France, The Baltic, May - June 2015

Tours

We departed Sydney on the morning of Tuesday 19 May and flew via Shanghai to Paris where we arrived early on Wednesday 20 May. From the airport we transferred to Montparnasse station in Paris and travelled via the TGV to Tours.

St Gatiens Cathedral Tours - first dedicated 1200's

Tours is an attractive town of about 130,000 people with a university and a small port on the Loire River. The Loire is France’s longest river commencing in the French Alps south of Lyons and winding through Orleans, Tours and other centres during its 1000 km journey before entering the Atlantic at Nantes. 

Old Town Centre Tours

The Loire River is fed by several significant rivers and the Loire Valley is very fertile and for centuries has been the ‘bread basket’ of France.

Today the Loire Valley is noteworthy for the beautiful chateaux that are built along the valley. Cycle tracks are also popular given the fairly flat terrain.

Rue De Nationale, Tours - trams reinstalled about 5 years ago

The area is rich in history having been settled by tribes about 300 BC and about 50km from Tours is Blois which was the seat of the French kings in the 1300’s.

Tours has an old town centre and plenty of pedestrian streets and the skyline is dominated by a 12^th century cathedral dedicated to St Gatien. Although there have been several renovations and repairs over the centuries, the magnificent 13^th century stained glass windows survive.

Original stained glass windows - St Gatiens Tours

Due to some serious floods in the 1500’s and the ravages of various wars over the centuries, the city has been re-planned and it now comprises elegant boulevards and park lands. Much of the industrial and commercial activity necessary in a city of this size is located a few kilometres away at St Pierre de Corps which is on the main TGV line.

Museum of Fine Arts

Adjacent to the cathedral is the Musee de Beaux Artes which houses priceless artworks – many of which were ‘reclaimed’ from the nobility during the reign of terror following the French revolution of 1789. In its beautiful parkland grounds there is a cedar tree which was planted in 1801. 

Interior stairwell Fine Arts Museum Tours

Among its collection are some sculptures of the nobility where the head had been removed.This was an accurate example of art imitating life in the reign of terror that accompanied the revolution.

St Gatiens Cathedral from the Fine Art Museum

In Catholic tradition Tours is noteworthy because of Saint Martin of Tours who was a nobleman with some disposition to the poor and needy. Tours became a vital site for pilgrims arising from the work and fame of St Martin.

Blois

King Francis I of France was born in 1494 and succeeded his uncle, Louis XII to the throne but was only young at the time so was declared heir presumptive until his eventual coronation in 1515 at the age of twenty.

Entrance to Chateau at Blois - home of Francois I of France

Despite his relative youth he was an eager reformer and had some military success against the Italians at Milan and became enamoured of the Renaissance that he observed in Italy. He sponsored it in France and his enthusiasm and patronage was demonstrated in France’s arts and architecture.

View of the Loire from the Chateau at Blois

He chose to establish his throne at Blois and the chateau/palace overlooking the town and the Loire is a splendid example of the opulence and style of the Renaissance.

View from within courtyard of Chateau at Blois

He was thoroughly impressed with the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. Francis became his patron including offering him a generous salary and the use of a magnificent chateau at Amboise where he could work on his various interests including art, engineering, writing, and his extraordinary inventiveness.

Leonardo was grateful to receive such generosity and despite his advancing years he travelled over the Alps to France bringing three unfinished paintings including the Mona Lisa. These were ultimately completed at the Chateau Luce where Leonardo died some three years after relocating there.

Francis was an avid hunter and set up an estate at Chambord and built a hunting lodge which has been enhanced over the years and is now Chambord Chateau with its centre piece double helix staircase.

Chambord Chateau near Blois - originally a hunting lodge for Francis I

Despite the magnificence of this building and his personal interest in its construction, Francis only managed to spend a few nights in it.

Henry III was a successor to Francis and married Catherine de Medici and together they arranged construction of the beautiful Chateau Chenonceau and its extraordinary gardens including a maze. 

Chateau Chenonceau

It was constructed to cross a tributary to the Loire River – much like a bridge. It is approached by a fabulous arcade of trees.

