France: Part III- Alsace (Verdun & Strasbourg)

On our ride from Épernay to Strasbourg we stopped in the city of Verdun to visit L'ossuaire de Douaumont.  This ossuary houses the bones of 130,000 unidentified French and German soldiers who died on the battlefields of Verdun in World War I.  The battle lasted for 300 days in 1916 killing approximately 300,000 soldiers.  Inside, each engraved stone represents the name of a missing soldier.  It was quite the sobering experience walking through the building, surrounded by the names.  The windows of the building are red stained glass and when the sunlight shines through it makes the entire place red, to represent the blood of the soldiers.  Outside there are small windows at the base which you can look through and see piles and piles of bones of unidentified soldiers.  I've always loved history, so, while it's not the most romantic thing to do on your honeymoon, I'm glad we went.  

After leaving the ossuary we headed to the city of Verdun to wander around for a bit and grab some lunch.  We found a small cafe, ordered cafe cremés and SUPER tasty open faced sandwiches with potatoes, cheese, ham and tomatoes and dined outside, despite the chill in the air that day.  It was quite tasty, so tasty in fact I snapped a photo of it, in typical Kate fashion.  And of course, when in France, you must get pastries so we ordered a mini chocolate eclair and a meringue ball with chocolate in the center that we scarfed down on the bus- both delicious! 

After our poignant stop in Verdun, we headed for Strasbourg, the capital of the Alsace region.  Once we checked into our hotel, we freshened up and headed for the center of town via the tram.  Making our way through the narrow streets we could see the massive spire of the cathedral jutting up in between the buildings.  I had seen photos of the cathedral and knew it was big but never could tell HOW massive until I was standing at the base.  Wow... it makes you feel like a tiny ant as you stare up, neck cranked back straining to see the top!  When I look at all these cathedrals, it really amazes me to think how old they are.  I can't fathom building one today let alone hundreds and hundreds of years ago.  They are so detailed and intricate- you could sit and look for hours and still not see all of the reliefs and minute details.  It's a little mind blowing if you stop and think about it.