June 17, 2014- The Flemish are nothing, if not feisty.  A group of girls, who appeared to be 14-15 or so, boarded the bus to St. Pieters Platz, from St. Baaf’s, with the intention of getting off at Rabot, the area of Ghent’s eastern gate. Being preoccupied with teen matters, they noticed their stop, about 30 seconds after the driver had halted.  They rushed to the exit, were ignored by the driver and the bus resumed to a spot near my hotel.  The more vocal of the group called out an epithet, in Flemish, which evoked chuckles from some of the other passengers.  They got off at my stop, and took off, pell mell up the street.  I work a lot with teens, so the whole thing was very familiar.

This brings me to Gravensteen, my main focus of that Tuesday morning.  It is a well-preserved medieval castle, built to serve the Counts of Ghent, during the era of Flemish city-states.  It’s overriding concern, from the looks of things, was providing space for imprisonment and torture.  Having set the tone for an interesting visit, I promise not to over-present the Museum of Torture .(Yes, that’s on the bottom floor).

Here is the home of the counts, in its entirety.

The balustrade and turrets are essentially as they were in the fourteenth century.

These turrets were the homes of the counts, when they stayed in Ghent.

Here are several views of the castle’s exterior.

Now, it’s time to go inside.  This meeting hall is now used for school groups.  On this day, there were two such groups in the castle.

This was the Governor’s Residence.  There was no polished wood, until the 17th Century.

I proceeded from there, to the Hall of Armor and Weaponry.  Below, is the closest thing a man had to a bullet-proof vest, in those days.

Of course, knights got  to face combat in this.

A couple of views of weapons reminds us how things really were, if one strayed too far from the norm.

There was the hall of retribution, which featured the rack.

The iron mask was also a real instrument of control.

The rooms were not as stuffy as one would think, though.  It was a good thing, as bathing wasn’t a top priority.

Here is a scale model of the grounds.

The views from the balustrade made being in the counts’ good graces a nice thing.

Being at the ground level wasn’t bad, either, as long as one was above the dungeon.

On the other hand, if one WAS in the dungeon, this was his lot.  It was converted into a chapel, in the 18th Century.

Special visitors stayed here.

This gave me a good idea of life in a self-contained royal universe.  Being in a rather irreverent mood, and it being lunchtime, I dropped in at the Butchers’ Guild, in the Central Market, which reminded me a bit of Boston’s Fanueil Hall- with one big difference:

It is refrigerated, and there were no flies.  I opted for ham with Gouda, on dark rye.

NEXT:  Navigating Brussels

June 16, 2014- The train from Brugge to Ghent, on this cool, blustery afternoon, took us through serene villages and lush meadows.  The train was nearly deserted.  So, it was with some amusement that I was admonished by an officious young conductor, to “leave this First Class Car, AT ONCE!  Your ticket says SECOND CLASS!! Kindly go downstairs.”  I kindly went downstairs.

As we were departing, at Ghent Sint-Pieters Station, the conductor proudly told his supervisor that he had managed to roust an interloper from First Class.  The older man just smiled, as if mentally patting his underling on the head, and walked into the station.  I went on to NH Ghent Sint Pieters Hotel, another lovely establishment, with a very helpful staff.  Below is the train station.

Here are the squares in the area from the train station to the hotel.

NH Sint Pieters Hotel is in the middle, above.

Now, let’s have a look at Ghent’s loveliest feature:  Its canal system.  The canals here are more extensive than those of Brugge, and rival those of Amsterdam, I’m told.  They certainly were serene and impressive.

Now that you are waterlogged, a few words about some of the buildings that are near the canals:

Here is the Hall of Justice (Justitiepaleis).

There are several churches, and St. Baaf’s (St. Bavo’s) Cathedral.  The latter was in scaffolding.  Some practices have spread north from France.

No mind, it is still an impressive structure.

