October 10-12, 2009

Written October 18

Friends and Families,

A month after our business trip to Paris, we were back in France, but just barely. Nancy and Steve, friends we'd met in Kiev years ago, were visiting Europe and we agreed to a weekend in Strasbourg, in the French Alsace region. (Or, Strausburg in the German Alsace region, depending on the period of history we are talking about.)

We drove down from Frankfurt, through normal Friday afternoon traffic, and arrived at the Hotel de France at 6pm. Minutes later, we met up with Nancy and Steve and were gabbing as usual. And we were eating as is usual in France -- well.

The weekend passed too quickly. We walked through the quaint, old parts of the city, had a couple of nice meals, took a boat cruise, and mostly just talked a lot (girls more than the guys, I'd have to say!)

This diary story is told by our pictures.

Take care and visit with friends,

John and Marianne.

	Our hotel room was large and had a decent view.
Nancy and Marianne	First dinner	Steve and Marianne
	Old Town Strasbourg
	Reflections made the sky bluer than it really was!
	Streets had plenty of visitors and performers, despite the rain.
	One morning I managed an early tour of parts of the rainy town.
	Our boat tour was a nice way to spend an hour on a rainy day. (Our jet-lagged travelers used the time wisely.)
	Strasbourg, like all European cities we visit, has a remarkable church. We visited the Notre Dame Cathedral both during the day and in the dark, early, morning.
	The early morning photo excursion was fun. I was alone outside and inside.
Organ	Strasbourg's Notre Dame has some of the oldest stained glass windows in Europe, some dating from the 13th Century. The organ was originally installed in 1385, but has been updated over the centuries.	Colors show the growth of the church over the years.