Bienvenue en France
We’re thankful for the opportunity to travel again in September 2021. It’s been a journey to get here. The Pandemic changed lives and curtailed plans for all of us. We’ve been anticipating a return to Europe for some time.
United Airlines offered a deal on a flight to Paris so we booked and packed our bags. We departed Tulsa with a short layover in Chicago scheduled before setting off on our flight over the Atlantic. Check the view out the window as we prepared to land at O’Hare (there’s Wrigley Field at bottom right):
Our flight from Tulsa had been delayed and the connecting flight to Paris departed without us. United booked us on the next available flight via Air France but it also set off before we could clear security. A night at the airport hotel in Chicago was on tap; we’d try again the next day.
On our second visit to the terminal, we arrived at the designated gate early and boarded a comfortable Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for Paris. Nine hours later, with a flourish of passports and CDC cards, we cleared French customs at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
I prefer small cars in Europe to save on gas and squeeze into impossibly tight parking spots famous on this continent. We dropped our bags into the back of a tiny white Fiat 500 and set the GPS.
After adjusting mirrors, pushing mysterious buttons and practicing a few throws on the six-speed, I pointed our Italian pocket rocket toward the city of Laon (roughly pronounced “lawn”) an hour and a half northeast of Paris.
One of the most important stops early in a trip is a local grocery store to stock up on essentials. This is a culture study in itself. The French have loads of fresh seafood, fascinating tomatoes and aisles of beer and wine.
In Laon, our Airbnb is set in the heart of the medieval city, across a cobblestoned square from a magnificent cathedral. Built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon is one of the most important examples of early Gothic architecture. It inspired churches across France and the rest of Europe.
Laon is a great example of the types of places I aim to stay in Europe. It’s off the beaten path but full of interesting sights and well-positioned as a hub for short day trips to more adventures.
To curb jetlag (France is seven hours ahead of Central Time back in the States), I set off on an evening stroll around town. Fortified by the Romans, Laon was strategically perched on the top of a bluff to keep an eye out for trouble.
Today, it’s a city of about 25,000 people blessed with a wealth of medieval architecture (and interesting cars):
In 1914, Laon was occupied by the German army during the first World War. The Western Front and its endless trenches stretched out just to the south between this area and Paris. After a day to get settled in, we decided to take a short drive to Cerny-en-Laonnois and visit French and German memorials.
It’s hard to believe the beautiful landscape of northern France was once hell on earth for soldiers and civilians alike roughly 100 years ago. Even today you can still make out trenches in the clearing on the right side of this view:
At Cerny-en-Laonnois, the gravesites of the opposing armies lie side by side. In the photo below, squat gray crosses cover the German cemetery while the French cemetery, with its lighter crosses, occupies the background.
The French markers were set back-to-back in clusters of 10 while each German marker was inscribed with the names of two soldiers. Evidently, if a Jewish German soldier was identified later, headstones with the Star of David were erected next to a Latin cross with one name on each.
The Jewish headstones in the German cemetery were especially poignant considering what was to come in that country just a few years later.
Nearby, we descended into the Caverne du Dragon (dragon cave) along the Chemin des Dames. Both the French and German armies fought over a series of limestone quarries that were pressed into service as underground bunkers. Stumbling through the dark and cold, you wondered how any soldier survived that bloody war.
It was heartening at least to see the American flag waved in Paris after the Armistice in November of 1918:
Returning to Laon, we spent the evening at a small restaurant on a quiet pedestrian street just steps behind our Airbnb.
We spoke a few words of French with our friendly waiter who spoke just enough English to help us enjoy a memorable meal. Armed with photos of the menu, we’ll do some translating homework and return again.
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Thanks for coming along on the trip. If you have questions or suggestions, tweet @JasonRMatheson. Missed an entry? Click here.