A marvelous sculpted scene by Jan van Eyck greets visitors outside St. Baaf’s.

Near St. Baaf’s is Kerk Sint Niklaas.

It is the cathedral, however, which will dominate Ghent’s Centrum, when the renovations are completed.

As with all medieval cities, Ghent has an impressive clock tower.

Lastly for the recounting of that enjoyable evening, I leave you with the statue of Lieven Bauwens, the promulgator of mercantilism in East Flanders, of which Ghent is the capital and Antwerp, to the north, is a major port.

Lots of money was made by the burghers of Flanders, including the Counts of Ostflanders, whose castle, Gravensteen, I will showcase in the next post.

June 16, 2014-  As spread out as the green space and quiet neighbourhoods of Brugge are- its city centre, Centrum,is dense and compact.  I had lunch in a small cafe, featuring American-style fare.  Thus, in the midst of a medieval burgh, I sat and enjoyed a Philly Cheese Steak.  Hey, at least the fries came with mayonnaise- a true Low Countries tradition.

Each city-state in the Flanders, and Holland, of the 12th-15th centuries was a self-contained unit.  Some, like Brugge and Ghent, would freely associate on some matters, but were just as likely to squabble.  This was the lot of most of Europe, at that time, with only a few nations, like France, England and Denmark making an actual go of cohesiveness.  Those nations, though, were constantly at war with one another.  The city-states had one mission:  Make a bundle, and fast.  So, Stadt Huisen (State Houses) sprang up, wherein the Counts and Dukes who ruled the city states, and the burghers who cashed in on the products coming through the city, could conduct their business.  Below, we see the Stadthuis of Brugge.

Draft horses pull cartloads of visitors through the Centrum, now as in the Middle Ages.

Brugge’s Belfort is now the city’s Historical Museum.  In the city-state’s heyday, it was a belfry and a fort.

Next to Belfort is the Bourse.

Next to the Bourse, on the other side, is Historium, a multimedia presentation on medieval life in Brugge, using the process pursued by Jan van Eyck to complete a painting, as an example of a transaction.  Art in Europe, as many are aware, was a matter of great financial import.  Artists survived only through the largesse of wealthy patrons.  They hired several young men to act as couriers and procurers of supplies.  Thus, Van Eyck hired “Jacob”, whose hapless search for a certain green parrot, and a girl named “Anna”, to serve as a model for the Madonna in Van Eyck’s painting, plays out over several minutes.  Thugs try to steal Van Eyck’s supplies, Jacob is threatened with dismissal, and the streets of Brugge are full of drama.  I will let you guess how all turned out, but here are some photos of Historium.

First, we meet “Jacob’.

He shows us the items he had to procure, besides the parrot and Anna.

We get parrot’s eye views of the Centrum.

Here is Anna’s cape.

As luck would have it, Van Eyck stages a painting party.

It appears the patron is pleased.

Some of my fellow travelers that day were definitely pleased.  A class of high school students put on a delightful, impromptu dance, in the Centrum.  Youth were a recurring source of joy, wherever they turned up during my journey.

I was getting close to departing for Ghent, but got a couple of last-minute shots.  Here is the Duke’s Palace.

Lastly, I got a view of Sint-Salvatorskathedral.  This would bring me back to Brugge, another year.

My all-too-brief visit here left me with a good appreciation of why the Flemish are loath to go it alone as mini-country.  These hard-working people have seen, first-hand, the drawbacks of the city-state and the small duchy.  Belgium, the nation, seems a much better proposition.  I left Brugge genuinely liking the Flemish, a feeling that would only be augmented by my time in Ghent.

June 16, 2014- The magic Monday dawned, cloudy and cool.  I left Lille, with the knowledge that THIS time, I would not need to go back to Paris, in order to catch the train to my next destination.  I boarded the train around 10:30, and headed unceremoniously across the Belgian border, at Tourncoing/Mouscron (Moeskron).  For the next three days, all signs would be in French and in Flemish (Dutch).  Today, I would visit two siblings, and rivals:  Brugge (Brooj, or Bruhh; your choice, but the majority Flemish like the second, more guttural sound) and Ghent.

