My grandfather served in the 304th Engineers Corps in WWI. He gave me his battle pictures provided by the 304th. I sought scenes depicted in those pictures to compare to the present landscape. We stayed in a former military facility in Verdun, now serving as a beautiful hotel, known as the Jardin de Mess, along the Meuse River. I located a nearby bridge and tattered buildings adjoining the Meuse. There was the first and best example from my grandfather’s pictures. Instead of restoring the architectural features of an artillery-riddled house, a smooth wall was erected with trees hiding the former façade details. We drove to surrounding memorials such as Froidterre Fort, Fort Douaumont, and the Trench of Bayonets.
From Verdun, we drove toward Strasbourg, searching for WWI images among my grandfather’s pictures. We stopped at Metz to visit the cathedral. Then, in Strasbourg, we climbed the cathedral tower steps, dined at the Café Broglie, and walked through Petit France. A boat cruise on the Ill River revealed sections of Strasbourg I never saw as a student at the University: Albert Sweitzer’s church, the Council of Europe, the Court of Human Rights, and the neighborhood built during German occupation, known as Neudorf. On May 12, we saw the museums of Strasbourg: Objects Decoratifs, Alsacien, Beaux Artes, and Archeologique. The European Union formed in 1993, after my college days. It builds on values of the Council of Europe, forming deeper political and economic integration processes, such as the European Green Deal by which Europe is to have no net emissions of greenhouse gasses by 2050. I noticed that the motorized scooters that dominate city streets run now on electricity instead of the gasoline-powered mopeds prevalent during my college days.
The third phase of our vacation highlighted southern Alsace. First, we stayed in a 17th century hotel, Le Marechal, along the canal in Colmar. There, we dined on smoked trout in the restaurant called “a l’Echevin” in a room that looked out on the Launch River. Using Colmar as a base, we took day trips to the Bugatti Museum in Mulhouse, and vineyards in Hunawihr and Riquewihr. We sampled white wines from the four “Noble Grapes” of Alsace: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Muscat. Dining in Colmar allowed us to meet other couples from Germany, France, and America. Colmar represents the pure Alsatian community: neither French nor German, but with traces of alternating occupation by each nation. Some pictures painted by Jean-Jacque Waltz, the artist known as “Hansi,” satirize the German occupation in both WWI and WWII. His metal signage projects from many retail establishments in Colmar and adjoining towns, demonstrating artfully what the vendor provides to the consumer. We recommend the Unterlinden Museum for a timeline of human history, excellent Renaissance art, and Alsatian artifacts.
The fourth segment of our vacation highlighted the Black Forest. We stayed in Freiburg at the Park Hotel. Freiburg is a university town with channeled rivulets coursing through the streets and feeding into a stream that runs under the University. From Freiburg, we travelled by train through the Black Forest to discover my grandmother’s home town, Schwenningen. Our desk clerk at the Park studied hostelry at a school in Schwenningen, so he gave us some travel tips. Following WWII, Schenningen was combined with the larger adjoining town, Villegen, where our train stopped. There, we took a trolley to Schwenningen where we found my grandmother’s modest childhood home. Florita and I visited a clock factory where we learned about the work done by my great-grandfather and others before the advent of the electric timepiece. A clock industry thrived in Schwennigen, where the factory punch clock was invented and the cooku clock was perfected. On our return to Freiburg, we walked through the town and discovered its charm. The University neighborhood had great bars and restaurants, including Oscar Wilde’s Restaurant and Café.
A week in Paris concluded our trip. We are Rotarians and observe some great Rotary traditions, such as visiting Rotary Clubs outside our country. We travelled to Ris-Orangis, a city south of Paris along the Seine to meet with local Rotarians at the home of Michel and Marine Saad. They welcomed us to dinner with Evry-Corbeil Rotary Club President Eric Weber and his wife, Corinne, and Past President Joseph Nouvellon. We exchanged Club banners. This was our first visit to the south suburbs of Paris. Ris-Orangis is home to at least five castles and many formal gardens, being a suburb of Paris for kings as well as Rotarians.
