Tom`s travels: Reims (29/03/2017)

We left Strasbourg at 2am and arrived in Reims four hours later. Unfortunately that was the only bus arriving in the morning, but the bus stop was a bit far from the city center so we had to take the metro. After arriving in the city center, we headed to the first Mc Donald's to wait till the sights would open as it was still dark, early and cold. I took a hot chocolate while Ania took a coffee. After relaxing and heating up we headed towards the main attraction of the city: the Cathedral. A Unesco world heritage site, the church was built in the High Gothic style during the 13th century after the previous one was destroyed by fire. Surviving many centuries, it unfortunately was heavily damaged during World War I but restored to its former glory. Used for the coronation of French kings, the cathedral has been and still is an important monument in french history. After reaching the church itself we immediately admired its splendor from the immense 80m facade. The main portals were decorated with sculptures of saints and are topped by a beautiful rose window. Once inside, we admired the light and height of the main nave decorated with more statues and stained glass. On the floor, a stone remarked the spot where Saint Remi baptised King Clovis around 496 A.D. Near the apse are also more stained glass windows made by Marc Chagall. After visiting the amazing interior we headed out and continued our visit of the city. We crossed the nearby Place Royale, with at its center the statue of Louis XV as a roman emperor. And further on the Place du Forum with the Gallo-Roman cryptoporticus which was unfortunately closed. Next to it stands the Hotel le Vergeur, an example of medieval house typical of the region, which had to be rebuilt after the world war I bombings. Continuing our walk further we reached the impressive building of the Mairie, or Town Hall, built during the 17th century in a Renaissance style. Finally reaching the northern end of town we arrived where the Porte Mars is located. Built in the third century A.D. it is an old roman triumphal arch still standing, but it was unfortunately covered in scaffolding due to renovations. From there we walked back into town arriving at the Palais du Tau. The Palace, attached to the Cathedral's southern side, served as the Archbishop's palace and before as residence for the kings of France before their coronation. It was unfortunately damaged as well during WWI but then finely restored to its original state. Entrance was free for us students, and we began our visit of the palace. Originally in the Gothic style, the exterior was remade in the current Baroque one. We started from the lower hall dating to the 15th century and full of Gothic arches supported by decorated columns. Upstairs we then entered the Salle de Tau, with the upside down hull of a boat as ceiling and tapestries detailing the history of King Clovis. Next door was the palace chapel in a Gothic style. Further on there were some rooms with the Cathedral treasury; such as goblets, reliquaries, jewels etc. After visiting the Palace of Tau, we headed out and directed ourselves to the Musee des Beaux Arts. Entrance was also free for us students, and it contained a nice collection of painting dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries. After the visit it was still quite early so I decided to rent bicycles and try to explore the surrounding countryside. I had found a place which would rent for quite cheap so after reaching the location indicated on google maps I found out the guy actually rented bicycles just by calling, so after calling him, 10 minutes later we met in front of the Abbey of Saint Remi where we began our side trip. 10 km later and through countryside we reached the first village of Rilly-la-Montagne. Here starts the northern part of the Unesco World Heritage Champagne region, where the eponymous bubbly drink is made. This northern part is called Montagne de Reims, and comprises several villages in the hills surrounding the city of Reims. Being it still the end of March, the vineyards were not in bloom and still had that winter empty look, however it was still fun to see where the famous drink is made. Continuing on we passed the villages of Chigny-les-Roses, Ludes, Mailly-Champagne and Verzenay. The villages were just a few km from each other but they were on hills so there were some easy moments where we had a clear descent and other part where we had to pedal uphill. Once we reached Verzenay, we stopped at a curve, found a patch of grass among the vines and enjoyed the view while eating our lunch. After eating we were a bit exhausted from all that cycling so we decided to take a nap. Half an hour later, we woke up and decided it was time to head back to Reims. Luckily the way was all downhill and after reaching the outskirts of the city, we followed the Canal de la Marne till the city center. We called Manu, the guy from the bikes again, and after paying the 10 euros each for the bike thanked him and said goodbye. As we had stopped in front of the Abbaye Saint Remi again, we decided to visit it. Originally founded in the sixth century, the present building dates to the 11th century in the Romanesque style and holds the relics of Saint Remi, who baptized King Clovis. After entering the Basilica, I was amazed by its interior, with beautiful Romanesque arches and an even more amazing choir. Touring the interior for a while we came back out and visited the Musee Saint Remi, which is displayed in the cloisters of the Basilica. Entrance was also free, and apart from the building itself which was composed of the cloister dating to the 18th century in a nice Baroque style, and the Chapter house, in a mix of Gothic and Romanesque styles with several columns displaying natural and anthropomorphic features typical of that period; the museum displayed objects from the Roman era as well as the medieval period. After visiting the museum we went back to the center of the city and strolled around a bit before deciding to have dinner somewhere. Ania was not so hungry so we decided to go to Burger King where I had a hamburger and shared fries together. We still had some sandwiches so we decided to eat them later on the bus back home. In fact, we had to wait till midnight before we could take our bus back, and before leaving we were able to admire the beautiful Cathedral once last time this time by night.