Strasbourg is a city in Alsace, a region in eastern France near the border with the Baden region of Germany. The city is the capital of the Bas-Rhin department
The Roman general Drusus founded Strasbourg in 12 BC. as a military outpost called Argentoratum in the later province of Germania superior. Under Trajan and after the fire in 97, Argentoratum had reached its greatest extent and strongest fortifications
Strasbourg's well-preserved historic old town Grande Île, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988, is surrounded by the Ill, a tributary of the Rhine. The Cathédrale Notre-Dame (Strasbourg Cathedral) is the city's landmark, built between 1176 and 1439 in the Romanesque and Gothic styles.
The former tanners' quarter (Quartier des Tanneurs) in the La Petite France district on the banks of the Ill and several of its canals with its picturesque half-timbered houses, small streets and typical dormers is very popular with tourists. The former use of the tanneries, which have now been converted into apartments, can still be recognized today by their typical roof trusses, for example at 12 Rue des Dentelles.
Some inspirational images of the frozen Rhine-Rhone Canal south of Strasbourg in winter, sent to us by our friend and paraglider Patrick Andre from France, inspired us to write an article about ice skating, a still little practiced outdoor sport in Turkey.
We've known each other for a few years now, so it's not surprising that our friend Patrick from Strassbourg keeps telling us about the experiences and impressions he's had during his professional paragliding tours around the world.
Even today the view from the window shows a blue, cloudless sky and at the breakfast table we can already see the anticipation in Patrick: another wonderful day for paragliding. So breakfast is done quickly, the equipment is already in the vehicle anyway and off you go.
We started our first day in Strasbourg early. One of us had to go to the bakery to buy croissants and warm baguette.
After returning from our extensive first bike tour through Strasbourg, which ended with some shopping, we went along the canals back to Patrick's apartment.
During our stay in Strasbourg, we had already collected some information about the Roman era of Strasbourg due to the visit to the Palais Rohan Museum.