Europe and America Part I

The pictures below were taken in Strasbourg in Eastern France last month. They are of its epic, 600 year old gothic cathedral, "Notre Dame de Strasbourg". I spent a long time soaking up the overwhelming architecture of this incredible place and was stunned to find what a profound impact it had on me emotionally, spiritually and aesthetically. When I lived in Chicago near some of the tallest buildings in the world - buildings that would dwarf this cathedral - I was always struck by how short those buildings seem when you stand next to them. The architect of this midieval sanctuary, however, managed to achieve the opposite effect. Looking up from the base of Notre Dame de Strasburg makes you dizzy with the soaring heights of its spire and buttresses - as though God himself might be perched above ready to collapse upon your sinful head.