Day 11. Wednesday, September 10, 2025
This is a bit of a long post…it was a very full day.
On our walk to Arras City Hall this morning we pass a ‘Bloquons Tout’ (Bock Everything) protest march. This march is much calm, but people are very angry with the government’s austerity budget. 
It is not just young people who are upset and protesting. There are people of all ages in this protest march that is blocking the streets for more than three blocks.
We are going on a guided tour of the Boves this morning. The Boves are the tunnels and caves that were excavated under the city of Arras and the surrounding countryside. The stones for building the churches, City Hall and other large buildings were excavated from these caves and tunnels. We are given hardhats to wear, but Sue is content to sit on my shoulder for the tour. 
This is the entrance to the Boves.
It is damp down here, 80% humidity and about 12° Celsius. Some of the tunnels have moss growing on the walls.
In places these very narrow spiral staircases are used to go between levels of tunnels. There are three levels, one at 4 metres, one at 8 metres and one at 12 metres. 
Graffiti covers many of the walls, both modern day graffiti and graffiti from the days of the First World War. The fleur-de-lys and the French Crest, which once had 2 lions on it are very old, the rest unfortunately are from recent tourists who visit these tunnels.
One of the many staircases on the tour.
Many of the staircases and tunnels are now blocked off for security reasons.
There are some informative posters in one of the caves. During World War I more tunnels were built to connect the caves. This gave Allied troops a way to move underground very close to the German front so that a surprise attack was possible. There are over 20 km of caves and tunnels and 24,000 soldiers gathered in these tunnels and caves for a week in order to attack the Germans. The Arras Attack was a diversion tactic for the more important battle at Vimy Ridge. This map shows the caves and tunnels used in the attack. The dark line on the right side is the German front. We enjoy our tour but it does feel good to be back outside in the sunshine. I can’t imagine having to stay underground here for a week like the soldiers in WWI.
After our underground tour and lunch at our bnb we drive about half an hour to La Nécropole National de Notre Dame de Lorette. Bob says we have to visit this site first. I have no idea what is behind this big black wall.
We pass through the entrance, this is what I see, and I start to cry.
This memorial was inaugurated on November 11, 214. This World War I monument gives those who fell in battle in this area a place of remembrance…a place where their names ( Allied and German) are preserved, commemorated and honoured.
This is about 1/4 of the Ring of Remembrance…579,606 names. It is overwhelming. All these young men dead. Sons, brothers, husbands, fathers…a whole generation of men that were no more. It is an incredibly powerful memorial.
We walk over to the cemetery and there are thousands and thousands of crosses of fallen French soldiers, as far as the eye can see.
A photos is not able to show the size of this cemetery. It is enormous and covers 25 hectares and holds over 40,000 bodies, half of which are in individual graves and the other half are in seven different ossuaries. More than 150 battlefield cemeteries were moved to this location.
There is a basilica onsite…
with more names of the dead inscribed on the walls.
I realize that I didn’t take a photo of the lantern Tower. It is 52 meters tall and has a chapel in its base that contains the remains of over 6,000 unknown soldiers. At night there is a light that shines and rotates from the top of the tower.
There is a small museum the Lantern Tower with personal items, photos and excerpts form diaries. They are upsetting to see. I can not imagine having to live through these experiences. 
There were several photos showing the horror of war…gathering their dead comrades for burial.
We drive from this cemetery to Vimy Ridge which was an important Canadian battle in the First World War, where we tour the underground tunnels and trenches. This was on the wall of the memorial building, which is staffed by young Canadians.
It is unfortunate that no one seems to have listened to his words. By this time I am feeling quite overwhelmed and I only took two photos here. Tunnels were dug thirty feet deep under Vimy Ridge so that soldiers could place explosive devices under enemy lines. This is a replica of one of those tunnels being dug.
In some places the front lines of The Canadians and the Germans were only 20 meters apart. This is the view from one of the German trenches towards the Canadian trenches beside the Canadian flag. The soldiers were able to hear each other talking, they were so close together.
“”The battle began at 5:30 am on April 9, with the first wave of around 15,000 men advancing under the creeping barrage of almost 1000 heavy guns. Most objectives were taken on schedule, and by afternoon most of the ridge was captured, with the notable exception of The Pimple, a high point at the North end of the ridge, where defenders held out until April 12.
