Belfort, France

Dear Mother,

On Monday (June 5th) we ended our long day of driving about by stopping in Belfort, one of the largest cities in the area.  As the name implies, there is an old fortification high on a hill which overlooks the plain and valley below.  This fort was important strategically as recently as the disastrous (for France and the Alsace) Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1.  We climbed rather too many steps in order to see the view from below the ramparts but we assumed that we were too late to get into the very large fort itself.

One of the first things Janice visits in a village or town is the local war monument.  She never imagined that she would be interested in studying military history, but the monuments in France often list the names of soldiers and even civilians whose lives were claimed by war (at least civilians who perished for resisting foreign powers).  Janice likes to look for family/Mennonite names, reminders that some Mennonites who did not immigrate may have been forced to serve in the military.  Conscription was thorough, though in some conflicts it would be possible for more wealthy families to pay fully for another conscript in order to get their son out of 7 years of 'service' (4 in the army, 3 in the reserves, though the formulas and circumstances changed from government to government).  All of this also reminds us why her ancestors immigrated, at such great risk and expense, and we think it also helps to explain why the teaching of nonresistance was so strong among the Swiss-French Mennonites in NW Ohio.

Belfort was preparing for a number of music concerts for the summer season.  Since Jesse (friend, colleague and former Director of the School of Music) is a bassoonist, I sent a few photos to be added to his enormous collection of artistic depictions of the bassoon and bassoonists in history.

As we found in southern rural France, churches here tend to be closed unless there is a service or public activity in progress.  But I enjoyed seeing the setting sun gently reflected from some of the window panes, each being set at a slightly different angle.

Before settling on a restaurant, we kept walking, enjoying the quiet downtown as evening fell.

People were gathering at their favourite cafés for an evening meal, or if in the public square, for a beer or coffee.

We settled on a restaurant with tables on a sidewalk which gave us a view of the main church (not the first restaurant with empty tables [closed] but the one farther on).

Since our noon meal was enormous (subject of another blog), we had a salad supper with baguette, wine, and water, which was perfect.

Today is lovely (Saturday) and I hope to return to Paris, possibly for some panoramic shots along the river.  Meanwhile, we hope you are doing well.

With love from us both,
Evan