we plan to visit Belfort, Wayne's ancestral grounds.

Today our visit was with the Beaux Arts Museum.  It and 2 other museums are housed in the Palais Rohan, which is adjacent to the Notre Dame Cathedral.  Most notable and impressive for us was Triptych of Earthly and Devine Salvation by Hans Memling.  One panel has a female nude about which the audio guide pointedly described the sandals she was wearing omitting any further description.

We walked to the Petite France area for dinner at the Les Haras Brasserie.  The building was once the horse stable of King Louis XV.  The transformation is beautiful; the ambience, service and hospitality exceptional.  We dined on the first floor.  A sweeping, winding, open staircase led to an exposed second floor some 50' above where others dined beneath a conical beamed ceiling. As I mentioned yesterday, wine plays an important role in the culture.  To our left the diners discussed the terroir, aging, suitability of each wine.  On our right the diners examined label on the wine carefully, asked a question and then accepted the bottle.  We have sampled Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris and Risling.  Risling is still the favorite. I had a taste of my first taste flambee and give it a thumbs up.  
Pictures at flickr.