Paris, Verdun, and finally...Germany!

Hey everybody! Hope all is well back home. We just got in to Germany not too long ago and have settled into our rooms for the next few days. We just had an amazing dinner and Im afraid I may drop into a food coma if I don't hurry up and get through this so here we go...

Paris
Although it pained me to leave the beautiful St. Malo, our time in Paris was a blast. We could see the Eiffel Tower from our hotel (which was about a 15 minute walk) so being right in the center of things was great.
After we settled into our rooms, a group of us left to go see the tower and the surrounding sights by our hotel. It was quite a bit of walking but well worth it.

First, we checked out the tower. As the iconic symbol of Paris and France, the place was booming with tourists. As a result, there were plenty of gypsies around trying to sell their contraband souvenirs. It was annoying, but also very entertaining to watch them sprint away in every direction when Police officers arrived. The coolest part of the tower however was at night. In addition to being lit up, every hour addition lights begin flashing sporadically for a 5 minute period (giving the effect that the tower is 'glittering').

In addition to seeing the tower we also saw the Palais de Challot, the site where Hitler (following the surrender of France) posed for his famous picture in front of the Eiffel Tower. A grim reminder that 71 years ago this active and lively city was just coming under the dark cloak of occupation.

Next we walked to the Arc de Triomphe, which commemorates Napoleon, his armies, and their victories in similar fashion to a Roman Arc. The sculpture and detail on the monument is fascinating to behold. In his day, Napoleon had many of the streets of Paris were rerouted to pass around the arc, making it central to Parisian life.

Days 2-3: Walking tour, the Louvre & Versailles 
The next two days were full of sight seeing.
Day 2- began with a walking tour of the city's WWII history. Our tour guide was an American from California so we had no trouble understanding what he was saying. He provided a whole lot of insight on what life was like in Paris during the German occupation. One interesting fact was that Hitler ordered explosives set on all the major monuments and buildings so that once the Allies got close the Germans could destroy the city as they retreated. Obviously the city's famous monuments were not destroyed by the Germans due mostly to the refusal of the Germans to do so.

Our tour guide for the walking tour of WWII

Our walking tour ended at Notre Dame, where the group was dismissed to do our own thing. Since we were close by, we decided to hit up the Louvre. Fortunately our guide told us about this little known stairwell that allowed you to bypass the large line waiting to get to the ticket area. We didn't really want to see the whole thing, so we went to the Mona Lisa and then viewed all the Greco-Roman sculptures. There was also a wing devoted to the apartments of Napoleon III which was really cool to see what the palace was like when he lived there.

Mona Lisa

Augustus (my favorite of the Roman Emperors)

Day 3- Since a group had gone the day before, we decided to take the subway outside of Paris to the Palace at Versailles.

First off, it would be more appropriate to call this a city rather than a palace. Everything you would ever need was pretty much there. While it does appear to be nothing more than an expression of opulence, the palace itself was more of a political tool. Having been frightened by a riot in Paris as a young child, Louis XIV moved his residence from the Louvre to the hunting chateau, where he greatly expanded it to the 700 room structure you see today. In order to consolidate his power as an absolute monarch, he used Versailles almost like a country club (only those who swore an oath of allegiance to him could get in). So while it does seem over the top for our standards, you have to realize it was all a ploy by Louis to get the nobles. Because of its shear size we did not see all of the gardens but the parts we did see were amazing.

Fountain at the head of the Gardens

The Hall of Mirrors (where some of the most important decisions leading to the Great Wars were made)

We took the train back to town and, after wandering around a bit, found Notre Dame. Although the line was really long we made it inside in about 5 minutes. What was really neat was that they were conducting a mass during that time, so the entire cathedral was filled with the songs of a choir and congregation. The smell of incense however was very potent so we didn't spend too much time in there.

Notre Dame during evening mass

It doesn't sound like it, but trust me they were 2 very full days with lots of walking involved. All in all, Paris was a blast.

Departing from France/Verdun
After a great couple of weeks, we have finally left France for good. But we could not leave the country without first visiting the WWI memorial at Verdun. Although it was a major battle of the war, Verdun itself served no real strategic purpose. The Germans attacked the French there because they knew it was a city in which they would have to fight for. Because of this, the Germans aimed to "bleed the French white" (destroy as much of the French Army as possible, regardless of loss). Although the French ultimately succeeded in driving back the Germans, there was no real victor as both sides suffered horrendous casualties (306,000 total dead).

Bones piled in chambers at the Ossuary at Verdun. By the time the battle ended these were all that remained of some of the men who had perished there. A very grim symbol of an extremely morbid and macabre battle

Verdun is a symbol of the horror of war. It was this horror that made the French convinced that WWI was truly the war to end war. It was a hell on earth, where life and youth perished in the inferno of artillery barrages (the blast craters are still there in large numbers). It was madness. And while Verdun and WWI are not part of of the course, one cannot fully understand the events and causes that led to the Second World War.

Germany
After our somber visit to Verdun we got back on the road to Germany. I awoke from a nap to find the green tree covered hills had a surprisingly similar resemblance to parts of the Texas Hill Country (sorta reminding of home).

By far the best part of Germany thus far: the food. After weeks of eating the SAME, EXACT, stuff EVERY, SINGLE day in France, we have finally come to a place where the food is both good and filling. Our meal tonight was pretty much a German BBQ: two types of sausage, pork chops, turkey breast and a variety of salads, bread, pastas, and potatoes. I don't think a word was hardly spoken at dinner because everyone was stuffing there face with this delicious food.

Because we are in the final weeks of our study abroad our primary focus is to finish out the classes strong. I'll do my best to update you all on Bastogne and the Ardennes as well as the remaining field trips we have but understand that if you dont notice a new blog for a while its because I am busy working on the school work.

Well thats all for now!