When we got to the Swiss border, the frontier police pulled us out of the line of cars passing through, but then ignored us. After waiting a few minutes, Darrell went into a booth and bought the $27 annual Swiss road tag (vignette) needed to drive on their express roads. He showed it to the police and asked if we could go. They nodded and we took off. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop. Their cash register automatically rang up the price in any common currency you offered. Prices were very high, though.

A Swiss farm

A cow parade?

Is that snow up there?

Despite the high cost of using Swiss roads, our traffic problems were far from over. We hit major jams going by Luzern and Basil, then the worst one of all out in open country where two lanes went down to one, even though there was no apparent reason for the other lane to be closed. To top it off, we had to wait over 35 minutes to go through the Gottard Tunnel. In retrospect, we would have done far better to have taken the autostrada/autobahn route from Verona past Munich, then west. Although 100 kilometers longer, it probably would have been much faster. Of course, you can't beat the scenery in Switzerland.

When we finally got the Strasbourg, capital city of Alsace and our destination for the night, traffic on the autoroute was again at a standstill. Darrell finally took the first exit he saw, figuring any local traffic jam was better than parking on the express highway. Fortunately, that exit led to the city center where the Hotel Suisse was located.

Although Strasbourg lies on the west side of the Rhine, it is the Ill River that flows through the city. For a few kilometers it splits into two branches, forming an island, before coming together again. The original city of Strasbourg, now the old town, is on the island. The limited number of streets with bridges aggravates the problem of getting around by car.

Us at Hotel Suisse

After we figured out the bridges and the one way streets, we finally got to the Hotel Suisse about 7 p.m., about three hours later than we had expected. In addition, it was raining steadily, so our plans to see Strasbourg by night were rapidly coming undone. We checked in and unloaded the car. Then Darrell and Randy had to take it to a garage across the river and walk back. A car in a big city is always a liability.
 

The Winstub restaurant

We had dinner in the hotel's "famous" Winstub restaurant. Darrell had picked this hotel for our stay largely because of its location, right in the heart of the old city. (It was across the street from the back corner of the cathedral, and we could see the delicate spire from our room.) But it also was advertised as a quaint Old World hotel, featuring a renowned restaurant dating from 1630. Well, the restaurant may have been old underneath, but it seemed to have been completely remodeled in a very modern-looking style. We ordered an Alsatian specialty, Baeckeoffe, a stew made with three different meats. It came in a large tureen and was quite good. And even Randy had to acknowledge that there was enough.

Cathedral

By the time we finished, the rain had stopped, though it was very damp and chilly. Jane still had a sore throat, so Darrell was the only one inclined to venture out for a glimpse of the city by night. Both of us had been to Strasbourg before (Darrell once; Jane three times), but only on day trips from Heidelberg where we were stationed. So we had never seen the city at night. 

Darrell walked to the front of the cathedral, illuminated by floodlights. The square in front of the cathedral was lined with tall, medieval houses, also illuminated. There were only a few people out on this dismal night. After looking at some of the shops and restaurants, Darrell followed the street to the river, then through the market square in front of the Rohan Palace (18th Century bishop's residence, now the Fine Arts Museum), and back to the hotel. It had been a tiring day.

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