On the road again

I can’t believe I have not made this into our theme song earlier.

On the road again -
Just can't wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again.
On the road again -
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends.
Insisting that the world keep turning our way

And our way
is on the road again…..

That’s right, emboldened by our previous Hollandaise success story – our little band of gypsies figured that Austria would be just the place to see on a four day weekend.  Many milestones were reached.  First, we broke 300,000 kilometers on Mr. Liberty.  That would be 186,000 miles on our little modern-day caravan.  To break 200,000 miles we’ll need to hit almost 322,000 KM – hmm… not sure if we can do it, but I’m sure we will try.  Second, we spent 3 nights in the car (only 2 when we went to Holland).  This time we didn’t drive until very late at night (it makes us too tired).   We discovered the boys are happier if they are both in the trunk and Callie likes the back seat.  Of course, there was one night that Griffin ended up on my seat with me.  What a face…  André and I were pretty squished but we did sleep.  In fact, it went so well, the kids were begging to stop and sleep for the 4th night rather than pushing for home!  Since gypsies have to live and work in their caravan, we packed light – one change of clothes (only for use in the case of emergency), 5 sleeping bags, one cooler, one activity bag,  several water bottles and 2 bags of other food. We had 10 meals to cover, plus am and pm snacks – we ate out for 4 meals and 2 snacks. I’m proud to announce that the other 6 meals and 16 snacks for 5 people we somehow brought from home (and even had leftovers).  The biggest failure was our master plan to have at least one hot meal.  This was to consist of hot dogs heated up by none other than the power of our gypsy caravan, Mr. Liberty.  We wrapped the dogs in foil, shoved them near the engine block and drove a few dozen kilometers.  Shockingly, this didn’t work!  André readjusted the dog location in the engine several times but, after about an hour and a half, we ate them stone cold.  (It was like eating bologna, concentrated).  We ate in the car, a lot.  The hot dogs may have been a failure but I am now quite skilled at preparing entire meals on my lap and André has mastered the art of eating yogurt with a chocolate spoon while zooming along at 80 miles an hour. It may not be gazing into a crystal ball to divine the future, but everyone has to start somewhere.

Europeans like straight flat roads and that means that there are tunnels through the mountains, and lots of them.  Some of them were literally miles and miles long.   Driving beneath the earth for over 20 minutes at 80 miles an hour is a surreal experience.  The lighting in there was crazy as well.  At times it seemed as if, perhaps, I was only one of the cars in some sort of warped gigantesque version of Pole Position…

 

We tried to mostly drive in the light, since we love scenery. Here’s a few photos from our 2500km on the road…

 

The snowy covered Alps were passed on our way through Switzerland.  In fact, the Austrian Alps are not as high.  They are amazingly beautiful though.  They are absolutely covered in deciduous and non-deciduous trees and just stretch on and on forever.  They differ from the hills of Besancon or other areas I’ve seen because they seem so completely uninhabited.  As if no human foot has ever stepped into these  forests.  There might be a castle plopped here and there, as if by a giant, but that’s it.  There aren’t farms at the base of each hill, no roads winding up them or logging trails, no power lines, no little villages, no cell phone towers, just mile after mile after mile of giant green hills.  It’s like Eden or something.

Besides eating yogurt and cold hotdogs, gypsies do other things in their caravan to pass the time.  Just like in the days of old, we tell stories (C.S. Lewis Prince Caspian was completed) and sing songs and do handiwork (peg pictures).  Due to our naturally passionate natures, we sometimes fight, but the love wins out in the end.

    

Now all we need are castanets, robes and a history of persecution and misunderstanding.   See this for some more serious information about the fascinating people known as Romani, or gypsies.

Sing, Sing a Song

I find I have been avoiding blogging this week, feeling overwhelmed.  Turns out I’m about 16 blogs behind.  So, I have made the command decision to cut class today to blog. This is the second class I have purposely cut in my life. (Yes, I am a nerd)

   Despite the fact that, logically, I know it's no big deal, I am wracked with guilt. I'm 34, shouldn't I be beyond that??

So, the reason I am 16 blogs behind or so is not only my incredibly fertile mind, but also because, over the 4 day weekend (brought to you by the national holiday Ascension) we decided to hit Vienna.  But, rather than jump straight into ‘learn all about Austria through my eyes’ mode, I am going to sing a bit about music…

I don’t think I have ever mentioned how important music is in our lives before.  When I was a kid, the TV was always on in the background.  When André was a kid, it was the silence or fighting.  For our kids – it is almost always music.  I love music, of course, being particularly fond of older stuff and musicals.  I particularly love to sing, and sing all the time, along with the radio, making up silly songs and singing lullabies every evening.  For André, however, music is a lifeline, and he needs it like other people need their morning coffee.  Because of this, our kids love music as well.   They got CD players from their Aunt Melodie before we came to Europe and they have used them, literally, to death.  They sing all the time, love to dance around, and just basically have music in their souls.

