We were in Strasbourg for all of 2.5 hours, but it was enough time to make me wish — once again — that we weren’t limited to train travel. There were so many small towns and villages that I wish we could have driven to, ideally while accidentally taking a wrong turn on the way to somewhere else. We left Basel, Switzerland en route to Paris, but a short connection allowed us a couple hours to wander Strasbourg. While it’s a modern city, the train station is located in the heart of the old town, and the buildings style is exactly what I hoped to see in “old” western Europe.

We headed in the direction of the Cathedral, which has some of the oldest Christian stained glass in the world, dating back to the 12th century. It also had a very impressive astrological clock. Along the way we watched local artists work, drooled in bakery windows, and stretched out our necks from looking up at the architecture. Still, after two hours of walking around our backpacks were killing us. We spent the rest of our connection time sprawled out in a park by the train station, taking in the beautiful day.

Sometimes backpacking us just about appreciating a well-earned rest.