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Published: August 4th 2015
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Arras
The Hotel de Ville and Belfry. Monday 3 August 2015
When planning our trip over a year ago we decided Arras was worth a visit. Four years ago we passed through without realizing the significance of this city in New Zealand military history. In the four years since our last visit the tunnel under the National War Memorial in Wellington has been constructed and named the Arras Tunnel. We have two days to explore this city and its surroundings.
We slept in. The last hotel of this particular chain that we stayed in was awful. We vowed never again. But when we found this one had opened in May we thought, "What could go wrong in such a short time?" It is roomy, smells of newness, has a reasonably large bathroom, has air conditioning, and is quiet. We slept in.
Today we are visiting the Wellington Tunnels, not in NZ, but here in Arras. As we were not prepared for the 11 degree temperature underground we chose an afternoon time to visit. This will give us time to collect our warm tops and explore some of the town. Our walk takes us to Place des Heros in the centre of the city. Around three
Arras
Buildings around Place des Heros. sides of the place are buildings of very similar design. At the head of the place is the ornate Hotel de Ville and its clock tower. The original town hall was built in the 14-15 century but like many buildings in this town nearly all were either badly damaged or destroyed between 1914 and 1918. Fortunately today we can admire what was here thanks to the foresight of the French government and local authorities. How many buildings in the cities we have visited are only rebuilds or replicas of the originals?
It is time for our visit to the Wellington Tunnels. Armed with warm tops and a sense of pride we make our way to the entrance. It is obvious we are Kiwis and Wellington is where we once lived. We don our hard hats for protection and receive an audio guide. A lift takes us 20 metres underground. Tunnels needed to be built to connect the quarry galleries that already existed since the 17th century. At that time limestone was quarried for building materials during the growth of the city. NZ tunnellers were used to build the 20 kms of connecting tunnels. Up to 20,000 soldiers lived underground
Arras
Hard hats on. Preparing for... before a major offensive in April 1917. The tour gives visitors a brief insight into life underground. The tunnellers have left momentoes of their time there such as carved initials, carved shapes, and drawings. The tunnels were used again in 1940-45 as air raid shelters and then sealed and forgotten until 1990. Today it is a wonderful memorial to a small group of New Zealanders during a terrible time in the history of NZ. We felt proud to be Kiwis. The guided tour is and information centre is a credit to the local people.
We return to our hotel thinking about the turmoil this country and this area has undergone so many times during history. It is not just the 1914-18 and 1939-45 wars but as far back as the 100 Years War and beyond. Let's hope there are no more in the future.
Tomorrow is the last day of the tour before we head for Paris and return the car. That will be a sad day but the thought of returning home is exciting.
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