Belgium does not, however come across as schizoid as some have had it look.  The French and Flemish make an effort to get along, at least in public.  The best thing I saw to do as a visitor was to listen carefully to the Flemish, make an effort to use some words in their language, and let our mutual English do the rest.  Since I was already doing this among the French-speakers, it was more of the same.

I found Brugge cool, temperature-wise, but quite cordial in terms of greeting.  I was able to easily place my bags in a storage locker, and devote several hours to this seedbed of capitalism. Here is the main train station.

I crossed the Stationplatz, and found Kong Albert Park waiting to greet everyone with a pleasant green space.  Greenery did not matter so much to the early masters of commerce, but it matters now, to their descendants.

The streets in this UNESCO World Heritage Site are narrow, but workable, and a system of canals goes everywhere.

Smedenpoort is one of the gates that kept Old Bruges on guard, at all times, as the city state grew.

Hanssenspark, a greenspace on the east side of town, lends an air of solace to Brugge, even as the city shows some modern honours to those who fought in the World Wars, for which Belgium suffered greatly.

Belgium is far enough north for some evergreens, which brought back memories of my New England boyhood.

I came upon Kerk Sint-Jacob, built by the people of West Flanders in honour of St. James the Elder.  A series of panels in the church depicts his martyrdom.

The choir loft rises just before one sees the homage to St. James.

This series is similar to that found in El Prado, in Madrid.

The Deacon’s Mount is just south of the Main Altar.

As one leaves the church, there is a tympanum, with St. James watching over a lion.

.

This is fortuitous for Brugge, which was faced, for several centuries, with taming its mercantile beast- maintaining prosperity, while at least somewhat minding the passions of its soul.  In Part II, I will focus on the Centrum- the heart of Brugge.

June 15, 2014-  This date was significant to me, in two respects.  One, it was the first Father’s Day on which I could neither converse with my son nor listen to the homespun wisdom of my father-in-law.  Two, it was my last day in the northwest of France, at least for a few years.

After the obligatory run-back to Paris from Amiens, given me at a discount rate because of the ongoing train strike, I boarded a train for Lille.  At least I only used Gare du Nord this time.  It was pleasant, actually, in that there was a string section in the station, playing for all the fathers who were passing through.

The ride to Lille, France’s resilient northern gateway, was quite brief, with only one stop, at Arras.  We debarked at Gare Lille-Europe, the more modern of the city’s two train stations, seen above.

My hotel,  Balladins, was close to the other station, Gare Lille-Flandres.

Hotel Balladins turned out to be another very welcoming hostelry, and with Le Morand and Hotel de France, one of my three favourites in the northwest of France. Perhaps it was that the diligent desk clerk seemed like one of my nieces, or that she went out of her way to find a Cyber Cafe- Laundry, but my settling in here was the smoothest thus far.

I spent a very pleasant evening, after doing laundry and getting messages at the launderette, dining sumptuously at a brasserie a block east of  Balladins and then taking a walkabout around the clean and very proud centre of Lille.

The first stop was at the city’s modern marvel, Zenith-Grand Palais, the performance hall.

Between this magnificent center and Vieux Lille lies a lovely greenspace.  Even the industrial towns pay a mind to their gardens, across France.

In the center of town, I came first to Noble Tour, the city’s memorial to the fallen of all wars, from the Franco-Prussian War, through World War II and the Algerian Conflict.  It is a bedraggled sight, but all the more poignant a reminder of war’s toll, because of its rough condition.

