So, it's been a while...
I last updated en route to Metz, I'm now en route from Lyon to Monte Carlo, so I should update this last week or so.
The German built Gare de Metz.
I arrived in Metz around 8pm, and the only way to the hotel was a taxi, unfortunately for me, I booked a hotel near the convention centre, nowhere near the centre-ville. The hotel wasn't that flash either, it was a modern one, and looked a lot like the kind of hotel you get in the mad axe/chainsaw murderer horror films. The next day was spent wandering around the centre-ville, which is just magnificent and I thought the town was really beautiful, despite the people working at the tourism office and the staff at the hotel giving off the impression that they couldn't give a shit about helping the customers.
A bridge over the Seille river in Metz.
After Metz I went to Verdun, the train journey to Verdun from Metz is just amazing, and there are just some amazing views when on the way, I'd reccomend taking the train, not the bus, if you go from Metz to Verdun.
I encountered the same problems at Verdun that I had encountered along the front, everything closed for January, and the majority of the war sites being outside of the town, and only accessible by car, taxi, or tour, the tour not being an option (again, due to the time of year), but the Star Fort at Verdun, which is a magnificent example of military fortification was there, in the city, and while the underground exhibit was closed, the walls are free to walk around, so I did, it was a little bit spooky, but breathtaking at the same time, I then went to the old town there, and wandered around, a bit hilly, with more than a few steps, but just amazing.
The Fortress in Verdun.
After Verdun, I went to Heidelberg, but as that's part of Germany, and just so amazing, I'm giving it its own post. I will say though, that getting there wasn't much fun, as the French cancelled the train from Metz-Saarbrücken, and replaced it with a bus, so I went from Saarbrücken to Heidelberg via Kaiserslautern.
The WWI memorial at night.
After Heidelberg, I went to Strasbourg for a couple of days. I loved it, I did a canal tour of the city, which was a good way to see the European Quarter and a few of the other sights to see. I didn't know what to do in the evening, so I found a cinema that did the movies in English with the French subtitles, and I saw the new George Clooney movie, The Descendants, which I thought was really good. I met a couple of American ladies there, they're studying on exchange, we had a great conversation, and it was a nice feeling to speak to some natural English speakers, for what was the 2nd time in a week. I hadn't really considered the lack of proper conversations while I was in Europe, but it really showed me the little things that you miss more than you realised.
The Gare de Strasbourg.
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