Cities of Light: Day 4
Day 4: Saturday, October 21, 2023 - Paris, France; Luxembourg; and Trier, Germany
The day's statistics:
- Weather: low 60s
- Steps: 9,672 Linda; 12,424 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 298
We arose at our "early wake-up" alarm, prepared for the day, and had our luggage out by the required 6:00.
We then headed down to breakfast.
The restaurant didn't open until 7:00, so we decided to run over to the Starbucks® located at the far end of the
mall attached to the hotel - or, is the hotel attached to the mall?. When we got there, it too hadn't opened yet.
So we went back to the hotel and talked to our fellow travelers some more.
We had two locations we were interested in that were both scheduled to open at 7:00. For ease, we decided to go back
to Starbucks® to acquire the three mugs that were promised to Pam and two of Linda's sisters. (Yes, we were going
to carry mugs we bought in our first city for the next three and a half weeks.)
The manager at the Starbucks® was so delighted with our purchase that she offered us any coffee that we wanted.
As we were about to board a bus for a long trek, we declined - but I asked if they had coupons we could use instead,
and they gave us two.
We returned to the hotel again, and saw our luggage in the Viking area to the side, and I was able to put the mugs
in a suitcase before we went and had a nice breakfast.
Today was an all-day event called Reims Cathedral & Luxembourg American Cemetery that concluded
with our arrival at the ship.
We boarded the bus and headed out of town. Our guide was Philipe.
Were these built this way on purpose?!!?
We hit the highway. It can be REALLY difficult to capture decent pictures when traveling at 100 kph (or 60 mph).
We saw signs for Disneyland Paris, but they were either on the other side of the bus, or out the front window.
This was the best of four attempts.
And some countryside sights before arriving in Reims.
We arrived in town, and headed straight to the cathedral. It was raining.
Here's a shot of a gargoyle directing the water outward away from the building side.
We entered the cathedral and began our tour.
The rose window has Mary in the center of it, surrounded first by the 12 apostles and then further by 24
musical angels. We were told that on the day of the Assumption of Mary, August 15, the sun exactly aligns
to that pane. Was that a coincidence (sure...) or on purpose (probably).
Anround the cathedral, including more stained glass, the altar, the ambo, and some architecture.
An astronomical clock with original wood from 1500s.
This is the Reconciliation Window, from 2011, showing the French and German flag colors.
This is a burial spot of a bishop. I don't know how comfortable I would be sitting in one of these chairs for service...
As an aside, while there are MANY factors contributing to the differences in these two pictures - including device settings,
available light at the time, and location (though they were taken just a few feet apart) - this helps illustrate the
improvement in phone camera capabilities. However, one could argue "which is the more natural / realistic looking image?"
One is more "vivid" and bright, the other not so much. One shows more of the surrounding and background in focus, the other
not so much. But this is photography, and beauty preference is in the eye of the beholder.
I kept both because we like them both.
This is the list of kings that were coronated at this church. The painting from the Louvre, on day 4
of our trip, of Joan of Arc, was at the coronation of King Charles VII in 1429.
The original baptismal font was outside because one wasn't supposed to enter the church until they were baptised.
The structure of the church, using the butresses like Notre Dame, negates the need for walls. The roof is supported on
its own, not by the walls.
There were two markers on the floor designating two historical items.
The first was the spot where Saint Nicasius was beheaded.
The second shows the spot where, as the story is told, during the baptism of Clovis, a dove was said to have left an
ampule of holy oil in the hands of Saint Remi. This "blessed" oil, for the enxt 1,000 years, was used at the coronation
of all kings until 1825 with Charles X.
Two items of note in this. 1) The figure on the left looks to be giving communion to the figure next to him - reported to
be one of the first documented representations of communion. B) These are not statues put on a shelf in the wall, but rather
statues carved into the stones that make up the wall.
We stepped outside the cathedral. There were some statues flanking the doors.
On the left, looking at the church, is this group of four - one of which, the closest to the door, is smiling.
By the time we got outside, the rain had essentially stopped.
Looking back at the cathedral.
Then we walked through town a little. Here are some shots from that stroll.
In a shopping plaza courtyard was a carousel - probably getting ready for Christmas.
So we also got a selfie here too.
And now it was time for lunch and we ate at Le Gaulois.
We had French Onion soup, and a cheese selection.
After lunch we met at the fountain, and headed back to the bus to continue or journey. Along the way, a few more sights.
Our journey took us back past the cathedral - a couple shots of the stonework and statues.
We boarded the bus and continued to our next destination: Luxembourg, our second country this trip.
There are a few measuring sticks that I try to capture when traveling to get an idea of prices in locations that aren't home.
