Le Havre - the first week

We arrived in Le Havre excited to reunite with our exchange students whom we hadn't seen in a few weeks.  After the commotion of finding our friends in a group of anxiously awaiting French hosts we were off to settle in with our new host families.

After a relaxing evening of adjusting to family life in France we were back at school bright and early the next day for an informative presentation about the history and sights of Le Havre and Normandy. This presentation intrigued us and evoked our curiosity for the days and weeks to come.

Next up was a trip down into the city of Le Havre for a guided tour about the history of the city and its architecture.  To travel down from the school to the city one can descend via stairs or the funicular.  As it was rather rainy and grey and we had done quite a bit of walking already, we opted for the latter.  The funicular was certainly an exciting way to travel down to the city.  Our guide told us lots about the city that helped us to better understand and appreciate its architecture.  During the Second World War the city of Le Havre was bombed extensively and nearly completely demolished.  After the war the architect Auguste Perret was selected to rebuild the city as quickly and economically efficiently as possible.  The cheapest material to do this was concrete.  Our guide explained that the style of the buildings was designed to emulate the classical French style.  The buildings all had a large ground floor with offices and shops, the first level above ground level where the nicest apartments would be, and then two additional floors above for additional apartments.  This style is typical of France, and although the building materials were different, the design was the same.  He also explained that the size of the apartments was uniform throughout the city by design.  Blocks of concrete any larger would not be structurally sound, and blocks of concrete any smaller would be less cost effective.  Our guide also explained that the rebuilt city was 1 meter higher than the old city because it was built atop the layer of rubble from the demolished city.  Next we saw the the Eglise Saint Joseph, a church designed by Perret and also made of concrete.  We marvelled at the enormous tower (107 meters high) made of stained glass and concrete.  The tour certainly helped us to look at Le Havre with more careful eyes and we were now able to appreciate the design and innovation that went into rebuilding the city into what we see today.