Fort de Bellecroix

Sunday, the 10th of May dawned, you guessed it, grey and threatening rain! I think I can count on one hand the number of clear, sunny days since I arrived in early April. I donned my rain jacket, and headed out toward rue La Fayette to make my way to Forte de Bellecroix, the last leg in my exploration of the Circuit des Remparts

From what I can tell, Forte de Bellecroix was conceived by military engineer Vauban in the 17th century, and implemented by his succesor, Louis de Cormontaigne, in the 18th century (and strengthened by Napoleon at the end of the 19th century) to reinforce the East side of Metz. Portions of the barracks were destroyed in 2008, considered to have decayed too much to be safe, and what is left is being renovated for living, retail and office spaces.

Since I actually sort of planned my destination ahead of time, I actually had an idea in mind of where I was going, and noticed little markers that pointed to the path. Still, I managed to miss the boundaries of where the fort began! I just sort of guessed that when I was surrounded by stone walls that I was there.

Not knowing anything about military terminology, I can only say the Fort is a double crown, with an alley down the middle. The foot path takes you down the middle, and there are little side paths to explore as well. I started exploring a couple of side paths, then thought better of it, because they are fairly densely wooded, and I was alone. However, I did see my usual amount of garbage, and this time, something as large as an abandoned motorcycle, which you can see in my Circuit des Remparts photo album.

I have read about underground galleries at the fort, although I did not see any while I was there (maybe they are on the side paths?). I did, however, see a low, covered passage, which you can see in the album. There are plaques along the walls that show you what you are viewing (you can see one in the album, too), but I have to be honest and say I had no idea what some of them meant! I saw quite a few mention gathering places for troops, and wasn't sure whether they meant between the walls, or at the top.

I know I complain about the weather a lot, but I do have to admit that everything is lush and green, right now. This photo is of a flower I took on the grounds, and if you look carefully, you might be able to tell that the dot on it is a bug!

The walk home was relatively uneventful, with a stop at a bakery in centre ville (the only ones open on Sundays) for bread, and another at an ice cream truck by the Moselle. However, not ten minutes after I walked in the door of the aparment, I heard LOUD pattering outside. I looked out the window, and buckets of rain were pouring out of the sky! It went on for a good five or ten minutes, and then stopped just as suddenly as it started. This has happened once or twice a day since then. Strange weather for the gal from California, where rain is more like a light, but steady sprinkle on occasion (we have a lot of droughts).

Side note: underlined blue text and photos on this page are clickable links to other pages and larger versions of the photos. Also, I found on the Merriam-Webster dictionary website, an illustration of different battlements!

Porte des Allemands

Last Sunday was a bit drizzly, but I wanted to get out for my walk, so I headed to the Porte des Allemands, the last of the medieval fortifications, built around 1230. The Porte des Allemands gets its name from a hospital, Notre Dame des Allemands, founded by Teutonic knights, although I have no clue as to WHY they would name a fortification after a hospital. Again, Wikipedia seems to have the most information on it, and it is in French. The photos in this entry are from my Circuit des Remparts album on Picasa, and there are photos there I don't mention or post here, as well.
I approached the Porte from across the street, and it looked promising, with its four towers. I crossed the street, walked through the arched entrance, turned toward one of the towers to find the entrance into it... and it was blocked! I walked around to see if I had missed it somehow on the street, but no. There was no going up into the tower. Same for the other three. Actually, there was no going into any of the interior spaces other than the courtyard area, because everything had either been walled or gated off. Arrgh! I did notice that the floor tiles were patterned, which had to have been a laborious process when they were made, so I walked up to the gate to take a photo, and saw garbage thrown into the room, just as I had the previous day along the ramparts. And then, it hit me - the scent of urine that pervaded everything! In a town where trash is collected three days a week (four, if you count recycling), I am amazed at how much of it there is strewn about everywhere. Theoretically, you could leave a bag of rubbish in front of someone's house - it would certainly be picked up! As for restrooms, Metz has two McDonald's and several street toilets (which, granted, cost money, but not that much). People can be disgusting. Trying not to get any part of me to touch any part of the building other than the soles of my shoes on the ground, I crouched down to take the photo of the tiles.

[edit: Thank you, Caroline, for letting me know that the ancient monuments, such as the Porte, are maintained entirely by volunteers. This would explain why access is restricted and the difficulty in keeping up with litter that collects. Please, when you visit, be sure to clean up after yourself.]


On my way home, I passed a sandwich restaurant advertising Américain Frites. As I was taking the photo of the sign, I looked up into the window, and saw the owner staring at me in confusion. I wasn't sure if he was going to laugh or run me out of his town, so I gave him my best cheesy smile and waved. Luckily, he waved back. Feeling very much like a teenager caught thumbing through her parent's porn collection, I ran off down the street!

