Part 11 – Strasbourg
Twinned with Liecester
Website: https://www.camping-
On Tuesday, after a four hour drive from Bern, Switzerland we arrived at the campsite in Strasbourg to a deluge of rain. We were allocated a pitch which seemed to be fine, except for the large tree which I could see may become an issue for my solar / leisure batteries. We weren’t 100% sure what the weather forecast was and saw the combination of tree blocking the light, and potentially dull conditions could provide less power over our three day stop than the fridge would draw. So we donned our raincoats and umbrellas and had a wander to see if we could find a more open pitch. It soon became apparent that although we had a tree close to our van, it was in far better condition as a whole than some which had more mud than grass.
(Technical paragraph for those that are interested) As we had had some issues with the batteries dropping below a safe voltage for the fridge a couple of times during our Euro trip, we felt we would be better keeping our allocated pitch, but paying for electric. So we popped to reception and paid the extra just to be on the safe side. That said on the few times I have paid for electric when the hook up cable is connected , I tend not to have the BBB unit fed with power by making sure the trip isolator inside the van (below the power socket) is in the off position. I can’t see any benefit in having the batteries provided with a 30 year old ‘none intelligent’ feed to the batteries, along with a solar charge. If the batteries drop below 11volts, it’s flick the switch to bring em back up.
which lasted well into the early hours of Wednesday morning. This definitely cleared the air and gave a great day for sight seeing on the Wednesday. Not too hot, with a thin layer of cloud and the odd spell off sunshineio. Our smart watches read close to 20k steps when we got back to the campsite late afternoon…so that’s got to be good. Today we are chilling at the campsite till lunch, then going back into this amazing city for the afternoon into the evening, as I’m sure it will be different again as the lights come on at night. ??
I live in Alsace (near Strasbourg) where the souvenir shops are bulging with storks in many shapes and kinds. The reasons for the storks prominence in Alsace are manifold.
1. The geography of Alsace (in the plain of the Rhine with abundant marshland (at least before the canalisation of the Rhine after the second world war) made it a good feeding ground for storks. The area was also within reach of their winter migration areas in North Africa.
2. Laying on the border of France & Germany, Alsace has a very turbulent history and has been fought over many a time. The annexation of Alsace to imperial Germany at the end of the Franco-Prussian war in 1871 t was a very traumatic event for France. The drive to “take back” Alsace was one of the underlying factors contributing to World War 1 . The Alsatian author “Hansi” drew irreverent cartoons about the Germans is Alsace and lay the foundations of an idealistic view of an oppressed Alsace longing to return to the bosom of France. Part of this view was the lore that “in the same way the Stork returns to its home patch after its winter migration, Alsace will one day return to France.
3. The Stork as a symbol thereafter took off in a big way. In featured on posters, postcards, art, tableware, textiles etc… This was perpetuated in the 1960’s by famous Alsation cartoonist Tomi Ungerer (See image – Copyright Delcqmpe – Tomi Ungerer)
4. After 1918 Alsace went back to France only to be reclaimed by Nazi Germany in 1940. At the end of WW II there were alleged to be only 10 stork left in Alsace. A breeding in captivity programme was started during which the migratory instinct was suppressed. The stork population took off again, both in the wild and in two Stork based theme parks in Alsace. Due to climate change the necessity to migrate seems to have reduced substantially anyway.
The stork is a feature of the decor in many Alsatian villages and towns with horizontal wagon wheel on the top of poles and chimneys being provided as base for storks nests. They even nest on powerlines (see picture I shop on a motorway just across the border).
….and of course, in Alsace, like elsewhere in the world the storks main job is delivering babies 😉