Europe

In July and August 2022 Wendy and I travelled to Europe and to the United Kingdom (no longer in Europe - at least politically).

This, our first European trip since the Covid-19 pandemic, began in Berlin to visit my daughter Emily, her Partner Guido, and their children, Leander and Tilda, our grandchildren there.

Part 1 of this report touched on places in Germany then on a Baltic Cruise, landing in: Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden and the Netherlands. Read more...

Now, Part 2 takes place in northern France. Part 3, yet to come, takes place in England and Scotland.

From Amsterdam, see Part 1, we caught the train to Paris, passing through Brussels (see a previous visit) on the way.

Having checked in to our hotel near Gard du Nord we set out to see a bit of Paris by walking to Montmartre.

The panorama above was taken from the front of Sacré-Cœur, now second most famous Paris landmark (since Notre Dame caught fire).

The Basilica has a bizarre history. It was constructed as a penance to God for the for the moral decline of France, since the French Revolution. The evidence for God's unhappiness with France was the country's defeat in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war and the imprisonment of the Pope in Italy by Italian nationalists:

"We recognize that we were guilty and justly punished. To make honourable amends for our sins, and to obtain the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ and the pardon of our sins, as well as extraordinary aid which alone can delivery our sovereign Pontiff from captivity and reverse the misfortune of France, we promise to contribute to the erection in Paris of a sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus."

And here it stands: in the fond hope of 'reversing the misfortune of France'. 1914 do you feel another war coming on?

The next morning, we walked in another direction, to Père Lachaise Cemetery, where many famous people are interred. It's huge and quite undulating so a level of fitness is required, particularly after having walked there in the first place.

No visit to Paris would be complete without a walk around the Île de la Cité and a visit to Notre Dame - although this time was a bit different.

We cast our minds back. This was what it looked like in 2006, during our previous visit. 

On the other hand, the Champs Elysée and its infamous roundabout, around the Arc de Triomphe, hasn't changed much, except for the crowds on the footpath.

Back at Gare du Nord we were to collect our rental car from the enormous, and deep, underground car park beneath the station and then to find our way out of Paris.

Driving in Paris in an unfamiliar car, on the wrong side of the road, gearstick in the other hand, turn indicators and wipers back-to-front, can be something of a trial. And the traffic is so bad that pedestrians often overtake one.

This turned out to be even harder than we anticipated as Tom-tom (our normally reliable GPS map device) kept returning us to an on-ramp to the expressway that was blocked by a Saturday market and strolling pedestrians who would not get out of the way.  Eventually I drove off to another suburb until Tom-tom found a new ramp.  But once out on the expressway it all gets a lot easier, particularly with the more sensible seed limits eating up the kilometres.

Our first overnight stop was Giverny, to pay homage to Monet.

Giverny is a picturesque village worth a couple of nights. Due to availability, we stayed in two quite different B&B's, each very pleasant in their own way. Of course, the principal attraction is the restored: Monet's house and gardens. Bookings are essential.

I have always admired Monet's work but in retirement he did tend to overdo the waterlilies.  A decade ago now I made an oil painting for Wendy's birthday. It's a tribute to Monet's painting: La Promenade – 1875.  But It's no longer Camille Monet and their son.

We spent several hours at Claude's old home. It had become a ruin when his son bequeathed it to the State. But by the 1980's was restored to the beauty we see today.

The village also has a small gallery of contemporary artists, inspired by the great man, in addition to the local church with the family grave.

The nearest town is Vernon on the banks of the river Seine. It boasts a cathedral-like church: Collégiale Notre-Dame (now a Parish Church). A Vernon lord was among those who joined Willian the Conquer for the Norman Invasion of Britain. More of that later.

The town's principal manufactures are aircraft engines and during WW2 BMW had taken over a plant here. So, in July 1940 it was bombed by the RAF blowing out the historic church windows. Since then, they have been progressively replaced with modern stained glass, with some of the designs inspired by Monet.

We liked Vernon, it does have more modern houses too, and enjoyed a drink and a snack at a Pub on the Seine, looking over towards the old mill on the other side.

Our next overnight stay would be in Dieppe.

In Dieppe we wondered why there were so many Canadian flags flying.

Then we discovered the 'Memorial Museum to 19th August 1942'.

This commemorates Operation Jubilee, that was a disastrous attempt to take the port, as a test of the German defences.

Some 6000 Canadians led the raid with allied air cover and a tank regiment.

Over half were killed or wounded. Nearly 2000 were captured. The tanks were destroyed as they landed. The air cover was annihilated.

The Germans suffered less than 600 casualties.

Both sides learnt valuable lessons. Rommel was forewarned and strengthened defences elsewhere.

Yet without this terrible experience, D-Day could have been a similar disaster.

Don't try to attack a fortified city. Go for the distant beaches. Take the cities from behind.

C'est la guerre!

Back in Giverny we had been assured by another couple that the jewel of the coast was a village called Etretat. So instead of going directly to Bayeux, our next overnight stop, we wound our way down country lanes until we came upon a huge traffic jam, moving at a snail's pace (at one point a snail would have been winning). Eventually we arrived to find ourselves in a seaside resort with less to recommend it than Woy Woy. Worse, we would need petrol and there is no station in Etretat. That meant driving out the other side for another 20 km. I was not amused. We were happy to put Etretat behind us.

As we had hoped and expected, Bayeux, didn't disappoint.

