#18 Visit to the Dutch in France

November 10-11, 2021: Orange

F. Depending on how you emphasize or pronounce Orange, you are either in France or in the Netherlands. And since I can speak French as well as our navigation system, I always pronounce all places wrong. So I had fun with Jenny and pronounced this place in Dutch during the drive - so I pronounced the "g" as a stressed "j".

When we arrived in Orange in the evening, there was still plenty of space in the parking lot next to the Triumphal Arch of Orange. This was erected shortly after the birth of Christ by the then Roman emperor. We used the atmospheric light to take some photos and then retreated to our van after a short walk. Although the temperature had tripled compared to the previous evening, twelve degrees is still not pleasant enough to spend the evening outside.

On November 11, which is a national holiday in France, we first went to the market in the morning and then to the Roman Theater of Orange. This theater is the best preserved of its kind in the whole world. Particularly impressive was the remaining theater back wall, which is almost 40 meters high and 100 meters long facing the street. Thanks to the audio guide, we spent almost 2 hours moving up and down in the theater and learned a lot about the history and restoration of this absolutely gigantic structure. The roof, which is visible above the stage, is of course not original from Roman times. The glass and metal construction was one of the first major projects and protects the stage part of the theater from the weather. In addition to the theater, you can still see the remains of the former forum. However, this was almost completely demolished. For example, the theater survived the Middle Ages because the French king found the huge outer wall very beautiful and declared it the most beautiful wall in his kingdom. And at the very end, things got exciting again. I wasn't so wrong with my Dutch Orange. The Dutch royal family comes from Orange, which belonged to the Netherlands until it was taken over by France. So I could also explain why the city's many information panels were available in the three languages ​​of French, English, and Dutch.

Oh yeah, because the acoustics are still excellent in the theater, various concerts are still held here from classical to rock. A visit is definitely worthwhile...

Day 26 - Total tour 2,420 km

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