Month: May 2019

Let’s face it, Prague is a beautiful city and there is little wonder countless tourists flock to it. After five years absence (see our April 3, 2014 post), it seemed busier than ever (although tourist season may not have started at the time of our earlier visit). It’s the incredible architecture, the very generous amount of green space, and the excellent public transportation that really set it apart. We preferred to ignore the large crowds in the oldest part of the city and wandered the city just to soak it in and enjoy some of the interesting shops.

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Last time, we missed what’s left of the walled Jewish quarter (or “Josefov”) in Prague where Jews first settled in the 10th century. The Old New Synagogue (1270) is the oldest remaining medieval synagogue of twin nave design and the oldest active synagogue in Europe. The survival of the Josefov through WWII has been attributed to Hitler’s desire to create a museum of an extinct race.

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Up a funicular (included with your transit pass) to the top of a ridge overlooking the city and the castle, there is another large park (one of many), this one including the remnants of a world’s fair. There’s an observatory, the Eiffel-inspired Petrin tower one can climb for an even better view and the “Mirror Maze,” i.e. a very old fashioned funhouse.

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Taking some time off from their push to complete end-of-term projects, Kyle and Hui followed up on an instructor’s recommendation and we headed off to the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague 7. Although much of the museum was a bit heavy on the ironic and of questionable esthetics, we did enjoy what we’ve posted here, especially the work of Eva Jiricna for whose 80th birthday the exhibit had been arranged to celebrate a stellar career as one of the few women in the upper ranks of architecture.

Sometimes our adventures seem to be chosen for us, determined by such things as the timing for returning a rental car. Looking at where we were (Pau) and where we needed to be by 3:00 in the afternoon (Bordeaux Airport), we figured that St. Émilion would offer the chance of a decent lunch and a walk about an interesting town. We didn’t anticipate the quite extraordinary drive along narrow country roads twisting through the countless vineyards of the region. It was beautiful, poppies along the side of the road, vines just leafing out, and picturesque villages and buildings along the way. Too bad there was absolutely nowhere to stop for a photo.

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The shocker for us was just how charming a town it is. We should have believed the Michelin Green Guide (2 stars). The downside of that acclaim is that it was loaded with tourists (like us, but in large groups). Parts of town also feel like a wine bazaar, with one shop after another mostly representing individual vineyards. Even our restaurant (so-so, with an overbearing owner/waiter and an undisclosed cash only policy) was owned and run by a vineyard. Make no mistake, however, it remains a town worth visiting and those 2 stars are merited.

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That need to return our car kept us from enjoying a tour of the largest sanctuary in Europe carved out of rock, taking advantage of some existing natural caverns and grottoes, that was transformed between the 8th and 12th centuries.

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As we got on our way, we were glad there had been a car park outside the ramparts.

Beginning with Pau (rhymes with “low”)

Henry IV was a monumental figure in the history of France. He brought a halt to the Wars of Religion and unified the country (forgive the gross oversimplifications). It takes some effort to imagine back to the 17th century when the Kings of Navarre controlled parts of the Gascon Pyrénées wedged between territories controlled by the French crown to the north and east, the English in territories to the west, and the Spanish to the south and when savagery ruled in the struggles coming out of the Protestant reformation.

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Henry was born in the fortified château at Pau to Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre (1553). The Queen was a staunch Protestant and Henry became an inspiring military leader in the Protestant forces. Abridging the story beyond reason, Henry switched sides a couple of times (he also had a claim to the French crown) became King of France as a Catholic, didn’t persecute the Protestants, and unified France (ta da!). Popular guy.

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Restored in the 19th century, the interior of the Château is (as you can see) quite sumptuous with seemingly innumerable tapestries from the Royal storehouse, many of them Gobelins tapestries.

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Pau has been fortified since the 11th century and became the capital of Béarn. The fortified castle was constructed overlooking the Gave de Pau in the 14th century by the Count of Foix, Gaston Fébus. If you’re like us and never heard of the term “Gave,” it’s a local word for “river,” pronounced with an “a” as in “cat.” Anyway, the Count seems to have been an interesting fellow, a Gascon who wrote the “Book of the Hunt” in French as he was one of the leading huntsmen of his day and died of a stroke while washing his hands after a bear hunt (or so the story goes). The castle was subsequently transformed into the Renaissance Château and then completely remodeled in the 19th century with furnishings chosen by Louis-Philippe and Napoleon III.

