Voyage sur la Route

   Title means "Road Trip"

   After breakfast this morning, we started our day with a complete circulation of the Lac du Bourget. The word "lac" means lake. Lac du Bourget is a glacier alpine lake on the outskirts of Aix-les-Bains, France.

   While birding around the edges of the lake, we id'ed a lot of Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps Cristatus), one of the most handsome grebes we have ever seen. The crest is the top knot that it wears when it courts his lady friend.

   The Eurasian Coot (Fulica Atra) is a member of the rail family. It is much less secretive than most of the rail family. We saw it today swimming in open water. As most other rails, it is reluctant to fly. When taking off, it runs across the water surface with much flapping and splashing to aid it to attain take-off speed.

   We had not made it far enough north to justify to ourselves birding more in this area. We left the lake and for a goodly part of the day, Robert drove in the rain to Strasbourg, France. We stopped for sandwiches for lunch in Belfort, France. The pictures below were taken on the drive. Here is a picture of the Alps.

   The French autoroute from Belfort to Strasbourg goes periodically through a tunnel under the mountain, instead of around the mountain. This saves a lot of time. This picture is one of the tunnels.

   We arrived in Strasbourg by late afternoon. Strasbourg is a university town, situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. In fact, this area has often been a part of Germany. The city has a lot of German names and influences.

   After the long drive, we needed a nap before dinner, so we obtained a hotel room. We ate dinner at the cafe, "La Corde de Linge". We both had spaetzle. Spaetzle are a kind of soft egg noodle found in the cuisine Alsace. Alsace is the region of France, where Strasbourg is located. The Spatzle was very tasty. Berry hopes Robert will make some when we get home.

   After dinner, we took a walk around the historic center of the city. The old buildings were beautiful. Robert took the picture of the Mallard (Anas Platyrhynchos) below in the river that runs through the city. We have seen Mallards every day that we have been in France. Berry took the picture of the Mute Swan (Cygnus Olor).

   We went to a crêperie for dessert, then returned to the hotel for the night. We will be staying here in Strasbourg for two days, shopping and sightseeing. We may see a bird. We will surely enjoy the fine French cuisine.

Robert and Berry

Photos courtesy of wikipedia, bfowler, rfowler