Chapter 37. More Sightseeing

Two or three times I made trips to Reims and spent most of the time at Reims Cathedral, now a famous church built and rebuilt on the same site as the 400 AD building—now Gothic as extended in the 12^th  and 14^th centuries.  Many years, from 400 to 1400, this cathedral was the site of coronations of French Kings—when France won their different battles with the Popes in Rome.

Following one such period, Reims Cathedral acquired its outstanding façade, almost covered by sculptures carved in the 15^th Century.  Among all European Cathedrals it ranks second only to Chartres, south of Paris, in the number of façade sculptures.

Not just by battles with Popes has this northern France Cathedral suffered, but by battles with other nations as well.  During the Hundred Years War it was under siege by England in 1359 to 1360.  In both the first and the second World Wars it suffered severe damage by the Germans.  I believe that after the First World War it was reopened completely only in 1938.  During WWII Hitler’s air force damaged the roof so badly that lead melted and rained down on the gargoyles on the outside which took years to clean up.

In Reims my time on trips from Bar-le-Duc was spent inside the awesome later Gothic period ambiance and outside as well.  But there, the walled close around the cathedral grounds had disappeared as I remember, replaced by fairly near-in old shops.  Among them I especially remember falling in love with the basketry products—possibly because I thought they were light enough to ship home after our war ended.

That’s how I acquired the Lynch family wood basket we used so many years beside our fireplaces, and the picnic basket the Lynch family took on outings.  I may have been with Captain Dan Lynch, the Adjutant for our Hospital Center General in Bar-Le-Duc, when I purchased the basketry.

Another trek that I took in a Jeep with my friend Dan Lynch and another officer from Central Hospital headquarters was to the city of Luxembourg, the capital of the country of Luxembourg.  My mouth fell open as we drove toward the central part of the town and I saw my first “patios“ hanging out the apartment windows from the higher floors of new apartment houses.  Those 4- and 5-floor buildings had the first lanai balconies I had ever observed.  Such innovations I had not yet seen in the US.