Early tour by canal boat this morning, we went all around the central part of Strasbourg. It was foggy and cold, but because the bateaux (boats, in French) were covered, our photography was poor, but we were warm. Cruising thru the little locks with the city's shops and quaint houses on either side was charming. Oh, to walk the quay in the early morning, sit at a café and sip strong coffee, munch on a croissant…

We got off the canal bateaux and walked into the city center, with Steven pointing out interesting things along our way. Strasbourg's "mascot" is the stork, which is making resurgence here. Altho we did not see one single bird -maybe they have already migrated - we did see lots of stuffed storks and storks embroidered on towels, handbags, caps, etc. We walked to the Cathedral of St. Mary, our first large Gothic church and went inside in amazement. The amount of detailed carvings outside in every nook and cranny was only dwarfed by the stained glass and carvings inside. From there, D&I walked the central plaza, buying a small patisserie typical of the region, like a little Bundt cake, and some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor.

Everyone regrouped for our way back to the River Rhapsody by tram. Steven gave us our tickets, which had to be validated by machine before boarding the tram. The tram is run by electrical wires overhead, the old-fashioned way, the tracks running above ground, but the cars themselves are very modern and clean. Two different modes of transportation in one morning!

After lunch, we boarded a bus to travel back to Germany! Strasbourg is right on the French/German border and we were headed to Baden-Baden, famous for its thermal baths since Roman times. We toured the city center to see the excavations of the Roman ruins for the baths. Our guide led us to a fountain where, if you drank a cup of the water, you would become ten years younger. I had a sip, which may count for one day younger! The water was 75F, warm with a slight salty taste. But the warmth felt good on our hands, as it was quite cold outside.

We also walked into the city's famous casino, but Darrel, as lucky at cards as he is, wasn't lucky today. First of all, to enter the casino, men must wear black shoes, but not sneakers. They must wear a dress shirt. And a tie. And a suit coat. And have legal identification. He failed all check points! (Passports are locked in the ship's safe, and you know how he hates wearing ties!)

After our walking tour of Baden-Baden, we climbed aboard our buses for a ride into the Black Forest. Up the mountains we went, tall blue spruce so dark, they did look black, while Steven told us dark tales common to the region, many of which were written by the Grimm brothers, and Disney-fied with happy endings. His story was the real thing, sad ending, but with a moral people should heed. This one was about trusting your partner and giving a woman her own special time to herself!

We saw snow on the boughs of the trees and along the roadside. By the time we reached Mummelsee Lake, the snow had accumulated to about 4 inches! The thermometer on the bus read -1C, so I think it was about 30F. Darrel even threw a snowball --- at me!

Mummlesee Lake has a legend that a merman father had two lovely mermaid daughters and, if young men went swimming in his lake to woo them, the boys would be pulled down to the bottom of the lake and drowned. Moral of the story - don't swim in this lake.

We went into the restaurant beside the lake. The waitress wore dirndl dresses. The pastry chef demonstrated the art of the Black Forest cake. Seven layers of cake, whipped cream, chocolate, cherry schnapps and cherry preserves were crafted together in about 5 minutes! Then of course we were served a slice.

A long ride back to the boat still docked in Strasbourg, France, but definitely worth the trip, and we arrived back just in time for dinner! Obviously, those of us who had just returned were not hungry. But after dinner, there was still another treat for us: French chansons, sung by a lovely young woman and accompanied with accordion, ala Edith Piaf. A wonderful end to a wonderful day.

TOMORROW: More of Strasbourg and a trip to the Alsace region of France up in the Vosges Mountains. More snow? And the ending of our cruise…