
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Florida Mountains
El Paso, of course, boasts its own joys. Yesterday I looked out the window to the west and saw on the horizon, north of the Potrillo Mountains, what looked like an approaching cloud bank in an otherwise uniformly blue sky. A second glance revealed that this wasn't a cloud bank at all but rather the snow-covered peaks of the Florida Mountains. So here's a picture of the view of the Floridas rising from the New Mexico mesa lands above the valley of the Rio Grande.

Sunday, January 17, 2010
Home for a While
As I post this, I'm back home in El Paso after the preparation trip in anticipation of our longer stay later this spring. I'll resume posting more fully when Susie and I return to Metz in several weeks (I hope). In the meantime, here are few pictures of the trip.
The TGV station with direct service to the Paris CDG airport is about 30 minutes south of town, roughly midway between Metz and Nancy. On the way out of town, the shuttle from the central train station to the Lorraine TGV station crosses the Seille River, which joins the Moselle in Metz. The city really grew up around the Seille rather than the Moselle, in fact.

Many of the trees throughout the region carry a lot of mistletoe.
The countryside is largely open and agricultural, with fields that, I imagine, supply the big grain towers line that the Moselle just downstream from Metz.

As the road to the station passes through villages, you can see old farm buildings. I can't tell if this was a fortification or a dovecote.
The station sits pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It's not even as big as the grain towers and other agricultural buildings in the area that define the skyline as the road reaches the station.
The TGV Est from Strasbourg pulls into the Lorraine TGV station.
And at the TGV station at Paris CDG airport, the train leaves the station to continue its journey toward Lille.
A highlight of the flight home: a view of Greenland's rugged coastal mountain ranges lit by the morning sun (with thanks to fellow passenger Craig Massey for taking the picture).


Many of the trees throughout the region carry a lot of mistletoe.


As the road to the station passes through villages, you can see old farm buildings. I can't tell if this was a fortification or a dovecote.
The station sits pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It's not even as big as the grain towers and other agricultural buildings in the area that define the skyline as the road reaches the station.



Saturday, January 16, 2010
Changing of the Seasons

More Snow
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Rhenish Romanesque
Getting ready to head back to El Paso, I stopped by the Metz Central Station, which I've previously mentioned as an example of Rhenish Romanesque (i.e., a romanticized German interpretation of the Romanesque style). As shown in these pictures of the station, the style features large sections of ornate decoration that recall an imagined medieval past.
In the frieze above this arch, the central coat of arms is that of the city of Metz, half white and half black. I interpret the figures as, not particularly subtly, depicting the relation of the martial and domestic arts. With their robust physiques, casual poses, and joined gaze, the couple are resolutely modern, for the turn of the 20th Century, anyway. The surrounding decorative details--leaves, flowers, faces--set this modern pair in a medieval frame.

Some of the details straddle medieval and art-nouveau motifs. For example, the knotted stonework of the side windows references a medieval theme yet adds a more modern and organic fluidity, particularly in the ends of the "cords" at the bottom of the windows.

A short distance from the station, both physically and stylistically, stands the tower that held water for the steam engines.


Some of the details straddle medieval and art-nouveau motifs. For example, the knotted stonework of the side windows references a medieval theme yet adds a more modern and organic fluidity, particularly in the ends of the "cords" at the bottom of the windows.

A short distance from the station, both physically and stylistically, stands the tower that held water for the steam engines.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Cathedral Highlights
Today's snow created Monet-like highlights on Metz's cathedral. The reliefs of the south front stood out with great clarity. If you click on the pictures you'll get larger versions, with much greater detail.

Details of the carvings were clearer.

And this unhappy bird, because it, too, is carved in stone, had to stand on its perch as the snow piled up on its back.

Details of the carvings were clearer.


Snow!