I had the kids pick a list of their favorite songs to burn from MP3 to CD for the trip – I want to blog their playlist since it shows some of their personality – and how eclectic their musical tastes are!

Callie’s picks:

La Danse des Canards (that’s the French version of the Chicken Dance), Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye), Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid), Can you Feel the Love Tonight (The Lion King), Carribbean Blue (Enya), I know an old lady who swallowed a fly (Peter, Paul and Mary), YMCA (The Village People)

Zander’s picks:

The Gummibear Song (GummiBear – comes in several languages, he did English and French), A La Queuleuleu (French Dance song), A Spoonful of Sugar (Julie Andrews), Ca M’enerve (Helmut Fritz), So This is Love (Cinderella), Tomorrow (Annie)

Griffin’s picks:

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland), Jungle Boogie (Kool & the Gang), Castle on a Cloud (Les Miserables), The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers (Winne the Pooh), Circle in the Sand (Belinda Carlisle), Cat’s in the Cradle (Harry Chapin), Puff the Magic Dragon (Peter Paul and Mary), The World We love (Raffi)

Of course, they love way more than this – but it’s a slice of musical life, right?  And, who knows?   Maybe someday they’ll have kids and look at this and burn the same CD for their own kids….  I hope I’m around for that day…

Oh, and btw, SING, Sing a song!

Now I know my ABC’s – and much, much more….

The other day, Griffin came home from school with a little project he had made.  Well, actually, like almost all the other French projects, his teachers mostly made it and he just glued.  It was a little ABC book with photos for each letter. Cute right?

But you know you are in France when you see some of the photos.

A: Annulaire (ring finger)

B: Bouche (mouth)

C: Coude (elbow)

D: Dos (back)

E: Expressions (expressions – but take a look – aren’t they scary?)

F: Fesses (that would be butt)

G: Genou (knee)

H: Hanche (hip)

I: Iris (iris)

J: Jambe (leg)

K: Kilos (kilograms)

L: Langue (tongue)

M: Main (hand)

N: Nez (nose)

O: Oreille (ear)

P: Pied (foot)

Q: Quenottes (teeth – I always thought it was dentes…)

R: Radius (Radius – the bone in your forearm – a bit esoteric, don’t you think?)

S: Sein (Breast – note the helpful arrow)

T: Tete (head)

U: Urine (urine or pee – featuring Manneken Piss from Brussels)

V: Visage (face)

W: strangely blank…. guess they couldn’t find a photo…

X: Rayon X (X-Ray)

Y: Yeux (Eyes)

Z: Zygomatique (zygomatic)  Yes I had to look this one up – the zygomatic is a part of the cheekbone. Specifically it is “th e arch of the bone beneath the eye that forms the prominence of the cheek.”  And I thought radius was a bit hard for preschoolers.  How this is supposed to be evoked by the smiley face, I have no idea. They had an arrow for breasts – why not this?  And hey, whatever happened to good old zoo or zebra folks???  I think they were trying to go for a ‘parts of the body’ theme – but if you ask me Urine, Expressions, Kilo and Rayon X break that pattern anyway….although I  suppose they are related to the body, in one way or another.

I hope this post doesn’t make me seem like a prude, because I am so not – and I don’t mind that 4 and 5 year olds are learning these words and seeing these pictures.  I just know, without a doubt, if such a list was sent home with a US pre-schooler, it would cause quite a stir!

Viva La France!

Grotte Sanctuaire de Remonot

We’ve seen, I think it’s safe to say, over 100 churches since we arrived in France, but never one in a cave.  That is, until last Sunday, when we found ourselves at the Grotte Sanctuaire de Remonot. In case there was any doubt over if this really, really was  a church, they had a helpful sign posted on the path to the doorway. Translated, it reads:  “Zone of Silence for the cave.  The cave is a church.  Please act in a respectful and kind manner.  Thank you.”

We entered in the proper frame of mind and, sure enough, it really, really was a church.  A church in a cave.  According to my research – this place was sanctified as a church in 1863 and cited as a historical monument in 1913 (big year for making the list, I guess).  However, this has been a holy place of worship for much, much longer than that.  It is dedicated specifically to the Virgin Mary, and, in fact, is believed to be a former place of goddess worship by the Gallic Druids.  From the 8th to the 18th Centuries, hermits lived there in turns, to protect the holy space and evangelize to the locals. When I entered, there was definitely, for me, a sense of weight to the air, like many, many thousands had come here before.  No doubt this is a holy place.

