LL-L "Travels" 2013.05.06 (01) [EN]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L - 06 May 2013 - Volume 01
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From: Roger Thijs <rogerthijs at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L Travels

Yesterday Sunday I visited the Museum of "Quentovic" in Etaples (France).
Quentovic was (together with Dorestad in the Netherlands) one of the main
ports of the continental Saxon Lowlands in the early middle ages.
Since rail connections from Brussels are difficult on a Sunday morning. I
drove to Rijsel (Lille) in France, parked my car there and continued my
trip with the high spead train.

Lille has 2 main railway stations "Lille Flandres" and "Lille Europe"
separated by a shopping center "Euralille" with a large underground
parking. The shopping center is closed on Sundays, the parking remains
accessible.I have my fixed place for breakfasting in Lille, close to "Lille
Flandres" called "Le Napoléon".
Their standard "petit déjeuner complet" costs 7 euro and contains: 1
croissant, 1 foothlong piece of baguette, marmelade and butter, a cup of
coffee, a cup of fresh orange juice and a cup of mixed fruit salad.

I had bought my rail tickets on internet (30 euro for a return ticket) but
had to buy a 3 euro supplement at the station. It is a very strange ruling
between the railway company SNCF and the region Nord-Pas-de-Calais that
results in that split. It is too complex to explain, even French people do
not understand it, but if you forget to buy the supplement you get a fine
of 10 euro on the train.

The trip was announced as usual by its final destination "Rang de Fliers
Verton". I never had heard of the place before.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Rang-du-Fliers_-_Verton
As to Wikipedia it was originally a Dutch place name, originally
"Rein-Vliet":
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rang-du-Fliers
It is at the border line of the region, close to the river Authie, name
with a celtic etymology;
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authie_(fleuve)

I didn't go that far, since I had to be at Etaples (original name:
Stapula").
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etaples
Etaples is at the right bank of the river Canche, who got its name from the
word "Kant"
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canche_(fleuve)

Etaples promotes itself as a harbor for fishermen, but at the harbor on the
river shore I saw only tourist yachts and motorboats. The fishermen are
daily selling fresh fish at the little stands along the river though, but
they use Boulogne as harbor and the fish is transported daily over road.
Since nowadays one generally locates Quentovic at "La Calotte", halfway on
the Canche in the direction of Montreuil, one sees what happened: the river
gets in that many sand that "Montreuil-sur-Mer" is no longer accessible
from the see, the same must have happened to Quentovic, and it is happening
with "Etaples" nowadays.

Since the local musea are only open on Sunday afternoon, I had a long walk
in the morning. I had dinner at a local restaurant "Le Roulis": the fish
dish of the day (12.50 euro) and a glas of dry white wine (3 euro).
The fish plate had a large piece of cod and a large piece of salmon
(boiled, not fried, Ron) served with a thick sauce that looked like
bearnaise but tasted differently. It was served with a variety of steamed
vegetables (bain marie) and slices of baguette bread.

The Quentovic museum is very nice. It covers a time frame from prehistory
to the middle ages.
http://www.etaples-tourisme.com/www/fr/accueil/a_voir/musees_et_centres_
museographiques/musee_darcheologie_quentovic.aspx
What I regret is that the focus is more "all-Saxon" rather than
highlighting the proper archeology of Quentovic.

It is a small museum, so that leaves some time for visiting an other one a
few yards away: the "Musée de la marine"
http://www.etaples-tourisme.com/www/fr/accueil/a_voir/musees_et_centres_
museographiques/musee_de_la_marine.aspx
It tells about the shippers life and work, including the drying of herring.

The Frennch "hareng" btw also has a Germanic etymology:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hareng

Learn more about Etaples in English at:
http://www.etaples-tourisme.com/www/en/home/what_to_see/history.aspx

So I think it is worth a trip on a Sunday. It was not the full touristic
season yet, that will be July-August.

Regards,
Roger
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