Visiting Verdun

August 13, 2018

A visit to the Citadel to see how the defence of Verdun was done.

August 13 Monday

Visiting Verdun

A visit to the Citadel to see how the defence of Verdun was done.

An overcast day but warm. Muesli by the tent and filtered coffee starts the day. Ann’s tubeless tyres need attention but all cycle repair places are closed on Monday. What’s not to like about Mondays? Maybe they’d heard the song. So we decide on another night’s camping in Verdun and a visit to the citadel, the scene of France’s finest hour - four years actually.

Having read so much about Verdun, it felt and looked a little more ‘normal’ than I had expected. Even more - it’s prettier, with the beautiful blue green water of the river and the shady trees. Mind you, we decided against visiting the ossuary, which looks very dramatic.

Here, the French army held out against the German invaders with enormous loss of life on both sides. The citadel, built well before the war, has a network of brick lined tunnels underground, where daily life, or an approximation of it, was carried on. The citadel ‘experience’ for the tourist is achieved by transporting them through the tunnels on an electronic rail cart and with the use of holographic scenes. We experience the cold of the tunnels and see where bread was baked, mail sorted and sleep gained. This, and re-creation of discussions by the impassioned French military, convey the feeling of the time well.

Fortress walls, complete with ordinance damage.

French military living as best they can beneath the chaos above. Moustaches clearly in fashion.

From the Belgium coast to Switzerland- stalemate. Also gives us a clear picture of how our cycle routes have matched the WWI frontline.

Having just cycled through the Ardennes, and read the story of WW2’s equally savage fighting in The Battle of the Bulge’ one becomes aware of the importance of the Eu in preventing such horrors recurring.

Somewhat sobered by this experience we explore the city and the cathedral. It’s all very quiet, as have been many of the town’s on the route.

That evening over a meal at the camp restaurant- inside, since rain pours down in an unending torrent outside- we discuss the possibility of ending our following of the Meuse. 1000 plus kilometres has been wonderful, interesting and up to now, reasonably varied, but the time for a change seems ripe. One option is cycling to Dijon on a more direct route. The more radical idea of training east to Strasbourg arises. It would enable us to explore that beautiful city, cycle some of the Rhine and work in well with our eventual direction of Switzerland and our final leg starting in Salzburg. So we resolve to check out train possibilities after we have attended to Ann’s velo in the morning. We return to our tent, soggy on the outside but quite dry inside.

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