   

The are several ancient and quite valuable statues in this church.  The one at above left is from the 14th century.  In fact, it is of the crucified Jesus being comforted by God himself.  This is shocking to me, because not only have I never seen such a thing before, it also kind of shoots a hole in the whole Trinity idea, right?  I thought it was supposed to be Joseph when I took the shot (and that was strange enough).

Behind the alter, there is a small bridge where you can see amazing rock formations and part of an underground spring – the Gesambrune.  The water that comes from here is reported to have healing properties that, along with the famous statue of the Virgin, is associated with the miraculous restoration of sight.  People from all over Europe made pilgrimages to the village of Combes (above the cave) to enter the cave and see the Virgin (still encased on the altar) for healing. At one point the church moved the statue to a better location, and the miracles ceased.  After a few years, she mysteriously reappeared in the cave and has been there ever since.   She was encased in her special altar in 1963 – 150 priests and 7000 pilgrims attended this ceremony.  (The cave isn’t that big – and neither is the one and only road that leads to this place!) In fact, she is still so popular that there are still 3 annual pilgrimages a year to this cave: Whit Monday, August 15th and the second Sunday in September.  You can stop and visit, or, if you are driving by, you can get a blessing as you pass.  Sort of a spiritual drive-thru, I guess.  Here is the spring in the cave itself…

What an amazing place – and the perfect note to end our Sunday adventures….

La Grotte du Trésor

         

 

There is a road that runs along the Doubs between Pontalier and Morteau.  One memorable section of this road is known as “Du Defile d’entre Roches” (The Parade between the Rocks).  We saw it the last time we took a local adventure and vowed to return to see the cave and the church.  It was all part of our Sunday plan of action.

The kids were totally excited for this stop – they were hoping we would find real treasure we could take home with us.  We had brought along our flashlights in preparation for some spelunking.

Now there are caves, and there are caves.  By now, we’ve seen quite a few – Thoraise, Grotte d’Oselle, St. Leonard, Alpine Ice Caves, one at Baume Les Messiurs, The Source of the Lison, The Malrochers, train tunnels, catacombs, dungeons, etc…. but this one took my breath away.  The mouth of it was absolutely immense – 45x13 meters (that would be 150x40 feet) and it went back another 600 feet or so for exploration.  These photos attempt to give you a sense of scale.

 

 

We went in eagerly enough.  Despite days of nearly constant drizzle, the interior of the cave was bone dry.  I entered a small niche almost immediately and, shining my light on the ceiling, got an idea of why this is called the cave of treasure.  There were crystals embedded in the ceiling of the cave in many places, and, in others, the refraction of light off water droplets gave a similar effect; we tried to take photos, but it was a bit of a challenge!

 

When I did the research, however, I found out that this cave has been on the historic registry since 1913.  You might be confused, at first, since there is another (more famous) Grotte du Tresor on the coast of the Mediterranean in Spain (that’s the one Wikipedia lists)  but the Doubs grotte is not the same!    The legend of this cave is that, after the destruction of Morteau many many hundreds of years ago by band of mercenaries from Weimer, they hid their treasure in the underground river that runs through this cave and set it to be guarded by a Vouivre.  It seems Vouivre’s are popular mythological figures in this region.  I ran into one at the Source of the Doubs last year….  These powerful aquatic dragonesque women are truly awesome – thanks to Hannah Taylor for this modern day rendering….

It seems the belief in the Vouivre was quite strong since, for hundreds of years, the cave would intermittently emit a high pitch whistling scream, attributed to the beast.  In recent years it was found that there was a point where the river ran past a thin calcified wall.  When the flow of the water was right, the whistle would be heard.

No one knows if the treasure was ever discovered, but, to this day, cave divers come to this Grotte to dive in the underground river and take a look.  Hope they don’t meet the Vouivre!

Of course, we had to explore as much of the cave as possible.  The opening became very narrow and we had to crawl for about a hundred feet or so before we could again walk bent over.  It was pitch black, and the floor, limestone layered with thick river clay, continued to get wetter and slipperier.

Eventually we came to the place where we could see the river flowing into the cavern.  It was awesome.

 

The kids started to get freaked out so we headed back to the light.  Callie, who has the most fear of caves, is getting better with every adventure we have.  We played around with some fun shadow pictures at the cave openings.  First two are the kids. and the second two are some amazing yoga moves done by yours truly.

We headed out of the cave and spent about another hour clambering around in the boulders of the dry stream bed.

   

Then we walked through the culvert to check out the Doubs.  Callie took the photo of André and I together.  Once again, we were amazed by the snails – I even got a photo of a black one!

  

It is now about 5pm and we are coming to our last stop, less than 10 minutes down the road, a church cave….