For a couple of people who love to travel, living in Europe sure has had its advantages.  One weekend we’re going north of the Alps to sip beers in Munich, Germany, then the next heading south to soak up the Mediterranean sun in Marseille, France.  While the sun, surf, and culture were good enough reasons to travel to Marseille on their own, we had some additional motivation to leave our apartment for the weekend. When we traveled to Munich last weekend, we purchased a train pass that gave us unlimited rides for five days.  We used three of those days to visit Munich and Salzburg, and rather than let the pass expire with two more days worth of train rides on it, we decided to make a weekend visit to somewhere new.

We set out early Saturday morning riding a Swiss train to Geneva. Unfortunately we had to pay for this ride as the train pass isn’t valid in your country of residence, but once we were in Geneva we could board a French train at no cost.  To get to the platform for French trains we had to pass through a border control station.  It was a breeze walking through, just like our experience the previous weekend in Salzburg.  This seems to be a sign of the times, however, as these crossing stations aren’t even supposed to exist in the Schengen zone,  a contiguous collection of countries with supposedly free borders.

From Geneva our train took us south through a beautiful narrow valley of the Rhone river to the town of Lyons.  We had just over an hour to wait before transferring to our next train, so we stretched our legs by walking around a few blocks of the city.  As the time to board our next train neared, we inefficiently had to stand near the entrance of the  station and stare at a big board of departures until our train’s platform popped up.  The French are a little behind the Swiss in their train logistics because in Switzerland you can check months ahead of time and know exactly which platform any train will be on.

Our next train was one of France’s high speed trains, called a TGV train, and brought us all the way to Marseille.  There was an on-board speedometer which I saw top out at 300 km/hr (186 mph). The ride through the French countryside was scenic with the foothills of the Alps off in the distance  and the landscape gradually changing from lush green farm fields to a drier Mediterranean climate.

At 12:21 p.m. we arrived in Marseille then easily found our hotel across the street from the train station where we were able to check in right away.  From our 7th story room we had a great view of old-town Marseille that stretched all the way to the sea and harbor, as well as up to Marseille’s landmark church, Notre Dame de la Garde. We didn’t stay in the room long though, because we had sightseeing to do.  Our plan was to walk toward the sea, about a mile away from the hotel, and soak in the sites along the way.

We walked through some narrow alleys with sidewalk cafes. The city was a little dirty and run down, many buildings could use a paint job, but it had a certain charm, reminding me more of Italy than other francophone places we’ve been in France or Switzerland. As we were walking  Melissa also mentioned how odd  it was to see so many men  aimlessly walking around or sitting at the cafes we passed.  I would guess that around 95% of the non-tourists we passed were men. Some of the cafes would have 10 to 20 people visiting and sipping coffee, but they were only men. Where the French women like to pass their Saturday afternoon remains an unsolved mystery.

Before making it all the way to the sea we stopped for lunch in the old city.  Melissa had a traditional dish of the region that was tapenade on toast with chevre, and I had provencial style roast lamb. After the filling lunch, we made our way to Marseille’s large cathedral called Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Marseille. This cathedral, situated right on the seashore, is one of Europe’s youngest cathedrals having been built between 1852 and 1896.  Its architectural style is old though, being a blend of Roman and Byzantine styles.  It was interesting to learn the site of the cathedral had hosted churches since the 5th century A.D., and that most of a 12th century cathedral was torn down to build the current one.

After looking in the cathedral we walked along the seashore until we came to a fort called Fort Saint-Jean guarding the old harbor.  We peaked inside, but decided against taking the full tour because the admission was 14 euros, and if we paid that, we figured we would have to stay long enough to make it worth it.   We instead spent a little time looking out at the ocean and then walking along the old harbor.  The old harbor is the reason Marseille became a city, but now it’s just used to shelter small personal sail boats. The large modern harbor is located away from the old town behind a long man-made breakwater.

From the harbor, our tour continued by hopping on a bus bound for the Notre Dame de la Garde church. This church is perched atop a 149 m hill in the city, with a golden statue of Mary that you could see from almost everywhere in the city.  The bus was crowded and standing room only, but only took about 15 minutes to bring us up to the top of the church’s hill.  At the top we had a breathtaking, 360 degree view of the city and the sea. Built in 1864, the church’s defining feature is the golden statue of Mary, which couldn’t help but make me think about my time in Athens.  In Athens they used to have a giant statue of Athena on the Acropolis which was said to be visible from all over the city.  After seeing the statue in Marseille I could better imagine the one in Athens. Unlike the grey and cold Gothic style that is popular in much of Europe, the inside of this church was dripping in color. The floors and the ceiling were intricate tile mosaics.  The walls were packed with framed pictures and hanging mobiles, and the dome above the alter was covered with painted scenes.

Afterwards we loaded back onto the bus, then stepped out at the old port and walked back to our hotel.  It was only around 5 p.m. but we were tired from our long day, and both took a short nap.  Around 7 p.m. we headed out again to find some dinner.  This time we took the subway to the old port where we found a nice pizza restaurant.  I ate pizza, but Melissa had a local favorite- mussels with fries. We walked off a bit of our dinner around the old port, and as the sun set we headed back to the hotel for the night.

We stayed in bed late the next day after first being awoken by a small thunderstorm around 8 a.m.  We had hotel breakfast, sipped on our coffees while taking in the news, and then set out at about 10:30 a.m.  It was partly sunny by then and the rain seemed to clean the air and wash the city, making everything a little bit brighter.

We again walked toward the old port, but stopped at a museum called the Musée d’Histoire. The entrance has you walk through (on solid ground) an archaeological dig site of the old port. In ancient times the port was much larger and at some point much of it was filled in. When the city of Marseille decided to build a shopping center in the 70’s, they unearthed the port ruins and decided to protect them and build a museum as well.  The Museum was filled with interesting artifacts that spanned the history of the city.  Pieces included pottery, trinkets, and shipwrecks from the ancient Greeks and Romans up to posters advertising soaps and salt in the 1920’s. It was fascinating to learn that Marseille is considered the oldest town in France, being founded by Greeks around 600 B.C., as well as (legendary) the oldest christian town in France with Mary Magdalene having visited to convert people.

After the museum, we slowly walked to the end of the harbor to Palais du Pharo.  The palace grounds sit atop a cliff on the sea with a stunning view of the city and the azure sea.  We had a late lunch of sweet crepes and savory gallettes (a buckwheat pancake filled with cheese and bacon).  After our late  lunch we walked to the station to grab our 4:00 p.m. train.  Unknowingly, we had reserved first class seats on the packed train to Lyons.  Being savvy travelers, our pass was only good for 2nd class seats, so we were ready to pay a bit extra if the conductor passed by our wide, plush chairs.  Fortunately for us, there was no conductor to be found, and we wondered if the worker strikes roiling across France was the reason.  After another scenic, but uneventful train ride, we arrived back to our apartment and were tucked into bed by 10 p.m. With three consecutive weekends filled with travel and family, we were exhausted, but also incredibly grateful for all the opportunities to travel.

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