A Pilgrimage to World War I Country

Anna’s maternal grandfather, Grover Franklin Thomas, was a bit of a character.  She has fond memories of his visits – taking apart wind-up clocks and trying to put them back together, learning how to play poker and checkers (he never “let her win” but was careful to explain afterwards what she should have done), and sitting on his lap while he moved the dark bits of shrapnel embedded under the skin on his forearms for her amusement.  He was a proud veteran of World War I; it had obviously been an incredibly important time in his life.  But, whenever Anna asked him what he did during the war, he would smile and tell her he was “just a cook.”    In truth he was a cook – after the war the US army set up kitchens in Belgium to feed the starving people there.  But, that was after the war.

The biggest clue to what Grover did do during the war was his Purple Heart.  The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded to those wounded or killed while serving with the US military on or after April 5, 1917.  Long after his death, we sought information on her grandfather’s Purple Heart.  His award documentation told how Grover served as an infantryman, was wounded (gunshot wound), what unit he was in, when he was wounded, and in which offensive.  That information opened doors to an amazing wealth of data since David was able to do more research on Grover’s regiment online.  What he found was a book entitled With the 364^th Infantry in America, France, and Belgium, a day-to-day record of this unit that was kept by its Chaplain and Regimental Intelligence Officer.  Truly a gold mine!

Purple Heart Award

This book is really a fascinating story about the 364^th from its beginnings on the west coast of the US to its “Welcome Home Parade” in Los Angeles on April 12, 1919.  It not only chronicles all their activities and battles but also lists all the members of the unit, their ranks and home towns, who was wounded, who had died, and who had received decorations (including 1 Congressional Medal of Honor and numerous Distinguished Service Crosses, French Croix de Guerre, and Belgian Croix de Guerre).  Through the authors one gets a sense of the pain and frustrations of war but also surprisingly humorous happenings such as lice races, unfailingly pleasant encounters with the civilian population, finding and “liberating” an abandoned German canteen that was well-stocked with beer and cigarettes, etc. One story has to do with Grover's unit not getting enough food at one point at the Front so Grover's Company 'B' stole the bran from the mules to make breakfast cereal.  The mules were quite unhappy and made all kinds of noise because they were hungry. 

Armed with this book, a variety of maps, local signage, and information from people we met in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive area, David was able locate the actual places where Grover and his fellow-soldiers camped,were shelled, came under machine gun fire and diphosgene gas, where they were entrenched, and areas and hills they attacked.  We actually walked and stood in many of those places; it was an incredible experience. 

The following postings are a brief account of our journey to the Champagne area of France and, more importantly, our attempt to trace Grover’s footsteps during WWI.

Reims

In planning our trip north to WWI country, we needed to find a place to stay in the Champagne/Ardenne area, and Reims seemed logical.  It is a fairly large city, definitely in the midst of WWI action, and, as a bonus, it is the “capital” of Champagne.


Mosaic mural illustrating the steps in making champagne
above the entrance to a former champage house
 

Where else can you find Champagne
 in a hotel vending machine?

Reims has a very long and rich history.  According to legend, the city was founded by Remus (as in Romulus and Remus of Rome).  A Celtic tribe lived here and actually built a circular stronghold in 80BC before being conquered by the Romans.  .At one time 30,000 people lived in this Gallo-Roman city.  Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptized here in 498 AD, establishing the “Divine Right of Kings.”  And, Reims became the place of coronation for a total of 33 kings.  During the Industrial Revolution, the population grew from 30,000 to 120,000 within a century.  Then came WWI.

On September 4, 1914, the German army entered Reims.  The Germans were pushed back out of town, but ended up shelling Reims for three and one-half years.  The siege ended with the destruction of more than 80% of the town and the deaths of more than 5,000 people.  The Cathedral alone received around 300 shells.  As you can see below, the city was a wreck. 

The city was rebuilt with care, and is quite attractive today although very few of the older, pre WWI, buildings remain.  It is nice to note that two wealthy Americans helped with the new construction.  The first, Andrew Carnegie, through his Carnegie Foundation for World Peace, financed the building of a beautiful library which opened in 1928.  It holds around 400,000 texts and is truly a magnificent structure.  It was constructed in unique, half-round shape, and boasts a magnificent art deco chandelier in the entry hall, and beautiful tile and glass throughout.  It is not only beautiful but also quite functional and remains in active use today.

Entrance to the library
(that's a bust of Carnegie on the pedestal)



View of the back of the building.
 

