American Remembrances in France

By the time we got to the town of Chateau Thierry on Tuesday, May 30, we had mostly left Champagne vineyards and champagne tourism behind us. Chateau Thierry is about 60 miles to the northeast of Paris. A town has existed on the site since at least the late Roman era, but most of the older structures in the town were destroyed during various wars throughout the centuries. The more recent and notable battles were those that occurred during the Napoleonic Wars between France and Prussia and the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918. 

View over Chateau Thierry from the remains of the castle of Chateau Thierry. A castle was first
built on the hilltop site back in the early 700's. Not much remains today aside from some portions
of the 13th century ramparts. 

We took the shortcut up to the castle, which involved--of
course--stairs!

Our reward for all the climbing was a great view
of the castle remains.

A view in the opposite direction, with the local church in the
near distance, and on a hill in the far distance, the 
white Chateau-Thierry Monument.

                               

Lon starting to make his way up the steps.

At the top of the city steps was the entry to one of the castle
towers, which contained even more steps.

Chateau Thierry also proudly proclaims itself as the birthplace of the French fabulist Jean de la Fontaine, who was also one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century.

The birthplace of La Fontaine contains a well-regarded museum
that, unfortunately for us, was closed for renovations (until 2025).

More important to us than this ancient history was the more modern history related to the First World War. The Battle of Chateau Thierry was fought in July 1918 and was one of the first actions of the American Expeditionary Forces under General John Pershing. It, along with the nearby Battle of Belleau Wood, was part of the Second Battle of the Marne, and a response to the last attempt by the German army to break through to Paris. The combined French and American forces were able to drive back the German offensive. The gratitude and recognition of the French for the American assistance is visible even today.

Banners flying from the mayor's office building were
a mix of American and French flags.

The Chateau-Thierry Monument, built by the American Battle Monuments Commission
on a hilltop (Hill 204) on the outskirts of town, "commemorates the sacrifices and 
achievements of American and French fighting men before and during the Aisne-Marne and
Aisne-Oise offensives."  

The monument contained a small, but very
nice, museum.

Figures depicting the unity of the United States and France. 

We left Chateau Thierry on Thursday, June 1, and our subsequent two stops were near quiet, country villages.

No cathedral in Iles les Meldeuses, just a small 12th century
Romanesque church.

Dawn on a slightly foggy Marne River. Given that sunrise
is about 5:50 a.m., this is proof positive that Lon gets
up waaay too early.

Cruising curiosities: a now-abandoned diving platform
along the Marne.

On Saturday, June 3, we pulled into another relatively large town, Meaux (pronounced "Mo"). Meaux was delightful on several levels. From a boating perspective, we loved that they had a halte nautique with large pontoons (docks) that could accommodate a boat our size, and that had electricity and water (temporarily free!). 

The view from our mooring in Meaux.

A little closer to the boat, we got to enjoy this family of 
swans as a reminder of new life in the spring season.

From a tourism perspective we were pleased that, on Saturday night, we were able to attend a free concert in the cathedral--with vocal and instrumental ensembles--of music of Johann Michael Haydn, and Sunday was "free entry to the local museums" day because it was the first Sunday of the month. And of course, we had to partake of the usual "looking around" at the local significant sites.

Meaux had a lovely gothic cathedral, with much of the building construction taking place from the 12th to the 16th centuries.

Most of the holy figures surrounding the south porch
entrance to the Cathedrale St Etienne "lost their heads"
 in the 1500's during the Wars of Religion.

The lovely Bossuet Garden (named after the most famous of 
the bishops of Meaux) behind the Episcopal Palace.

We loved the staircase of this building, and the connection to the 
cathedral by a timbered walkway.

The Episcopal Palace, and behind it the cathedral.

The performance of "Missa Sancti Aloysii" in the magnificent interior of the cathedral.

We enjoyed an Italian dinner in the plaza by the west 
 facade of the cathedral prior to the concert.

The boundary to the rear of the Bossuet Gardens was a remnant of
a Gallo-Roman fortification wall, with towers added in the 15th C. 

Sorry to say, on Sunday we didn't take advantage of our free museum entries to visit the "cheese museum" dedicated to the story of the special Brie de Meaux cheese, but we did go to the "Musee de la Grande Guerre". The museum opened on Armistice Day in 2011 and is Europe's largest museum dedicated entirely to the First World War. 

The museum has a modern architectural design. And it was large. Normally, we "run out of steam"
pretty quickly when going through museums, but this one was really well done and provided
information in multiple ways that made it accessible and not overwhelming.

A WWI communication truck--complete with
the pigeons that carried the messages.

Immediately adjacent to the museum was this statue
known as "The American Monument." It's currently under
repair due to damage from a lightning strike in 2021.
 It was designed by an American sculptor and given as a
gift by the U.S. to France in honor of the fallen
soldiers of the First Battle of the Marne.

We are very nearly in Paris at this point. Meaux is only about 30 miles from Paris, and is already in the outermost of the Paris transportation zones. Another two days of cruising will complete the Marne River portion of our cruising itinerary. We're looking forward to our 3 weeks in the big city.