Amiens and an Act of Remembrance

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Saturday 16 May 2015

Four years ago we drove through Amiens trying to get to the other side, and passed by the huge Cathedral. Unable to stop and visit on that day, we returned today to put things right. Light fog made for an atmospheric drive into the city, and our brand new umbrellas came in handy as we emerged from the underground car park. The irresistible aroma of fresh bread quickly led us to a marquee near the Hotel de Ville where a Fete du Pain was pulling the crowds. We watched the bakers skillfully transform pastry dough into croissants and pain au chocolat. The taste of un pain au chocolat fresh from the oven was something to remember as we enjoyed this treat under our umbrellas.

Time for the Cathedral. Soaring columns, high vaulted ceilings, stained glass in unbelievably vivid reds and blues, as well as coloured bas relief scenes from the life of John the Baptist greeted us. However, in many windows we suspect the stained glass suffered war damage and may have been replaced by plain glass. We managed to avoid being swept up with a number of tour groups and quietly found our way about the huge building.

Outside, more rain awaited and as we hurriedly got out our umbrellas Chris stuck his thumb a little far into the sharp metal workings of same. Ouch, blood! What to do? Into a nearby Pharmacie where a kind assistant bypassed any need to purchase a band aid as she hurried to treat and dress the wound. No payment would be accepted, so a sincere Merci Madame from us and a warm feeling about Franco-Nouvelle Zealande relations!

As well as exploring Amiens we decided to visit the Australian World War One Memorial at nearby nearby Villers-Bretonneux. Like all Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries it is immaculate; precise rows and rows and rows of clean white headstones with the greenest of grass and the brightest of flowers. Australian flags were tucked in close to many of these graves and sometimes knitted red poppies were included. In the midst of the Australian flags we spotted two NZ flags and realised two NZ graves from WW 2 are in this cemetery. These were both airmen and died in April 1945. The cemetery also holds many graves of soldiers from Canada and The UK. A huge memorial tower loomed at one end of the cemetery and after climbing to the top we were rewarded with panoramic views across not only the cemetery but the beautiful gently rolling countryside where these Allied servicemen fought and died. A great many names of Australians who have no known grave are inscribed on the wall here, as at many other War Memorials in France and Belgium.

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Photos

Fete du Pain, Amiens
A prize winning bread

Villers-Bretonneux
Australian war memorial, WW I.