We had a very relaxed start to the day this morning, we hadn’t been able to book into breakfast at a time we wanted so had decided we would head out and get something locally, so after a shower, a couple of cups of coffee and putting as many layers of clothing in as we thought we would need we set off in search of the restaurant the woman at reception had suggested. It was a good decision, although this is a bar it opens for breakfast, the food was lovely and the whole place was very atmospheric, fortified with strong coffee and and very nice omelet we set off to explore the area. Unfortunately we were a little early for the French and none of the Christmas markets were open, but this did at least give us the opportunity to see the streets before they were full of tourists. It is very cold today so we actually kept our masks on outside to provide a bit of extra warmth. The whole area was once very industrial, our hotel used to make ice, other buildings in the area were tanners or warehouses. This is where the river entered the town so a number of wharfs were built for the trader to either receive or distribute goods. We watched the tourist boat go through the lock and the swing bridge, which is actually right next to our hotel, then waked down to the Covered bridges, which formed the city’s defence in the 13th century. The covered bridges were originally made of wood, but placed with stone ones and in 1784 the roofs were removed but the name Ponts Couverts remained in common use, the towers that over look them were built in the 14th century and became the main fortification until Strasbourg was absorbed by France in 1681 and a new defensive ring was built. You can walk across the top of the newer fortifications Barriage Vauban, which has a panoramic view of Petite France, there are actually 4 towers that once linked the covered bridges, although one of the bridges seems to have vanished completely, just the tower remains but as you are not allowed to go in any of them we didn’t really find out what happened there. By this time we were getting a little chilly, although thankfully the forecast snow hadn’t arrived so we went and got a hot chocolate, or two, to warm us up. Then we had a walk around a couple of the markets and decided to head back to the hotel for a rest as we want to go out this evening to look at the various Christmas lights. We went out about 4pm to get an early dinner forgetting we are in France and that restaurants have opening hours, so after a little walk round we came back to the hotel for a drink before heading out again later to get something to eat. We had a very nice pizza then went for a walk up to the cathedral area where we thought there would be a larger Christmas market, but as it turns out although we were too early for them this morning, arriving around 8pm meant we were too late this evening! All the same it was nice to see all the Christmas decorations, we even saw the famous teddy bear house but it wasn’t actually very well lit so we will have to go back tomorrow to have a look at it. We had a very nice walk along the canal back to the hotel then a final drink in the bar before heading back to the room for a coffee and bed.
