The super warm and sunny summer this year made it not easy for us to go on holidays. It is as nice at home. At the end, a yearning to be back on the road becomes more dominant. We set off for Saint Malo via Brussels and Le Havre by car.
The sweetest temptation… in Brussels
Sunny and warm at 25°C on Sunday in Brussels. A Jazz Band performs on the Groote Markt. Strolling through the narrow Streets with cafés and bars. Then continuing the journey to Le Havre. Our lodging for the night is right in the middle of Les Docks Vauban, the quarter of former storage buildings of the the harbour (= Le Havre), today refurbished to modern shopping centres.
City Hall, Le Havre
In the Second World War Le Havre was a German garrison, occupied by 40.000 troops as part of the Atlantic Wall stretching from the spanish-french border to North Cape, Norway. It formed the western line of defence against the Allied Invasion of the Nazi regime. After the Normandy landings Le Havre suffered heavy bombardments by the Allied force in order to recapture it. Most parts of the inner city were entirely destroyed. After the war, Auguste Perret, an architect and pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete who Le Corbusier worked with temporarily as his student, was appointed to reconstruct the town.
The cultural centre…
Together with 60 other architects and numerous builders Le Havre was rebuilt in modern concrete within 10 years. The St. Joseph’s Church whose most prominent feature is its tower, like a lighthouse, 107 meters high, and visible at sea, and the City Hall of Le Havre were personally designed by Auguste Perret.
Le volcan, built by Oscar Niemeyer, a brasilian architect
At the beginning of 1980s the construction of House of Culture “Le Volcan” has been finished and opened to the public. Since 2005 the city of Le Havre is listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Saint Joseph, Le Havre
La plage du Havre, just 500 m from the town centre
After lunch at the market hall and saturated by impressions of modern Architecture we head for Saint Malo via Pont de Normandie, another architectural highlight of an 856 m cable-stayed Bridge above the Seine.
Saint Malo
The night lodge in Saint Malo is found quickly. Then a walk intra muros through the historic town. Moules et frites (mussels with french fries) on the terrace in the city to burn a hole in the pocket (you co-finance the city wall with your meal). Then we are ready for bed.