I felt a little guilty about not buying something there (I also feel compelled to buy something from places that let me use their restrooms), so after I cleaned off some of the ick of my day, I headed back to order the Américain. By this time, both owners were there, and curious as to why I would take a photo of their menu. And one of them wanted me to take his photo. His name is Mus (pronounced like moose), and he is in my Lorraine Fauna album striking a glamorous pose. Ceto, the one who caught me in the first place is also there, seated in an orange shirt.
I forgot to mention before that at the Market last Saturday, I bought a knock-off perfume for the first time ever. I actually don't know what brand of perfume it was supposed to smell like, but I needed something for the apartment to mask the cigarette smoke from my neighbors. I bought it from Mikael, who is young enough to be my son, and seems to like to flirt. As I was leaving, Mikael gave me his phone number, and said "I like women, not girls, if you know what I mean." Which I think means he wants a cougar. I am keeping it as my prize for still being able to have young men give me their numbers!

Chemin des Corporations

I spend a lot of free time walking in Metz, partly due to neither having a car nor taking the time to figure out the bus system, and partly due to the fact that there is a lot within walking distance that is interesting. Last Saturday, I trudged along the Moselle again, where it joins the Seille, to explore the Chemin des Corporations, a rampart dating from the Middle Ages, which at its longest in the 15th century, stretched for 7 km.  Today, a short stretch of walls and towers remains along the banks of the Seille.

The Chemin des Corporations is so named because corporations (which I think are actually trade associations) maintain them in times of peace (and theoretically, protect them during war).  It is part of the Circuit des Remparts, which also includes the Porte des Allemandes and Forte Bellecroix.  Everyone else does the circuit in one shot, but I have to be different and cover each on different days and separate entries, because I am slow!

I discovered the ramparts accidentally! I was walking down the Moselle (Northward, but downriver) and saw a huge wall with a drainspout filled with grass and flowers, and thought it was pretty, so I took a photo of it. A sign on the grass below described the walls and towers, so I decided to see what it was about.

I walked through an entry on a path that wound by a series of towers behind a wall overlooking the river.  Entrances to the towers themselves were blocked, so passers-by can only look through the windows, which is a disappointing sight, as garbage is strewn about everywhere!

The wall overlooking the river has arrow slits along it. Considering the narrow vantage afforded by the slits, I am amazed that these things were effective for defense, and yet, they were standard in Medieval castles, so they must have been!

Coming out of the walled area, I was on the bank of the Seille, and headed upriver. In my photo of the river in the album, there is a man fishing under the tree on the right, which should give you some perspective as to its size.

I turned back in toward Centre Ville, heading across the narrow streets. I passed a yard with a group of people relaxing at a table, and saw a gawky brown tabby kitten walking across. The cat saw me stop at the fence and pick up my camera, became curious, walked over, and propped itself up on the wall to get a better look. Unfortunately, I had focused the camera before the cat made it into the viewfinder, so kitty is fuzzy and the background is sharp, but you can still see how cute she was! She reminded me of my own group of quadripedal fuzzies back home, and how much I miss them, especially my little Mini cat -- the others will accept food and attention from anyone, but Mini is bonded to me. I feel especially guilty, because I let Piglet sleep with me my last few nights at home. Mini is terrified of Piglet, and would not go near my room. Okay, confession over.

I walked all the way back to the Moselle side (not much of a feat, it's a narrow town), watched some kayakers, took photos of interesting graffiti on some planters, which I'll hopefully have in an album soon, and on one of the bridges, passed a family making their way on little push scooters! I thought they looked cute, and … took a photo!

As an aside, there are now two other people living on my floor (I was the only one at first).  I was fawning over my herb plants yesterday, when Dimitry walked up to my window and introduced himself.  He is an engineer and lives in the apartment in front of mine.  This morning, Farida knocked on my door to introduce herself.  She is in the front apartment on the other side, so there is another apartment separating hers from mine.  I still see the other three neighbors I met earlier ... and still do not know their names!  The one man stops on occasion and attempts conversation.  I decided it is better to respond with more than "oui," "non" and "pourriez vous répéter, s'il vous plaît?" (could you repeat, please?), so I have taken to responding to him in Franglish.  I admire his patience.  Sometimes we chatter for several minutes, and I have no idea what either of us has said!

The photos in this entry are from my Circuit des Remparts album:

Circuit des Remparts

More about The Circuit des Remparts can be found on the Parks and Gardens Promenades du Centre and the Circuit des Remparts pages of the Ville de Metz websites, however, there is not much there, and it's all in French. If anyone finds anything with more detail, in any language, please let me know!