Entry hall.

Art Deco chandelier in the entry hall.

Rebuilding the Cathedral has involved funding from national, regional, and local governments, as well as an outpouring of donations from individuals, organizations, and businesses in France and all over the world – notably a sizeable donation from John D. Rockefeller, the second big American contributor.  As an emblematic monument and masterpiece of Gothic art, the Reims Cathedral, continues to attract donors for projects concerning restoration of the edifice, as well as the creation of contemporary art works. The stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall in 1971, for example.  Although it is definitely in current use, major restoration work continues today.

Showing WWI damage to the Cathedral



The Cathedral today
(note the scaffolding)

A few of the Marc Chagall windows

We stayed at The Grand Hôtel du Nord which turned out to be not only quite pleasant but also ideally located in the heart of the City.  It is on the Place d’Erlon, a wide, pedestrian-only area lined with restaurants, hotels, and shops.  We found we were easily able to leave our rental car parked from our arrival to our departure and to walk to the main “must-sees” as well as the numerous options for food and, of course, Champagne.

Views from our room.

The only problem with staying in Reims is that it proved to be quite a distance from the area where Anna’s Grandfather actually was during WWI.  So we consulted the trusty Guide Michelin and found the village of Sainte-Ménehould and Le Cheval Rouge Hôtel–Restaurant.  Which turned out to be ideally located for our exploration of battle sites.

Papilles en Éveil Chez Aubry

As mentioned in the April 27th posting, Anna is a happy participant in the Papilles en Éveil lunch group.  And, at Brigitte’s (our leader) request, Anna agreed to host the May 30^th gathering at our apartment. 

So at around 10AM, Maria (Spain), Ying (China), Nada (Thailand), Pauline (France), Lisa (USA), and Brigitte (France) arrived at our apartment to prepare and enjoy a luncheon repast.  Anna welcomed the ladies at the door with glasses of Cremant (a sparkling wine from Bourgogne) and cocktail napkins saying “la vie est belle!” to set the mood, and the fun began. 

The menu consisted of Ying’s entrée of steamed spring vegetables with a yummy dipping sauce, plat of “Heavenly Beef Casserole”, and Maria’s dessert of Coca da llaveneres.  Amazingly, they managed to prepare all that good food in our little kitchen without bumping into each other too much and while thoroughly enjoying themselves!

Maria and her Coca da llaveneres

Meanwhile, David was sequestered in our bedroom.  Normally, he would be out riding his bike and having lunch with Roger.  But, Roger was not feeling well, and the weather was not conducive to bike rides.  David thought he would spend several hours in quiet (relative) while he read and just hung out.  However, the ladies asked where David was, and Anna confessed that he was hiding in the bedroom.  So much for sequestering in quiet!  The group unanimously demanded he join the group for lunch.  He protested, but was outnumbered 7 to 1, so another place was set at the table, and David joined the group.

L-R:  Brigitte, Anna, Pauline, Maria, Lisa, Nada, Ying
about the enjoy their entrée

As always, all the ladies happily enjoyed consuming the fruits of their labor (along with glasses of Rosé and Côtes du Rhône) amid lots and lots of fun conversation.

The group always leaves the home of the hostess in near perfect order and does a great job of cleaning up after themselves.  But, this time David earned his lunch be insisting on doing all the hand washing.  You can rest assured he earned some points there!

Around 3:30 the group broke up and everyone went home.  It’s a little amazing how quickly these lunches transition from lots of people and busy activity to just the host(s).   Suddenly, we were back to the two of us – time for a quiet glass of wine and conversation about the days’ activities.  Another successful Papilles en Éveil !  I am always amazed that we can all fit into this kitchen and not get in each other's way AND have fun at the same time. David was hanging out in our bedroom since the weather was definitely not conducive to escape by bicycle, but when my friends found out he was here, they INSISTED he join us for lunch. He was really reluctant (honestly!), but what are you going to do when an apartment full of women demand your presence?! When it came time to finish cleaning things up (we always make sure to clean up after ourselves and leave the hostess' residence looking great), they were impressed when he insisted on helping with washing up. He definitely earned his lunch! I am always amazed that we can all fit into this kitchen and not get in each other's way AND have fun at the same time. David was hanging out in our bedroom since the weather was definitely not conducive to escape by bicycle, but when my friends found out he was here, they INSISTED he join us for lunch. He was really reluctant (honestly!), but what are you going to do when an apartment full of women demand your presence?! When it came time to finish cleaning things up (we always make sure to clean up after ourselves and leave the hostess' residence looking great), they were impressed when he insisted on helping with washing up. He definitely earned his lunch! r other member, is off in England). I am always amazed that we can all fit into this kitchen and not get in each other's way AND have fun at the same time. David was hanging out in our bedroom since the weather was definitely not conducive to escape by bicycle, but when my friends found out he was here, they INSISTED he join us for lunch. He was really reluctant (honestly!), but what are you going to do when an apartment full of women demand your presence?! When it came time to finish cleaning things up (we always make sure to clean up after ourselves and leave the hostess' residence looking great), they were impressed when he insisted on helping with washing up. He definitely earned his lunch!