Vieux Lille has several apartment complexes, with large immigrant populations.  One of these housed the cyber launderette which I used.  Another fronts Noble Tour.  At no time during my stay in the west of France, however, was I accosted or made to feel intimidated.  I went on, quietly, to Chapelle Reduit, with its fine gardens.  The redoubt and its church were built by the great Vauban, in the 17th Century, to bolster French defenses against England- and Spain, which ruled most of Flanders at that time.  The panel at the bottom of this triptych honours Vauban.

Across the street from Fort de Reduit is the immense Hotel de Ville, with its magnificent belfry.

This grand structure served as a customs centre for French Flanders, during the 19th Century, as well, thus requiring much more space than the average French city hall.

Between Hotel de Ville and the southern gate of Lille, La Porte de Paris, is a small flower bed.

La Porte de Paris (below) is one of two gates to Lille.  The northern gate, which I did not visit, is La Porte de Roubaix.

I ran out of time on that Sunday night, before getting to see Cathedrale Notre Dame de Lille.  I did, however, get a glimpse of it the next morning.  For simplicity’s sake, I include it here.

This great church was under total renovation at the time of my visit, so going inside would have been problematic, regardless.

Lille was fairly quiet on that Sunday night, almost a counterpoint to raucous Amiens.  Still, the people I met here seemed happy and relaxed, glad to be in the commercial hub of French Flanders.

So, my time in northwest France was drawing to a close.  There was nowhere where I felt unwelcome, and nowhere I would refrain from visiting again.  My French home is Rouen, and its good neighbours are Rennes, Mont St, Michel, Brest, Amiens, Lille-and Le Cite Lumiere, Paris.  I am glad for each day, each place I had the pleasure of seeing and each person who graced my path.

NEXT:  Brugge, Parent of Commerce

June 14, 2014-  Having framed Amiens’ natural boundaries, which are its lifeblood, and its spiritual symbol, the great cathedral, it’s a good time to take a circular visit to the nuts and bolts of the city.

From my hotel (on the left, below), I took a walk down to Tour Perret- an apartment complex that is given gravitas, by dint of its tower-like design.

Among the many lovely churches on my route was L’Eglise Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart), a center for the near north side of town, behind the train and bus stations.  This area is home to many immigrants and lower income French folks.  It’s lively, and I did not feel either unwelcome or unsafe, during my walkabout.

After saying a few prayers in the courtyard, and greeting a couple of residents, including a child on a skateboard, I went past the train station, and took note of Hotel Carlton, a British import.

To the east of the train station, there is a different parish, even more needy than the area around Sacre Coeur.  This is Le Parrois Sainte Famille.  Here, there is an active Food Bank and Soup Kitchen, with a Catholic High School attached.

I was impressed that there were so many in school on a Saturday morning.  Then, I remembered that this is routine in France.

Those African  and Caribbean people of letters who have had an impact on the people around  them are remembered in France, though they may not have felt so honoured during their lifetimes.  I recall reading the works of Frantz Fanon, the conscience of Martinique, misunderstood during the De Gaulle era as a “Stalinist”.  Aime Cesaire, also from Martinique, was an exemplary man of letters and served as a mentor to Fanon, as well as mayor of Fort-de-France.  Although he was drawn to Marxism, Aime turned away from that philosophy after the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian revolt, in 1956.

A square in north Amiens honours him today.

After heading east from Square Aime Cesaire, I found the preserved house, and a square dedicated to, the masterful Jules Verne.  Here, I had  one of my less laudable moments.  In a few minutes of intense concentration, I was approached by an enthusiastic young man, whom I mistook for a beggar.  He was politely, but firmly, dismissed.  In retrospect, I might have learned something about the place from him.

Here, though, is the preserved home of Monsieur Verne.  He spent his last years here, and passed away in Amiens, in 1905.

Jules is shown with young people reading, in the memorial sculpture of the square.

A pleasant addition to the squares of Amiens is the gingko tree.  This much was pointed out to me, by the aforementioned student.

Leaving Square Jules Verne, I came upon this roundabout, with figures of the Jacobin period standing vigilant watch on the traffic.

