Finally, 20 minutes after we started out from the bottom and 500 feet higher, we emerged onto the tiny round platform that encircled the now very narrow steeple. The view was astounding in that it felt not like we were looking down obliquely, but rather straight down on everything. The maze-like pattern of the old city streets separated by orange roofs was very, very far below. To the west, a huge spike of shadow in the shape of the steeple showed just how high this thing was. Most Impressive.
As you might imagine, this was a good place to take lots of pictures (and as you can see after this, I've got lots more pictures taken from this great vantage point). The big spires of other nearby churches did not look so big or high from here. The police station below us looked like a drawing out of a German board game. Looking down, immediately next to the church, was a tiny arrangement of white rectangles -- the tables of the wine festival we were about to attend.
Soon it was time to head down, not only because we had to be down before sunset, but also because we were meeting Miriam's friends at the wine festival below.
Another view of 3rd Gallery
Once back down below, we took a quick look inside this mighty building, not wanting to miss whatever else was impressive about this building. It was indeed impressive. Very dark and gloomy, though, with huge spaces and mightily high ceilings that seemed very inadequately lit by little lights at infrequent intervals.
Very satisfied with our visit to the Cathedral, we walked around the corner of the building to the wine festival, where we wandered by some of the concessions and bought a few goodies. We then met up with Miriam's friends (Fabien and Ovidio, both dentists), and sat down at a table for a few drinks of wine accompanied by squares of flamkuchen, things that looked a lot like a cross between thin flatbread and pizza.