Canal de Bourgogne - Fifth Day

After breakfast the next morning, David went off on his bike to look at some more sights while the others got organized.  Included were the Fosse Dionne, a mysterious old water source bubbling from the ground, and an empty Art Nouveau building that had once been a tea and ice cream salon.

Fosse Dionne

 Vacant Art Nouveau Tea and Ice Cream Salon

Tea and Ice Cream Salon Interior

The weather for the day was supposed to be nice in the morning with thundershowers and rain in the afternoon.  So we decided to push ahead rapidly with a view to reaching Migennes, our final goal, in time to catch a train to return to the car and then Lyon that night.  Trail was sometimes good sometimes not.  After two hours or so we went up the hill into St Florentin and bought sandwiches at a boulangerie.  We went back to a small park on the canal and ate while watching the boats tied up nearby.  We debated switching to the highway as the trail had not been good, but looked at the next section which looked good and decided to stay on the trail as long as it remained good.  After few kilometers the trail again deteriorated so we went into the nearby town of Brienon-sur-Armançon for a beer and while there decided to switch to the highway for the last 10 km to Migennes. 

View of St Florentin From Lunch Area by Canal

Canal From Lunch Area at St Florentin

 Except for the large trucks passing us on the highway, the section to Migennes was uneventful.  We had a bit of difficulty finding the train station, but once there discovered there was a train to Dijon in an hour and a half.  We bought tickets on that train, with a continuation on another train from Dijon to Saint Jean de Losne where we had left the car.  French local trains are great - they usually have a car or two equipped with hangers for bikes.

This entire trip was in Bourgogne, one of the world's premier grape-growing and winemaking areas, yet we saw not a single vineyard!

Gare in Migennes - Tom, Roger, Gerard

Bikes on Their Hangers on the Train

The threatened rains did not materialize - in fact it was warm and mostly sunny when we arrived in Dijon to change trains.  We arrived at the car about 7:15, and got back to the center of Lyon about 9:45.  66km for the day, 307km for the trip - another successful bike adventure!

Canal de Bourgogne - Fourth Day

Another sight-seeing day – cloudy but cool and dry.  We had a decent breakfast at our hotel and left about 9:30.  The people at the hotel were very pleasant but we were not sure they knew much about the hotel business.

We biked for an hour and a half or so and stopped at the Forges de Buffon.  M. Buffon was a wealthy French aristocrat and distinguished naturalist whose works filled 36 volumes. In 1788 at the age of 60 he began to build an iron and steel processing plant where his workers used water-powered equipment to help produce iron and steel, and various experiments were made to try to improve the quality of the product.  Before this, producing iron and steel and products made from iron and steel was an artisanal process that required a lot of time and labor.  This was an early attempt to mechanize some of the processes such that they relied less on craftsmanship and more on scientific and engineering methods.  Gerard and Roger had been there before so they relaxed while Tom and I toured the facility. 

Forges de Buffon Workshops

Water Wheel at Forges de Buffon

Tom in Workshop Forges de Buffon

Water-Powered Bellows

After that, we biked back to the village of Buffon where we had another of our best meals.  Plus the weather had improved such that we could sit outside.  David had a nice Cod filet perfectly prepared and presented.  David also had one of his more embarrassing moments at the restaurant when he walked full-tilt into a glass door.  Scared everyone including him as he made quite the loud crash.  No damage except a small cut on his forehead.

After lunch we headed off again - sunny with a few clouds, minimal wind, trail mostly paved – very pleasant riding.  Saw a number of pleasure boats and barges on the canal, and waved to the folks on the boats.  There were also a number of fishermen trying their luck on the banks of the canal. 

At about this point a young woman in flawless biking attire effortlessly blew by us at about 30km per hour.  Very humbling experience as we were then doing about 20km per hour and thought we were at last moving fairly well.