I crossed Boulevard Jules Verne, and headed for La Coupole.  En route, this slice of Amiens’ northeast side invited a photo.

I also spotted L’Eglise St. Esprit.

The tympanum shows St. Martin of Tours.

Lunchtime was coming, though, so on to La Coupole it was.

Here is a gem:  Restaurant Himalaya.  Indian cuisine, served in the French style, is second to none.  Madame Celine, the French wife of the establishment’s Indian chef, is a most energetic and gracious hostess.  I thoroughly relished the Lamb Vindaloo, naan with various spreads, and separated milk dessert, in this lovely atmosphere.  I would find out later, from an Indian couple who were headed home to Lucknow, via Paris of course, that there is a strong connection between France and India- and not just in Pondicherry and Mahe.

It was nearing 2 PM, and time for the hard-working proprietors to rest, so I walked through Cirque Jules Verne, and squares dedicated to Annie Fratellini and Arlette Gruss.  Mlle. Fratellini was one of France’s most famous circus clowns, and a talented singer and actress, as well. Mlle. Gruss was also a circus performer, who taught the performing arts for several years, across France. The circus in France, during their heyday, was more focused on the prowess of humans than the forcible humiliation of animals.

Across from the Cirque and La Coupole, is L’Eglise de la Paix.  Here, a young girl was teasing her little brother, stopping when she saw me approaching.  I was glad to be a source of relief to the poor child, and was also gratified by these sights.

Perhaps most gratifying of all was this plaque, memorializing Corine Seguin, who was murdered by Peru’s Shining Path guerrillas, in 1988.

I also passed a Polish church:  L’Eglise Matki Boze Czestochowski, en route to the Grand Marche.  This is hardly surprising.  Immigrants from east central Europe have flocked to French mill towns for over a hundred years.

I knew the end of my afternoon walkabout was coming, upon reaching Hotel de Ville d’ Amiens (City Hall).

This is also the area of Grand Marche, which includes the Flea Market.

Amiens is filled with many great landmarks, but has not neglected the present, or the future.  L’Universite de Picardie is a full-service, research-oriented institution.

So it went, and I found yet another eclectic and cosmopolitan community, taking the bull of life by the horns, and welcoming visitors with great gusto.  I could easily come back to Amiens, for a slice of life at its finest.

The cathedrals of France, and of all Europe, present a grandeur, individual and collective. While offered ostensibly to pay homage to Christ, they were usually also intended to show the power and largesse of their patrons.  Lost in time and space, frequently, are the stories of the founders.

St. Firmin taught Christianity to the Picards, and put up the first church in an area outside the walls of Amiens, in the early Fourth Century AD.  For his pains, he was beheaded by the Romans.  The Picards, though, brought his church and its implements into the city, and by 1269, the main cathedral that we see today was in place.

I began my visit, as usual, by circling around the exterior.  The spires, tympanum and outer shell exude the magnificence that reflected Amiens’ exemplary position between Flanders and Paris, and its relative proximity to the English Channel.  The city’s canals are also an outgrowth of the prosperity enjoyed by Picardy, during and after the Crusades of the 12th-14th Centuries and during the Renaissance of the North.

The cathedral is bounded by gardens, on the west side.

In this area, a young lady had a successful interview for an office position.  That it happened in an outdoor setting says much of Amiens.  That her poised and confident manner bore fruit says even more.  I saw little, if any, objectification of people here, or anywhere else in Europe.

The tympanum, below, is dedicated to  St. Honore, whose relics were shown around, as a fund raiser for the 1260 iteration of the Cathedral.  His image is seen in the center of the front entrance.

The tympanum is also graced by several of the great prophets of Judeo-Christian tradition.

Dragons abound here, representing the challenges of the world.

Before we go inside, here is a glance at Mother Mary, bounded by the saints of both genders.

The women of faith are quite prominent here.