I drove into work mid-morning, going slowly and keeping long separations between my car and the car ahead, which was a good idea because the roads were seriously slick and the anti-lock brakes kept kicking in. Also, I quickly figured out that the rental car has rear-wheel drive and turning the front wheels doesn't have much of an effect. There weren't many people at GTL. After watching the snow continue to fall and assessing the situation, I cancelled class and headed home to avoid getting stuck at work. Driving very cautiously--the route has some serious downhills--back into town, I eventually made it safe and sound to the apartment. The funny thing is that after worrying about stopping distances and skids, navigating the descent into the garage didn't seem so bad.
By 10:30 a.m. all city bus service had been canceled due to the snow until the roads were again driveable. The drivers were asked to stop their buses where they were. Eventually the snow stopped this afternoon, the buses resumed service, and so people did not end up stranded at work.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Susie Converses
Faces of Metz

Monday, January 11, 2010
Snow on Ice
If you wanted to know what it would look like if the ice-covered pond at the Metz Technopole were in turn covered in snow, here's the view this morning from my office window. Although people are not supposed to walk on the frozen pond because it's too dangerous, many people are at least out around the pond--bundled up and walking to a dorm or a restaurant, or in track suits and running in groups.

Sunday, January 10, 2010
Susie on Her Way to India

Saturday, January 9, 2010
Roman Metz


Thursday, January 7, 2010
Place Saint-Louis
The city walls torn down in the late 19th Century to be replaced by boulevards were not the first set of walls to disappear. As the Roman city of Divodurum Mediomatricorum, Metz had a set of walls that lasted a nearly a thousand years. But by the 12th century the city was growing, overflowing its walls, and needed both more space and more funds. So the city's leaders partially demolished the east-side walls and brought in bankers from Italy, who then built houses in an Italian style on the foundations of the old walls. The buildings' low roofs and screen walls, some topped with crenellations, evoked the architecture of fortresses in places like Siena and San Giminiano. Under the arcaded vaults on the ground floor, the bankers--by the 14th Century there were 60 of them--conducted their business. The square around which these buildings stood became known as the Place des Changes.
The square and the buildings still exist, although some the facades of some of the buildings were updated in the Renaissance. From the middle ages into the 20th Century, the square housed Metz's biggest markets for grain, fruits and vegetables. The arcades now house shops and restaurants, and some of the city's most chic shops are on streets just off the square.
The square was renamed in the early 17th Century when the curate of a nearby church installed a statue as part of a fountain the middle of the square. A history of the square notes that even then the fountain was hindrance to traffic. In any case, the statue was taken by everyone to be that of King Louis IX, Saint Louis, and the square was renamed the Place Saint-Louis in his honor. In fact, as was eventually recognized some 250 years later, the curate was off by a few Louis: the statue was not that of Louis IX but rather of Louis XIII. So in 1867 a new statue was commissioned, and this statue--the fountain being long gone--was installed.
For more about the Place Saint-Louis, see the Web sites (in French) of the neighborhood association and the City of Metz. Wikipedia's entry for the Place Saint-Louis has interesting photos showing the square before and after its updating in 2007, which banished the parking of cars in favor of pedestrian space.