Bayeux is the final resting place of the famous tapestry that tells the story of the Norman Conquest of England.

It was in Bayeux Cathedral that Harold swore an oath, over a holy reliquary, to pass the English crown to William Duke of Normandy upon the death of Edward the Confessor, the presently prevailing warlord (King) in England.

Harold had no such intent. And was crowned king of the Saxons himself.

William took a dim view, raised an army of local lords and built an invasion fleet.

The famous tapestry recounts, in 58 panels, the betrayal, and other events, leading up to the battle of Hastings in October 1066. Thus, the Norman Conquest of England, Wales, Scotland and later, partially, of Ireland.

One is not allowed to take photos of the tapestry, although we did buy a replica of one panel that now hangs in our dining room - and we are free to photograph.  The nearby picture is my oil painting of Wendy at Iguassu. 

It's also reproduced online in full here: Scroll Across

It's obvious from the ships, shields and weapons depicted that both these warlords were latter-day, Christianised, Vikings.

Very interesting. Again, the history that led to you and me.

Having a suitable religion was important. It was held that, in order to govern them, the common people need a unifying religion, with traditions; pomp and circumstance; and of course, holidays (holy days).

But why did the Vikings adopt Christianity and not one of the other religions on offer?

We might go back to Vladimir the Great (another ex-Viking warlord) and the Christianisation of the Kievan Rus' (modern Russia) who is reported to have chosen between Judaism, Islam and Eastern Christianity, after summoning advocates from each.

Vlad is also said to have rejected the other two because he liked pork and to have a drink or three.

Yet a better answer is: that great Roman invention - The Divine Right of Kings.

In addition to the tapestry museum Bayeux has the 'Musee Baron Gerard' that incorporating part of the historic Episcopal palace of Bayeux that once administered 'justice'.

Now it's is the local art and history museum. In addition to a couple of 'impressionist masterpieces' and a few more traditional paintings, it has a great deal of Bayeux porcelain and lace. There were also some archaeological and ethnographic pieces (including a mummy and a cat mummy). It was worth the visit.

The city of Bayeux is remarkable in other ways. Among these is that it came through two world wars almost unscathed, despite or because (of) being overrun by the British on day two of the D-Day Normandy landings.

The museum to the landings is here.

Leaving the coast, we now looped inland, through the pretty countryside of Brittany to Rennes.

Our overall impression of Normandy had been of a prosperous and pleasant part of the world in which the recent pandemic was rapidly becoming a faded memory.

Rennes the capital city of Brittany. 

Rennes is also home to the Musée des Beaux-arts, a most impressive gallery with an excellent collection of works by Botticelli, Rubens, and Picasso.

At our B&B we were briefly parked-in by a car somewhat more flash than our rental Fiat. My birthday was approaching and the numberplate seemed appropriate.

But after considering it's utility in Australia, driving from the wrong side, and our lethargic speed limits, I had to forbear.

During the Covid period we had more than once watched a TV series called 'Escape to the Château' and having noticed that it was on the way to Chartres, our next overnight destination, we decided to stop for lunch.

Martigné-sur-Mayenne is a rather non-descript village boasting a town square that occasionally appeared in the TV series.

Although it's 'sur' Mayenne, either the town or the river has moved a couple of kilometres. There is no river.

Similarly, the Château is a couple of km out in the countryside, to the north of the town. Nevertheless, the shopkeepers are used to providing directions and the Chemist even had a map.

As watchers of the television series know, Château de la Motte-Husson, is owned by Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree who have made it into a profitable business and now just want to be left alone. Unless you are a paying guest please do not venture beyond the outer gates.

We might have 'glamped' for $650 per night but decided to go straight through to Chartres.

Chartres is famed for the 13 century: Cathédrale Notre-Dame.

This Gothic cathedral, completed in 1220, features 2 towering spires, flying buttresses, and elaborate rose windows. In its day it was the second largest Christian church in the world, after Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, and was among the most popular destinations for Western Christian pilgrimage during the medieval period.

It's nearly one-and-a-half times larger, and considerably more ornate, than its, now rather charred, namesake in Paris.

The stations of the cross are particularly elaborate

Obviously, the town is even older than the cathedral, yet there are few remnants of the medieval. It's mostly far more modern, with a plethora of church related infrastructure (convents, hospitals and so on) radiating out from the centre.

Returning the car to Paris we had another night before catching the train to London - time for a visit to La Louvre

Although it's a one-time palace, replete with royal furniture painted ceilings and valuable nick-nacks, and also a repository of France's archaeological treasures (mostly nicked) to rival, or surpass, the British Museum and the Met in New York; that's not why it's crowded to bursting point in some areas yet almost vacant in others.

In popular culture it has just two objects of interest: La Gioconda, with the mystic smile, and that sculpture from Milos, the Aphrodite without arms, that's long been held to be the ideal female form - although I think her head's too small. Comparing the two, Leonardo seems to agree.

In this respect visiting them is very like visiting the Rijksmuseum and the 'Night Watch' - reported in Part 1 of this series - a tick on the 'bucket list': 'been there done that'.

Consequently, the crowd is almost unbearable in these galleries on a warm day. Elsewhere, there are many other, perhaps more convincing, examples of idealised womanhood. 

But out the back, in the Jardin des Tuileries, it's very pleasant

On our final evening we went to a famous tourist restaurant in the Pigalle area and then went for a stroll to observe the local colour.

Then it was back to Gare du Nord - by now a very familiar place - to catch the train to London