Strasbourg, France, is the largest city along the border between France and Germany. During WWII, the Reich worked to make it a "showcase" city, which meant building beautiful government buildings, parks, and plazas. Many of the buildings now house various organizations in line with Strasbourg's role as the seat of the Council of Europe. The German architecture, plus the destruction of much of the older parts of the city during WWII, lends a strong German influence to Strasbourg - in terms of architecture, culture, and even language. We drove down from Frankfurt for a day trip, and enjoyed wandering about - though it was surprising how little business activity there was even on a Saturday afternoon (most shops are also closed all day Sunday). The drive took about 2 hours in no traffic, and pleasantly required paying no tolls. We just needed passports at the border crossing. Parking was tricky, but we found space at the Opera-Broglie parking garage , and at EUR1,70/hr, a