Approaching Chenonceau

On the following day we drove along the edge of the Loire and inspected Chateau de Montresor and chateaux in Saumur, Usse and Villandry.

View from Saumur

Ambois Chateau

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is France’s fifth city by size and is on the Atlantic coast not far from the Spanish border. The city has been planned and largely reconstructed in the 1800’s – often with architecture styled upon what was prevailing in Paris at the time.

It has excellent pedestrian precincts and a lively buzz with its student population and visitors using the city as a base for its access to the famous wine region nearby.

Its proximity to Spain and its large port on the river system led to its trading and commercial activity.

Ancient gate in what remains of city walls - Bordeaux

We enjoyed great restaurants in the Place de Parliament and exploring the excellent shopping and historical districts.

Monflanquin

Monflanquin is a village dating from the middle ages on a hill about 150 km east of Bordeaux in the Aquitaine province. The warm southern climate and excellent rivers made it a very successful rural area for centuries. Villages seem to be spaced about 12 km apart and roads take you in all directions. Satnav is an excellent and indispensable tool for visitors.

Rocamador in the background

Over the centuries there have been various wars and for nearly 100 years much of this part of France was actually ruled by England.

We headed east from Bordeaux staying on the local roads crossing rivers and passing through countless villages – stopping frequently to sample the wares of patisseries and boulangeries.

French countryside in Aquitaine

My sister Mary and her husband, Terry, bought a property near the village square about 7 years ago and have steadily improved their home.It is beautifully furnished – rustic style with all modern conveniences. It was built originally in the 1500’s and we visited some of their friends in the next street whose home was built in the 1300's on what they have now discovered to be the site of a Roman dwelling.

The village has expanded a little outside its walls and some modern settlements including a high school are nearby.

Mary and Terry were very welcoming hosts and we had a hectic social programme interspersed with some sightseeing.

Beynac

On our first evening we were guests at a barbecue for Australians living in the village – and this was hosted by a British couple whom Mary knows from playing bridge.

We visited Rocamador a pilgrim destination about an hour and a half drive from Monflanquin. The church and monastery is built into a cliff with an improbable stairway from the valley floor.

Sharon and Mary, Monflanquin May 2015

On Saturday we visited a local farm where the hostess was a good friend of Mary’s. We enjoyed along with 4 other couples a wonderful French lunch for Mary’s birthday. Francine is an exquisite cook and every detail down to gorgeous flowers, wines and all presented in a beautiful countryside setting. In the evening in a nearby village we attended a performance by a visiting UK choir from the University of Manchester. The concert was a fabulous selection of music performed in a town market square in the long summer twilight.

On the next day we canoed with the current for 16 km down the Dordogne River from Vitrac to Beynac among beautiful countryside with occasional riverside villages and settlements.

Canoes on the Doudogne

Monflanquin has history, beautiful countryside and a very welcoming community feel. The views in all directions from its perch are spectacular with patch work paddocks and fields, streams, wooded copses and gently rolling hills into the distance.

Copenhagen

We took the TGV from Bordeaux to Paris airport and a flight to Copenhagen. It was our first visit and we found it to be a clean, interesting and well-appointed port city.

We chanced upon an excellent Argentinian restaurant for dinner and in the few short hours before boarding our ship the next day we visited Lego headquarters (where we discovered that there is a Lego kit for the Sydney Opera House!) and the palace for the changing of the guard.

Lego Headquarters Copenhagen

We boarded the Silver Whisper in the afternoon and set off on our seven day journey across the Baltic and up to Stockholm.

Changing of the Guard Copenhagen

Helsinki

After a day at sea our first port was Helsinki. We had an informative lecture on the previous day which highlighted some of the history and interesting characteristics of the Finns. They are a very individualistic race and while in the geographic region of Scandinavia they do not see themselves as part of Scandinavia. The Finns are a reticent but very communal people with a strong sense of nationalism. Sibelius the composer is a great hero of the nation.

Helsinki - Town Square

During our brief visit we found the city to be apparently prosperous and Finland is a member of the EU.

The Finnish language has no connection to Roman or Greek heritage - and instead has its roots in Turkish, Hungarian antecedents. Music is taught compulsorily in Finland.