The square was renamed in the early 17th Century when the curate of a nearby church installed a statue as part of a fountain the middle of the square. A history of the square notes that even then the fountain was hindrance to traffic. In any case, the statue was taken by everyone to be that of King Louis IX, Saint Louis, and the square was renamed the Place Saint-Louis in his honor. In fact, as was eventually recognized some 250 years later, the curate was off by a few Louis: the statue was not that of Louis IX but rather of Louis XIII. So in 1867 a new statue was commissioned, and this statue--the fountain being long gone--was installed.
For more about the Place Saint-Louis, see the Web sites (in French) of the neighborhood association and the City of Metz. Wikipedia's entry for the Place Saint-Louis has interesting photos showing the square before and after its updating in 2007, which banished the parking of cars in favor of pedestrian space.
English in the News
When we wake up in the morning, not having NPR available, Susie and I listen to France Info, a 24-hours news service, which is roughly the audio version of CNN Headline News before it turned into a succession of tabloid shows like Nancy Grace. The main newsreader is a woman who speaks so fast that I sometimes have trouble keeping up. One of things I've noticed is that words from English creep into the reports. These words give an idea of what is, apparently, not easily expressed in French; these include the sublime and the prosaic. Over the last week, for example, I heard these words and phrases: "best of," "moon boots," "mobile home," "smiley" (i.e., smiley face), and, improbably enough, "sexy." The French Academy develops official words for many foreign expressions, such as "couriel" for "e-mail," and these are taken up into everyday discourse. But there are expressions for which the French language may not have a need, and perhaps "moon boots" is one of these.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Our Apartment
Our apartment is located between a narrow street and and a courtyard. Driving down the driveway into the parking garage takes nerve and precision. The entry, constrained by the cars parked on the street, requires a sharp turn and then an abrupt descent down an impossibly steep slope. The turn at the bottom is too sharp to turn reliably in the direction of our parking place, so we turn the other way, then back up past the driveway. Getting out requires doing everything in reverse, except that you have to gun the car (manual transmission, of course) up the slope while turning. This is now less terrifying than the first few times, but it sure gets your heart rate up in the morning.
To get into the apartment requires a succession of keys, all different: one for the door from the street into the courtyard, one from the courtyard into the stairwell, one for the outer door of the apartment, and one for the inner door of the apartment.
Then there's a different key for the door from the parking garage into the stairwell.
The courtyard, apparently, serves the police station on the ground floor. The fortunate get to park in the courtyard during the day, thus avoiding the descent into the garage. The upper floors seem to be mostly offices. We've met one of the police officers and one of our neighbors, but people pretty much keep to themselves. It's funny, because people in Metz are hugely friendly. When you go into a store, every single shop-person says hello, and everyone says goodbye when you leave.
To get into the apartment requires a succession of keys, all different: one for the door from the street into the courtyard, one from the courtyard into the stairwell, one for the outer door of the apartment, and one for the inner door of the apartment.

The courtyard, apparently, serves the police station on the ground floor. The fortunate get to park in the courtyard during the day, thus avoiding the descent into the garage. The upper floors seem to be mostly offices. We've met one of the police officers and one of our neighbors, but people pretty much keep to themselves. It's funny, because people in Metz are hugely friendly. When you go into a store, every single shop-person says hello, and everyone says goodbye when you leave.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Faces of Metz
Georgia Tech - Lorraine


Here's the view from my office, looking east across the pond.

Monday, January 4, 2010
Faces of Metz

Celts in Metz

Getting Started at GTL
The cold weather that has blown across France has reached Metz, which spent the day under sunny skies but shivering with a high around 27 degrees Fahrenheit. And, in what seems to be a theme for our stay here, when Susie and I arrived at Georgia Tech--Lorraine this morning for our first visit we found everyone in their coats because the there was a problem with the heating system. As the day progressed, sounds of repairs echoed throughout the building. The good news is that classes don't begin until next week, so things were less chaotic than they might otherwise have been.
The staff at GTL are terrific--helpful, warm, and funny. They clearly care a lot about the students. They resolved issues of network access, helped me understand the schedule of courses, and generally made Susie and me feel welcome. I spent the afternoon and evening fighting my way through what turned out to be path-variable issues for installing software for a course. But now that's resolved, we've had dinner, and even leftovers are pretty good when washed down with Cahors and followed by rustic apricot tarts.
The staff at GTL are terrific--helpful, warm, and funny. They clearly care a lot about the students. They resolved issues of network access, helped me understand the schedule of courses, and generally made Susie and me feel welcome. I spent the afternoon and evening fighting my way through what turned out to be path-variable issues for installing software for a course. But now that's resolved, we've had dinner, and even leftovers are pretty good when washed down with Cahors and followed by rustic apricot tarts.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Soldes!

So, the sun is shining this morning, and the crowds are out.
Verdun

Few cars were on the roads, and few people were visiting the sites at Verdun. It's a solemn place, and all the more so under oyster-gray skies, in temperatures at freezing, and with occasional snowflakes. Because it was New Years Day, the memorials and museums were closed. But visitors could still explore the emplacements, stroll along the forest

The main battle of Verdun began with the German attack attack on February 21, 1916. The terrain is wooded, bumpy, complicated. Fortifications had been built into the hillocks and slopes--some reinforced concrete bunkers and forts, others just trenches.