We rode into the town of Tonnerre that evening and checked into our hotel.  A very pleasant old place with atmosphere.  We did 66km that day.

We decided to have dinner at the hotel – Tom and I both had burgers – very good.  After dinner we wandered around town looking at some of the old buildings – very interesting.  Unfortunately, the town also has a number of empty buildings and storefronts that made the effect somewhat depressing.

Dinner in Tonnerre - Tom, Roger, Gerard

Among the interesting buildings was a very large former hospital building that had been built as a charitable work by Marguerite of Bourgogne, widow of Charles d'Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily and brother of St Louis, between 1293-1295, and a turn-of-the-century, nicely restored wrought iron and glass covered marketplace.

13th Century Hospital Building

Two Pictures of the Covered Market

Cadoles & Sens 2016

(A Cadole is a small building in the vineyard where a worker can keep tools or take shelter from rain and Sens  refers to “Les Sens de la Vie”, roughly translated as “the meaning of life”.)

The Cadoles & Sens association was founded in April 2009 and each Pentecost Weekend since then they have organized an event that includes pleasant strolls through vineyards and the countryside of Beaujolais, wine tasting and conversations with wine makers, and food. Every year the committee selects different villages and routes for participants to choose from along with activities along the routes.  The aim is to provide a venue for visitors to “discover this beautiful area, the valleys and villages….forget the stress of the city and let you experience the most simple and natural things.” 

A Cadole

This was our third Cadoles & Sens, and David was immediately recognized by Nathalie (Chef de Projet).  Nathalie was pleased to introduce us to her daughter who will soon be coming to Washington as an exchange student (and was a little embarrassed at her mother’s enthusiasm and demand that she speak English to us).

An Exchange Student - soon on her way to Washington.

This year we went with Dominique, Roger, Gerard (Dominique’s brother and one of David’s cycling buddies), and Brigitte (a vivacious lady and good friend of Dominique).  We chose a route beginning and ending in the village of Pommiers, and we were blessed with lovely weather for our walks. 

Anna, Roger, and Dominique
and the lovely countryside

We checked in, collected our maps, sack lunches, and wine glasses and set off, up a hill, on a winding path out of Pommiers, through vineyards and past country homes.  The route was well-marked and led us to our first stop where we were greeted by the winemaker and offered a sample of wines from all the winemakers on the Pommiers circuit this year.  After a pleasant conversation with the winemaker, a taste of one of the wines, and conversations with others on the same route, we were off to our next stop.  (There were four of these stops on our route.)  After about 2 ½ hours of pleasant strolling, chatting, gazing at scenery, and, of course, wine tasting, we were back at Pommiers and ready for our picnic lunches.

Lunch:  (L-R) Gerard, Brigitte, Roger, Dominique, Anna

We found a table and David was off to purchase wine for us to enjoy with our lunches (and a few more bottles to take back to our mini “wine cellar” at the apartment.)  We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in a pleasant, sunny courtyard and discussed our experiences.    Another very pleasant Sunday afternoon in the country near Lyon. 

C’est la vie!

 

Canal de Bourgogne - Third Day

We started off along the trail, still over the tunnel.  When we rejoined the tow path next to the canal, there was a small outdoor display area with an old electric towboat that had last been used to tow barges through the tunnel in 1937.  It got power by means of a rod going to an overhead wire, rather like an electric bus or trolley.

David Towing Towboat

We then were able to go quickly down the canal – the wind had died, there was no rain, and the path surface was hard and smooth.  The skies were still gray however.

Canal Scene with Gerard, Tom, and Roger
 

Lock House Converted to a Home

We stopped for lunch in Pouillenay and had an undistinguished meal.  After lunch we wanted to visit the old village of Flavigny where they make Anis [and other flavors] hard candies, packed in an oval metal tin. These candies are famous throughout France.

Flavigny Church Interior

Unfortunately Flavigny was 5 km away, a large part of which was up a steep grade.  Everyone but Gerard did some walking. 

16th Century Church in Flavigny

 

Old Grange Converted to a Restaurant in Flavigny

Flavigny was an old walled village, somewhat touristy but picturesque.  We had a glass of wine, looked at some of the old buildings, and visited the factory to buy some of the candies.