By April 12, the Canadians had taken all of their objectives, as well as 4,000 prisoners. The Canadians held Vimy Ridge. This victory came at a high cost as 3,598 Canadians lost their lives, and 7,000 were wounded during the four-day battle. April 9, 1917 is still the bloodiest day in Canadian military history.” ~ The VImy Foundation
We drive a short distance to the Vimy Memorial. It overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge and was designed by the Canadian sculptor Wallace S. Allward.
We didn’t see the front walk so took the long way around to the back of the memorial.
Climbing the steps we see more names of the dead. So many names! The name engraved here are of the 11, 285 missing Canadians who died in France during the Great War.
The monument looks over the surrounding valley. Even the back of the sculpted figure on the ledge looks sorrowful.
As we leave the monument three police pass us on their rounds.
The three policemen are barely visible on the left side of the monument as we head back to our car and head home. it has been a heavy duty day.
The inside soars high above our heads and the light streams through the stained glass windows.
Bob took this photo with this light shining through the stained glass windows into this side chapel.
Also, the main floor of the transept is punctuated by a much larger brace that juts out of the floor at a 45-degree angle. It was placed as an emergency measure to give additional support to the pillars in an effort to stave off any further movement. Presently, Columbia University is performing a study on a three-dimensional model using laser scans of the building in an attempt to pinpoint where the weaknesses are greatest to see what further can be done to shore up the building.” ~Frenchmoments.ca
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I draw while we listen to the service and choir. Of course we can’t understand any of it!
I was tempted to finish this drawing of the altar from a photo but in the end decided to leave it just as it was.
The cathedral was badly damaged during the Second World War.
But today is beautifully restored. The ceilings are particularly ornate, this is the ceiling of one of the small side chapels.
In the basement is a crypt with a small chapel, and its very own ghostly apparition that flies around the room! Tough to catch its likeness in a photo but there it is on the back wall.
After the service we find a Bio Fair (Organic Fair) right around the corner. There are people everywhere enjoying the sunshine, food and drinks. Great people watching today!
We have lunch here but are too full to have one of these giant donut-like pastries, which are served either with sauerkraut or sprinkled with sugar and filled with jam.
Nearby is St. Peter’s Cemetery. Cemeteries in Austria are very neat and beautifully kept.
We learned that plots are rented in Austria and if the rent is not paid the bones are dug up and the plot is rented out to someone else. The remains are either moved to a mass gravesite or dug up and buried deeper in the same plot and the headstone removed so that the plot can be reused! The headstones are on the wall of the church for exactly this reason. The rent on the plot was not paid so the grave was reused and the headstones were placed here. This explains the many headstones we have seen on cemetery walls and other churches.
Bob insisted we needed a photo of me hiding in the cemetery!
We almost miss seeing the catacombs dating from the 12th century. Can you see the windows high up in the cliff above the cemetery? Pay particular attention to the little door below the windows. This is where Saint Maximus and 50 of his followers were thrown to their death in 477AD, because of their faith.
This is one of the chapels carved out of the rock high in the cliff.
A view of the graveyard through one of the windows as we climbed down from the stone chapels.
Bob has a few more places for us to visit. The Church of Our Lady dates from 1221 AD. It was very dark everywhere except for right around the altar where there are soaring pillars and arched ceilings.
Next is the Horse Fountain. This fountain has a ramp (the white area on the right side of the photo) so that horses could walk right into the fountain to cool off.
This fountain is just a bit smaller!
Notice the dates on these buildings…1360 on the apricot coloured one and 1258 on the brown one. I am amazed that these houses are this old.
We see a very long line up… it is people lining up for ice cream! Soft ice cream in a cup with a choice of fresh fruit and other toppings.
I see this curious ‘wand’ and wonder where it is from.
This is a view of the side of the Salzburg Cathedral.
We walk back through the Bio-Fest on our way home and now I know where the wand comes from. These look like such fun to make.
Walking past this house we notice a sign saying that this is where the creator of the song “Silent Night’ was born.
One more church!.. with lots of paintings and a pretty green and white ceiling. The skull was on a plaque near the door, and the little bronze plaques were in the square outside. They mark the location where a person was arrested and taken to a concentration camp. We looked for these in other cities but couldn’t find any. It has the person’s name, date of birth, date of arrest, the name of the camp and their date of death. 
The horse fountain in the square near the Salzburg Cathedral glows in the late afternoon sun.
I thought tying them up was a clever way to deal with unruly tall grasses.
In a yard near our Airbnb I spot these little rock gardens. I might have to make one of these in our garden at home. I am always collecting stones!
The fall colours are brilliant in the late afternoon sun as we arrive home.
trudymason.com 