Paris to Bruges by Bike – Part 1

By Eilene Lyon

The major portion of our recent European trip involved bicycling for two weeks from Paris, France, to Bruges, Belgium. We were supported by a barge that provided cabins, meals, bicycles, and guides. Our trip began and ended in London. From there, we took an international train through the Channel Tunnel to Paris. We met our barge in northeastern Paris. The first evening they followed the St. Denis canal to the Seine.

There were two major themes to our first week’s ride through northeastern France: castles and World War I. We had more gray/rainy days than sunny ones, but we came prepared for the weather.

We had the option of e-bikes or regular. About two-thirds of the travelers went e-bike. The Putterer rode regular the first week and e-bike the second. Apart from one day when I borrowed an e-bike from someone not riding, I stuck with regular.

On the first day out, we began in St-Germain-en-Laye, northwest of Paris, and rode uphill to the Château Royal, where we had a hazy view of the Paris skyline. After that first big hill, I was happy to see the AED, should I happen to need it.

Riding up to see the view of Paris from the Chateau Royal.

A hazy view of Paris.

We then stopped around lunchtime at a large art installation called the Axe Majeur (Red Bridge). As if I needed additional exercise, I climbed all those steps two at a time. Our final stop for the day was Auvers-sur-Oise, where Vincent van Gogh spent his last two months, painting, then committing suicide. (Though there is evidence he was shot by someone else.)

There were signs with his paintings from the period which we could compare to the buildings and scenes. We also visited the cemetery where he is laid to rest with his beloved brother Theo by his side.

The Axe Majeur (Red Bridge) art installation.

The view from the top.

Hotel de Ville in Auvers-sur-Oise, one of Van Gogh’s subjects in his final months.

Graves of the Van Gogh brothers.

The highlight of our second day was a visit to Château de Chantilly, for which we actually enjoyed a bit of sunshine. (The French pronunciation is something like Shawn-TEE.) The château originally dates from the 1500s, was destroyed during the French Revolution, and rebuilt in the 1870s. It is now an art museum. Rick Steves highly recommends it as an uncrowded alternative to Versailles. Also on the grounds is a magnificent horse stable, still in use, which has a Museum of the Horse, and an indoor arena where they give riding demonstrations.

Chateau de Chantilly.

The Chantilly Stables.

Non-PC art?

A gallery in the chateau.

Rotunda ceiling in the chateau.

The third day found us rather damp, but we braved the weather and a grueling climb to visit the Château Pierrefonds. The painting below shows the medieval castle in ruins. It was meticulously rebuilt in the late 19th century. It is well worth a several-hour visit. In the cellar (dungeon?) is a collection of plaster effigies, copied from tombs in cathedrals around France. Originally displayed at Versailles in 1833 and moved to Pierrefonds in 1953, they were not displayed to the public here until 2009.

Painting of Chateau Pierrefonds in ruins.

Chateau Pierrefonds.

An interesting archway.

Just one of many statues in the Chateau Pierrefonds.

An empty room in Pierrefonds.

Courtyard within Chateau Pierrefonds.

Detail of statues on stairway from the courtyard.

A gecko downspout.

The gallery of plaster effigies.

A few effigies included pets or symbolic animals.

A pair of effigies.

We started another drizzly day in Compiègne, where we visited the marketplace before riding out into the forest. We stopped at the Garden of Peace where there is a tiny museum housing a replica of the train car where the armistice ending World War I was signed on November 11, 1918. The Nazis took the original train car to Berlin during WWII and later destroyed it. A featured exhibit is a room full of stereoscopes with stereo photographs from the war, many quite graphic.

Market in Compiègne.

Museum for the 1918 Armistice ending WWI.

Viewing graphic war images from WWI in stereoscopes.

Replica train car where the armistice was signed.

Day five we visited a WWI cemetery near Ham that has both British and German casualties. The German graves are marked with black crosses. The British have standard military headstones, some with crosses, others with Stars of David. All wars are horrific, but the sheer scope and senselessness of WWI boggles the mind. One man gets assassinated and it somehow followed that millions more had to die as a result. A bloody waste of humanity.

We ended our first week in Péronne, an old walled city. We enjoyed some mid-morning pastries. There is a WWI museum, but we spent only an hour there (very noisy school groups). By then we were rather weary of the wartime remembrances. There would be more to come, unfortunately.

Early 17th-century gate, Porte de Bretagne, in Péronne.

Portion of old city wall in Péronne.

Luscious pastries!

Rooftop crane art.

Rooftop cat and rat chase.

Feature image: Me and The Putterer next to the courtyard riding arena in the Chantilly Stables.