Happy Bikers in Flavigny

We then set off for Alesia, the reputed [there is a good deal of controversy in some circles on this] site of the famous battle between the Romans under Julius Caesar and the Gauls led by Vercingetorix.  The first part of the trip was winding and steeply down, where David was still able to hit 42km.hour.  Made up a bit for the hard climb earlier. 

We headed for the museum at Alesia where sections of earthen walls as built by the Roman siege army were reproduced, along with wooden towers and various other measures designed to keep the Gauls at bay.  Several men dressed in period costumes also gave demonstrations of the tactics used by Roman soldiers to prevent enemy soldiers from penetrating the Roman formations.  Very disciplined and intricate requiring precise teamwork on the part of the Roman soldiers.

The museum gave detailed explanations of the growth of Roman control over the area and how the battle for Alesia unfolded over a couple of months.

We then headed for the town and our hotel about 15 km away.  That turned out to be a bit different. 

Weather Has Improved!

We were booked at Le Trianon in Montbard.  [Everything in the town appends ‘Alesia’ to the town name, including the train station, as we were a short distance  from the museum.]

The hotel turned out to be an adventure, more for the other three men than for David.  They always get a room together with three beds as it is considerably cheaper, whereas he always goes for a single just to ensure he does not disturb anyone in the night, and vice-versa.  Their room only had two single beds and when this was pointed out, the hotel ‘solved’ the problem by making up a third bed on a mattress on the floor!  After that we decided to eat dinner elsewhere and wound up at another hotel dining room down the street, where we had one our better meals on the trip.  David does not recall what everyone had, but the bill was 18 euros each for three excellent courses.  Our server knew what she was doing but evidently was very distracted.  We received two different first courses; she realized her mistake rapidly but we had already taken a bite out of the second thinking we had misunderstood somehow, so the restaurant had to make the plates entirely over for whomever they were intended.  After that she was a bit rattled even though we told her we were not upset.

Did 56 km for the day.

Canal de Bourgogne - Second Day

Monday 5/23

The next morning dawned with no rain and some drying of the ground.  After a light breakfast at our Chambre de Hôte, we set off again.  Gerard told David to take us back to the canal – a mistake as David not only took a wrong turn but somehow lost the rest of the group.  As the only one with no cell phone, he decided to continue to the canal with the idea that everyone would be there at some point.  Unfortunately, he found no one there when he arrived.  Not sure whether they were ahead or behind, he set off down the canal at a moderate rate.  After 10km, just outside Velars-sur-Ouche, he encountered a group walking the canal path and asked them if they had seen the other riders.  They said they had not but kindly offered the use of a phone with which David called Roger.  Turned out they were in the town having a cup of coffee only about 400 yards away!  David quickly joined, apologized for having gotten lost and paid for everyone’s drinks as a penance.

We started off again – the path was now either paved or packed earth which allowed us to up our rate a bit, although a steady head wind made it tough going.  The light rain started again and again we got wet – we would stop under a tree during heavier showers.  A bit after noon we arrived at a lock where the old lock-keeper’s house had been turned into a small restaurant.  Actually, the eating area was outside, but tents had been set up with a heater and blankets that we used to warm up a bit while we ate.  The restaurateur was a Swiss former canal barge captain who rented the house and ran a retirement business with his wife during the warmer months. 

Lock and Bikes From the Lunch Tent

Lunch Tent on Right

Roger and Tom Enjoying Lunch

Roger, Tom, and Gerard Trying to Warm Up

We enjoyed our lunch – home-made potato soup as a starter, then David had chicken Cordon Bleu, the others had pasta. We all had peach-apricot tart for dessert. We also had a nice liter bottle of red wine from southern France.

The locks on the canal all function but they are now operated not by people in the little lock-houses but by people who zip from lock to lock on motor scooters in response to phone calls.  Many of the lock houses are empty while others have been turned into residences.

Canal with Chateau on the Hill

Village Along the Way

The canal entered a long tunnel that passed through a hill as we approached Pouilly-en- Auxois, near where we were to stay the night.  The path went up the hill, luckily a gentle slope for about 2 km.  Spaced along the path were stone cylinders about 8-9 feet high and about 6 feet in diameter.  Turns out they functioned as ventilation shafts and light sources for the canal in the tunnel.

We reached our hotel where a very pleasant woman was the innkeeper.  We ate next door at a Courtepaille restaurant, a French chain.  We received a 15% discount because we were staying at the hotel next door.

David did 75km for the day, a bit more than the others thanks to his unplanned wanderings around Dijon.

The next morning we had a very nice buffet breakfast at the hotel.