Paris Werewolves

In Strasbourg's Parc de l'Orangerie, massive white storks ( Ciconia ciconia ) nested atop roofs and topped-off trees. There were dozens in all, cleaning and preening the nurseries, soaring high above, and swooping down to their roosts like pterosaurs. The white stork is one of the iconic symbols of the entire Alsace region, spanning both France and Germany. All the same, the population almost disappeared until preservation efforts began in the 1980s--centered on dedicated sanctuaries such as the park. I guess it worked--we seemed to be the only people showing much interest in the living dinosaurs clattering above.

  This mascaron caught my eye not just for being freaky, but for being carved wood. It's befitting for the timbered architecture of Strasbourg, but wood carvings just aren't as common in Paris. An example from the park on l'Île Saint-Germain near our apartment drives the point home. I can't tell if it's supposed to be Bigfoot or Ben Grimm The Thing. It might be clobberin' time.

We don't consciously seek out places that look like Castle Dracula. Well, actually we do. And compared to places like the Cathar castles in Queribus and Peyrpeteuse that we visited down south years ago, Strasbourg's cathedral really delivered. Château de Quéribus, Cucugnan Château de Peyrepetuse, Rouffiac-des-Corbières But that was not why we took a side trip to Strasbourg, in the Grand-Est region (formerly Alsace), just across the Rhine River from Germany. We had hoped to visit the famous Christkindelsmärik (Christmas Market) last winter, but got organized too late to get an affordable hotel room. So we contented ourselves with a post-May Day trip, principally to enjoy the Alsatian architecture and cuisine. Of which we got plenty of both. We stayed in a 16th century, half-timbered building that was the site of a continuously operating apothecary (later, pharmacy) from 1298 until 2000 (La Pharmacie du Cerf). The ground floor now houses an ice cream shop--which is probably a the...