More recently,

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Pau remains a very pleasant small city and was a good base from which to explore the French borderlands. We enjoyed purchasing components for a lunch at our rental house from the merchants of the recently opened Les Halles, one of the most sparkling and nicest food markets we’ve seen. We also enjoyed poking in lots of shops and admired the window display of the umbrella maker. Pau is known for its artisanal umbrellas and we regretted not having an important reason to splurge on one. The aptly named item pictured above certainly seemed like one of those things businesses offer for sale but never expect anyone to buy (we hope). [We also hope you recall the political assassinations with poisoned umbrella tips for which the Bulgarian spy agency was notorious.]

Saint Jean de Luz

In this most Basque of French towns, a charming seaside town just down the coast (where it starts bending west to outline the Iberian peninsula) from the much larger and glitzier Biarritz, the central historical figure is Louis XIV. He wasn’t born here, but here is where he got married.

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A year before that marriage (1559) Louis, alas a persecutor of Protestants, achieved a notable success in concluding the Treaty of the Pyrénées which divided the Navarre between France and Spain, signed on Pheasant Island in the middle of the river that continues to form the border between the two countries (about midway between St. Jean de Luz and St. Sebastián). But, it’s the wedding to Maria Theresa (the Infanta of Spain) that put St. Jean de Luz on the map. It was a major diplomatic event made possible in part by Cardinal Mazarin (Louis’ chief minister) prevailing upon the King to give up his passion for the Cardinal’s niece (who the Cardinal sent into exile). There were Swiss Guards lining the route, companies of Gentlemen-at-Arms, the King’s mother Anne of Austria drawing the curtain on the nuptial bed and the walling up of the door through which the royal couple left the door after the ceremony. Against all odds, it seems to have been a happy marriage. We toured the house where the King stayed and brought his bride (now known in his honor as the “Maison Louis XIV” and where photographs aren’t permitted) which was built in 1643 by a shipowner in whose family it remains. It was well worth visiting even by those of us with limited French. The imposing and well furnished house pretty much remains in original but well-maintained 17th century condition, with barely noticeable concessions to modernity such as a microwave in the enormous kitchen discretely draped over with a cloth.

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After falling on hard times for quite a few centuries, the town has regained its population of about 15,000 and is a great place to soak up some atmosphere. The name “de Luz” is derived for the Basque word for a swamp. The city long suffered from catastrophic flooding until sea walls were installed, allowing it to flourish.

As mountains are wont to do, the Pyrénées play favorites and provide more rainfall on the windward side as the air rises and releases its moisture as it cools. Somewhere behind Amanda and the two people checking out the recent avalanche is a somewhat more arid Spain. The place is the Cirque de Gavarnie, a modest hike (but, a hike nonetheless) up from the village of Gavarnie.

There is a very extensive national park all through the Pyrénées and we were impressed with how organized it is. One of our biggest surprises was how massive the mountains are and how wild.

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Indeed, it wasn’t until we were back down the mountain, nearing Gavarnie itself that we could again appreciate the full scope of this natural amphitheater that Victor Hugo described as a coliseum in his poem Dieu, “c’est l’édifice le plus mystérieux des plus mystérieux des architectes; c’est le colosseum de la nature : c’est Gavarnie.”

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Man cannot survive on natural beauty alone. Fortunately, a 24 hour fresh bread dispenser was available before we headed back down the mountain and onto the autoroute beyond Lourdes.

It’s nice to be back in France, but to someplace we’ve never been. Bordeaux wasn’t on our “must see” list, but we decided to spend a few days before heading south to the Pyrenees. Wouldn’t you know, we really like the city.

A Great Place for Wandering Aimlessly

The Garonne is navigable up to Bordeaux and the waterfront is quite attractive with a long and very popular promenade. There are also passenger boats offering a sort of taxi experience at a few points along the bank.

Although wandering aimlessly is quite relaxing, it doesn’t offer much of a story line. We’ll get better organized!