Now, on to the nave.  The worshipers show the scale of this venerable hall.

The Chapel of St. John the Evangelist is found immediately to the left, upon entering the Cathedral from the south.

There is always a feeling of space, and of loftiness, in the hall.

Paint was used more extensively in cathedrals the north of France, perhaps reflecting the influence of the Flemish.  The scenes below are a reliquary of John the Baptist.

The Blessed Virgin is given her own Chapel, thus certifying the cathedral as Notre Dame d’ Amiens.

The preserved Church of St. Firmin acts as a bolster, spiritually, to the greater cathedral.

Below, Mary and Jesus are honoured by a saint.

I came to the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, once past the Church of St. Firmin.

This is the Chapel of St. James the Elder

The Grand Altar, and its gold, stem from the time of Louis XIV.

A chapel devoted to St. Jeanne d’ Arc is found to the right of St. James’ chapel.

A trio of memorials to the fallen soldiers of World War I occupies the area to the right of the choir loft. The first honours the Canadian Dragoons.

The second is dedicated to the fallen from New Zealand.

There is a large memorial to the soldiers of Australia, at Villers Bretonneux, 16 km east of Amiens.  Hopefully, I will pay my respects there in 2017, along with visiting sites associated with American forces of that conflict.

The Grand Altar, in its glory, was my final view of Notre Dame d’Amiens, St. Firimin’s House.  It is another bit of magnificence.  Yet, as another observer mentioned, no one cathedral can be compared with another.

NEXT: A Circular Tour Around Amiens

June 14, 2014-  In planning my trip to France, I was drawn to Amiens by two factors:  The Somme, and its role in World War I, the Centenary of which  we begin to observe this year; and the fact that some of my online friends have a friend living in the capital of Picardie.

When I arrived in Amiens, it was a Friday night, with the bars and restaurants quite alive- at 11 PM.  I found the Picard spirit of friendliness, coquetry among the young ladies and a “Where’ve ya been, Bud?” atmosphere pervading the Grand Canal and the district called St. Leu.  My huge hotel was a tomb, by comparison- despite the gracious welcome by desk clerk Therese and the raucous group of Turks next door to my room.

I headed along the canal, and the edge of the Cathedral District.  I will present Amiens in three parts:  The water, both river and canal; the cathedral, interior and exterior; and the city centre, both medieval and modern.   Friday night and all day Saturday were one very full ride.  Never mind that I was walking- you get my drift!

Here are the canals and the towpaths in their midst.  It was a fabulously hoppin’ Nuit du Vendredi.

Even though it looks quiet below, there was no silence for miles around.

As in much of Europe, the sidewalks don’t get rolled up much before 1 AM, if then.

The canals look deep.

GOTCHA!

Picard humour is evident everywhere, and I was drawn in a few times, as I will recount.  A local insisted I must be of Picard extraction, as my nose is prominent, like his and those of his family members.  I wouldn’t be surprised.  Picards would have naturally been swept along with the Normans, when they swept down out of the North Sea lanes, through Holland and Flanders.

Amens, like many French towns, adopted the row house to billet workers, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.  This row is close to St. Leu.

The linchpin of the Somme and its canals is Parc Saint Pierre.

The true radiance of the water, this far north, and at this time of day, comes from its interplay with light.

A bit “sideways” and to the north, a tad, is the crown jewel of this part of the Somme:  L’Hortillonage.  Let’s have a look.  Down the stairs we go.

There is more cat and mouse, between light and shadow.  This is where the natural flora of the Somme is preserved.

A cat is feigning stealth.

The Somme emerges from its canals and small locks.

Here, the farmer and the naturalist have made a peace.

I met a farmer, walking his dog, near here.  He reminded me of the friend of my Xanga friends, a man I have seen only in his profile picture when he responds to aforementioned mutual Cyberpals.  Amiens has kept its natural profile quite well.

NEXT:  The Ins and Outs of Amiens Cathedral