After last night's debacle at the hotel in Koblenz
you'll be pleased to know that I've booked us in to Le
Jean-Sebastien Bach in Strasbourg for the next couple of nights.
We should be there for lunch. Or would have been if all the trains
weren't running up to half an hour late, the connections disconnected
and the wheels hadn't fallen off the Vorsprung durch Technik in
general. The hotel's a bit swish though; we've even got a trouser
press. A freshen up and a walk in the park before dinner is in order
I think.
I think that we could recommend Le Parc de l'Orangerie
for an evening stroll if only for the magnificent White Storks
(Ciconia ciconia) nesting in the carefully pollarded Plane
trees. Did you know that these birds gave rise to the ancient Greek
Law of Pelargonia, (Pelargos being the Greek for Stork)? Storks were
thought to care for their aged parents and Pelargonia enshrined in
law that Greek citizens should do the same. Storks don't, by the way,
but the majority of Greeks still do.
Apart from the storks they have a wonderful selection
of well labelled trees here and what is more, they have Red Squirrels
(Sciurus vulgaris) running
around in them (a bit too quickly for my little camera). These are
still quite rare in England due to the introduction of the Eastern
Grey Squirrel in the last century coupled with the virtual
eradication of its natural predator, the Pine Marten. However,
conservation measures are under way for both the Red Squirrel and the
Pine Marten.
Time for an aperitif
before dinner (I spotted a nice looking restaurant near the park
entrance) and there's a small cafe overlooking the lake here which
has a Pastis with my name on it. It looks as if we have company. I
have a great fondness for sparrows as they are different wherever
you go. This is a House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), the
same species as we have in the UK but when we get to Italy next week
we'll be accompanied by Italian Sparrows (Passer italiae)
possibly meeting up with some
hybrids on the Swiss-Italian border. When we get back to Crete we'll
be with an intergrade species; part Italian, part Spanish (Passer
hispaniolensis).
A relaxing day with no
travelling. I want to search out the Zoological Museum later but
first, a walk by L'ill (the river that flows through Strasbourg as
opposed to The Rhine which runs alongside) down into the old town,
and it is old, it held its 2000th anniversary in
1988. I particularly want to see La Cathederale de Strasbourg to see
what inspired Thys van Leer to dedicate a piece of music to it. This
is a comparitively modern building, it wasn't completed until 1439.
It was actually started in 1176 but you know what building projects
are like when you've got a multitude of materials suppliers to deal
with.
And so to the Musee
Zoologique which is not the best signposted Museum in the world,
being buried in a mass of old buildings of identical construction in
the academic quarter. Found it at last and it was worth rooting out
(and you must admit that the psychology seminar we attended was
interesting and the guy from the geology department was positively fascinating). A real old fashioned museum, full of stuffed animals
and well layed out display cases full of insects and other
arthropods. No, you go on ahead. I may be some time. Ah,
Chrysomelidae...
|
Crete
Nature Catch-up
|
||
Steve's
Books (well,
just the one at the moment but 'The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies'
is now at the proofreading stage and on course for publication next
month).
|
Not
Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex. Kindle Edition 1.99 pounds sterling (or equivalent). Click on the link to the right to read two complete stories for free. Paperback Edition 4.99 pounds sterling (or equivalent).. Read snippets, samples and stuff at Steve's Books |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Recent Posts
|
