The Ponts Couverts
September was hot. Hot pavements, hot air whether in St Pancras, Paris or our destination, Strasbourg. We crossed Paris through the edge of St. Denis where kids tried to sell cigarettes, homeless slept or begged on pavements. Some things don’t change. Train through France to Strasbourg showed how much larger France is than UK. Expanses of ploughed, arable land, woodlands compact in places, some rolling countryside. Walked to our hotel on Rue du 22 novembre. Very, very hot. Our room was beautiful with air conditioning. Throughout our stay the staff were friendly and helpful.
A breath of cool air at the hotel exit. A voice that whispered – The labrador in the doorway opposite is no longer breathing. Its owner was asleep on the pavement. Begging cap at their feet. The labrador stirred. Covered in factor 50. Sun hat. I set off to the cathedral. 30 degrees plus. No wind.
On our wedding anniversary we travelled by tram from the halt at L’ Homme de Fer to the European Parliament. Impressive building. Impressive hopes – democracy, freedom, human rights. Sadness that our MEPs didn’t talk more about their role. Maybe I didn’t listen.
Maybe we take freedom and hope too much for granted. More sadness. Regret. In the afternoon we went to Kehl, Germany, on the tram. Bought an iced coffee for 7 Euros. Full of ice cream, generous portion of double cream. A proper treat.
On our last day we visited La Petite France again. It’s a re-built medieval part of Strasbourg. Why do we love these old buildings? Why do we glamorise the past?
The city hasn’t always been a place in which to relax. Nineteenth century buildings were erected/modified to celebrate German or French military success. Architect led, La Grande-Percée, widened streets between 1908 and 1960. Our hotel was among those designed in Art-Deco style. Now, a ‘green’ city, it uses electric trams and buses at reasonable prices. Its centre is largely traffic free, pedestrians crossing and re-crossing each other’s paths. It was a good place to restore hope.
References
View of The Ponts Couverts: Date 27th September 2003, Didier B. Used under GNU Free Documentation License. Other photos were my own. While I was on holiday I read with great enjoyment Celia Rees’ novel, Miss Graham’s War. I recommend Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit. My regular anti-dote to despair at political situation.
I also read favourite writers on Substack – Wendy Pratt https://wendypratt.substack and re-read Yasmin Ali’s posts – https://aliyasmin.substack.com
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