Keeping an Eye Open for Trouble

Our first day after sleeping in a bed was May Day, a public holiday made for demonstrations. On our way out in the morning for a time we were following a group of 6-8 young men carrying yellow vests, some were also carrying the large poles news coverage shows being used to break windows. The evening before we had noticed another young man on a bicycle wearing a black bandana over his lower face cruising through the central city neighborhood where we were staying, apparently part of a group of violent far left provocateurs. A number of times during the day we ran into intense police presence, lots of very heavily padded and protected police with visored helmets and those large shields on the march or sitting in transports, with guns for firing tear gas canisters. The photo above shows the least intimidating police barricade we saw. Another we walked through had a fire hose at the ready. We were very alert for trouble, but saw none. It was a very peaceful day and the people wearing yellow vests tended to be middle aged or older, joining the parade and clearly enjoying the nice weather.

The Unexpected

Meandering near the Hotel de Ville we noticed what Jim thought at first might be some sort of industrial building because from a distance it looked a little like the tanks in which vinegar is made. Looking at the signage and then investigating online, we confirmed that we were looking at the Bordeaux Courthouse (built in the late 1990s). The seven courtrooms are each an individual pod accessed by the judges and the public by different gangways. The thought is that somehow justice should be in the open. (Makes you wonder whether it just makes justice look more elitist.) Here’s the architect’s website: https://www.rsh-p.com/projects/bordeaux-law-courts/ (the same firm that designed the Pompidou Center). The whole area is a justice ministry complex and if you simply turn around you see the medieval looking round building in the bottom photo with access at the top that seems to prefigure the architectural idea for the courts. Too obvious?

Walking Bordeaux, we kept noticing intriguing distractions down side streets. In this case, it was a well hidden and pretty extraordinary late 17th century Baroque church. Having been visually bludgeoned by the baroque cathedral in Valletta, it was wonderful to take in the delights of baroque done with restraint.

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Notre Dame de Bordeaux is also where the artist Francisco de Goya’s funeral was held in 1828. He had fled to Bordeaux after some especially subversive works critical of Ferdinand VII made his situation precarious in Spain.

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All through the city are wonderful door knockers that leave us guessing what lies beyond them. The one on the left is easier. It belongs to an historic monument, the Petit Hôtel Labottière, a late 18th century example of the “art de vivre.” Nor could we go into the home sporting the knocker on the right. We found it at the intersection of two small streets and then looked back to see that there was a lush garden growing on the roof a level up. We could tell it was beautiful without seeing it.

City Gates Still Define the Old City

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City gates throughout Europe didn’t fare well over time. We were delighted to see so many in Bordeaux that had survived both war and urban renewal (for sticklers, a few are medieval triumphal arches). Indeed, it’s a very nice city for walking not only for what has survived, but because they’ve created extensive pedestrian zones with quiet electric trams and buses.

We Had Sworn Off Churches

Having trudged through more churches, cathedrals, temples and shrines than we care to remember, we had been ignoring them. Our stumble onto Bordeaux’s Notre Dame, however, tempted us back.

CAthédral st. André

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Most of the cathedral is 11th-15th century, although there are bits as recent as the 18th century. All that aside, it’s actually quite beautiful when you take a look.

basilique st. Seurin

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Complete with an 11th century crypt, Saint Seurin is darker all around, but fascinating. It’s also at the site of the ancient necropolis where Charlemagne laid Roland’s horn on his return from Spain in 778 and before undertaking a pilgrimage (at least that’s what the plaque says).

Basilique st.Michel (+ flèche st.michel)

We didn’t venture inside this 14th and 15th century basilica. We were in the neighborhood before we went into Notre Dame. It is, however, pretty imposing and the “flèche” is the tallest in southern France. We understand that these separate belfries were intended to better safeguard the structures of the attendant basilicas and cathedrals from fire and other misadventures. Together with the Cathedral and Saint Seurin, St. Michel is on the Way of Saint James and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This & That (Yes, let’s try to wrap up!)

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QUINTESSENTIALly french

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Ending on a sweet note, how can we write about France and not talk about food? Our experiences in Bordeaux were consistently good. Jim even had a chance to have some razor clams with garlic and parsley. The one exception would be the sweet concoction for which Bordeaux is known and that is sold everywhere. The canelé (pictured) has a dense rubbery texture and a pleasant taste. All we can figure is that nostalgic tradition keeps it popular (although we noticed clear inroads by cookies, brownies and other barbarian treats).