The top items are gas, Mc Donalds the Golden Arches, and some groceries (milk, eggs, cold cuts).
Here is the first gas sign I was able to capture (though I have no idea what the 9.999 is supposed to be).
Here, gas is €1.91 per liter, Rounding, that makes gas $7.18 per gallon. So yea, less than $4.00 per
gallon is actually not that much - so maybe stop complaining about it and be thankful for what we have.
Some countryside shots, including some wind turbines.
After a couple hours we crossed the border into Luxembourg.
When we take our roadtrips, we like to get state line signs while
crossing state lines - we are yet to drive ourselves over a country border. On VRCs, almost every country border crossing takes
place in a plane or on a ship - and there are no signs indicating borders on either of those transports. As we drove along, Philipe told
us about the small border signs - the smaller the country, the smaller ths sign. And then "And now we're in Luxembourg." Wait, what?
That quick. But on the way back into France at the end of our trip, I got the border sign.
Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the American Cemetery and Memorial.
(Technically, we visited SIX countries on our trip, not five, because the AC&M is technically on American soil.)
The site included a couple structures that had historical information on them about various military actions.
(We later learned that there were [probably] lists of the 371 MIAs on the other sides.)
A small (but very tall) chapel.
There was a fountain toward one side of the cemetery. Bronze dolphins and turtles symbolize, respetively, Resurection and Everlasting Life.
The text reads:
"All who shall hereafter live in freedom will be here reminded that to these men and their comrades we owe a debt to be paid
with grateful remembrance of their sacrifice and with the high resolve that the cause for which they died shall live eternally."
These identical symbols were on either end of the text, but could not be properly stitched, so they are separate.
Some of the 5,076 grave markers of American military dead, including one female nurse - rows and rows of grave markers.
Also, a few markers have stars of David rather than crosses.
Finally, at the front of the cemetery, "facing" or "overlooking" the tropps, is the grave of General George S. Patton, Jr.
Before heading out, we stopped by the rest rooms.
Right when stepping out, I heard taps. At that moment, a flag off to the right was being lowered.
I didn't know it was happening, and by the time I realized what WAS happening - including noticing some satuting the flag -
the ceremony was over.
We boarded the bus and continued onto our final stop: Trier, Germany, and ultimately, our ship.
Some Luxembourg countryside shots on the way to Trier (tree-er), including a wind farm with 29 turbines.
Philipe once again mentioned the country border signs. "And here comes Germany." Click click click click click. One of those
must have come out...
Some Germany countryside shots on the way to Trier, including some wind turbines - .
Our first sighting of the Moselle river, the river on which we will be inititially sailing; and some other shots of Trier.
There's our ship, the Alsvin.
We got off the bus, was greeted by the crew, and embarked on our ship.
We had to wait a little time for our luggage to be delivered to the room, and while waiting, I took this shot out our french
balcony window, though this is not toward the center of town but rather away from town on the other side of the river.
While waiting, we also watched the mandatory safety video.
After our luggage arrived, we unpacked just a little, and then made our way to the 3rd floor lounge for some peanuts and our first port talk.
The lounge was full, and the ship was at capacity.
The port talk is the where the passengers hear about the timing and schedule of the next day (or two), and the chef's creation for
the night. And because this was our first port talk of this cruise, we were introduced to the ship's executive staff, and had a welcome
toast. The Program Director was Kalin. The crew of 55 represented 14 different countries.
After the talk, we headed downstairs to the dining room. We are welcome to sit wherever we want - we choose to sit in the same area (group of four
to six tables) so we have the same server for the duration of the trip. Others like to flutter around to different tables in different areas.
Dinner is usually at 7:00.
We met our server Geo.
We sat with Eric (from the plane) and Marge, from PA, as well as Sheila, from RI.
The dinner menu (and lunch menu too) consists of an "always available" left side, and the ever changing daily selections on the right side.
Dinner (and lunch too) are three course meals with smaller, satisfying portions. There is essentially neverending soft drinks, beer, and
or wine. The table was adorned with a formal setting for all the meals, and there was artisan breads / rolls on the table too.
We both had the red wine. Every night, sans one, we both had red wine with lunch and dinner. There were two different varieties that were
alternated.
Linda had the Casear salad, stuffed portabella mushroom, and berries & orange tartlet.
I had the smoked trout, zwichelrostbraten, and créme brűlée.
We talked with our tablemates until about 9:00, and then headed back to our room to finish unpacking - we did have seven days on the ship,
afterall. We also turned the TV on and found that we must have been TOO quick earlier as the system thought we STILL had to watch the safety
video. So we watched it again. OK, we put it on and went about our business... We unpacked and slipped our luggage under our bed.
We washed up and went to sleep.