Russia

The giant continent of Russia spanned Eastern Europe and into North Asia and for centuries comprised principalities which were at constant war with each other. Around 900 AD there were some attempts to unify these fiefdoms and to create a nation state. Given the disparate history of these independent principalities it was decided that it would be prudent to introduce some unifying force – religion. The obvious candidates were evaluated and the byzantine Catholic tradition was selected and it became known as the Russian Orthodox Church. 

Cathedral of the Spilt Blood (see below)

The church and the state became intertwined and mutually dependent upon each other and religion became a very powerful factor in the lives of Russians and in many ways an enforcer for the royal family who were absolute monarchs.

Around 1990 the 15 distinct states that made up the USSR separated (some say disintegrated) and established their own identities as nations. The largest of these is Russia or the Russian Federation, as it is known officially, and its capital is Moscow. About 900 km to the northwest is its Baltic seaport, St Petersburg, which was founded in 1703.

Alexander's Palace (a gift from his grandmother)

At the time of its foundation the area was a marsh land but the then Czar, Peter, was a visionary who was also one of the first czars to travel internationally. He was fascinated by architecture and the arts, and he decided to build a magnificent European style city to become his royal base. The nobility joined him in this venture and St Petersburg today comprises countless palaces and churches that have their origins from this period. Sydney was founded only 85 years later.

Catherine's Summer Palace - the brown markings on the facade were originally all gold

It is sometimes known as the Venice of the north because of the numerous canals and bridges that are reminiscent of Italy. These waterways enabled the city to be properly connected as the marshes were drained and the city was established upon a large number of islands.

Ballroom in Catherine's Palace

Large boulevards and park lands flow through the city as does the stately Neva River.

From the city’s inception the royal family was based in St Petersburg and the Romanov dynasty ruled Russia until the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. The city was then named Leningrad until the 1990’s when it resumed its original name.

Catherine's palace is in about 80 hectares of beautiful grounds and lakes

It was the scene of a dreadful siege for over 900 days in WWII when the German military had hoped to initially capture the city but faced with stern resistance opted to lay siege for a few weeks. The weeks wore on and over 600,000 residents died of starvation in the initial months. During the winters there were some convoys in and out of the city across perilous frozen lakes – often under bombardment from the attackers. Much of the city was damaged during the siege and the restoration work that has been performed in post war years was partially funded by war reparations from Germany.

Domes on Chapel at the Summer Palace

Today it is a grand city which is a perfect home to the original palaces of the Romanovs and other noble families. The grandeur and opulence of these palaces and their contents is difficult to convey in words - and even in photographs.

The Summer Palace - rear view

Our ship was moored along the embankment to the Neva River and we had perfect clear sunny weather which apparently is not that common. The local saying is that for nine months of the year they anticipate summer - and then for three months of the year are disappointed by it!

Being June we also experienced ‘white nights’ which is their term to describe days when there is daylight and a long twilight but only a short period of actual darkness or night.

Spilt Blood

This monument/church was erected in the 1800’s to commemorate Czar Alexander II who was assassinated at that site. He had upset the nobility by among other things banning serfdom in 1860. Until then all people who were not part of noble families were effectively tied to or owned by those families. This practice had provided great resources and opportunity for the wealthy elite. 

It is ironic that on the other side of the world in the US at the same time there was a civil war in progress that led to the freeing of slaves in that country.

St Catherine’s Palace

Russia was ruled by several female monarchs in the 18^th century including Catherines I and II. They were effective rulers and followed in the tradition of Peter as great patrons of the arts.

Catherine purchased magnificent collections of art and housed them in her palaces and special display pavilions called hermitages.

In addition to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg she also had a Summer Palace in magnificent parkland grounds on the outskirts of the city.

The Hermitage

Neva River

Built on the banks of the Neva, the Hermitage comprises three adjacent buildings that were purpose built to house artwork and is adjacent to the Winter Palace - the royal residence. 

The Throne Room Winter Palace - note intricate floor design and gold leaf finishing

For more professional photos of The Hermitage in St Petersburg search the net!