Tergnier is a town still rebuilding after the war but mostly around the edges. Not far from our hotel, Le Paon, is a silent, unpeopled square. There are no cafes, no residences, no shops, so nobody. Instead it is graced with substantial red brick buildings reflecting its brutal past.
None of these places dominate the other but almost seem to stand side by side in stubborn resistance. And it is the Musee of the resistance movement with its photos of these resilient people that is most heartfelt. Another is the imposing Town Hall and the old Post Office, while the unimposing, but still beautiful school sweeps down the longest side of the square.
As we have seen in other towns, the words ‘Avant’ and ‘Apres’ show the revival from war’s destruction to aftermath’s reconstruction. The edges that I referred to are the extensive roads and gutters that bring a new connection and life to a battered but persistent people.
Our home is as silent as the square and the Sunday non roadworks. Corrie found the owner in a kitchen out the back. He gave us keys, took our money, and was never to be seen again. On leaving we passed what seemed to be, on our arrival, another non-peopled but huge square that looked like a car park. Not this morning, a market appeared totally peopled and stalled with all the goodies one could imagine.
The route today was once again nearing 30 kms and 30 degrees, with nil to eat or drink in between, so a day off walking while the train conveyed us to our first hill of the walk – the steep Swiss-like climb to the Fortress and 12th century Gothic Cathedral town of Laon.
Laon’s important Cathedral of Notre-Dame (one of several with this name) pays homage to Sigeric, the Archbishop of Canterbury who walked to Rome in 990 to receive blessings from the Pope. On his return journey, Sigeric documented his route, and this became known as the Via Francigena.
We are staying in a hotel that historically housed monks, where a winding stairway delivers us to a character-filled retreat with modern conveniences and a bed which lies beneath a very ancient beam. Our little window opens to the fields and forests which we railed to this morning.
