Table of Contents
- Progressing to Paris
- Fascinating France
- The Place
- The Marvels of Montparnasse
- A Day of Tech & Nature
- The Urban Undertaking
- Street Straying (coming very soon™)
- Lego & Lectures (coming very soonerino™)
- Reverse Roads (coming soonerino™)
- Burning Burgers (coming soon™)
- The Retrospective (coming very soon-ish-er™)
- The French Finale (coming soon-ish-er™)
- Hurry Homewards (coming kinda soon-ish™)
- The Road Ahead (coming kaplan soon™)
I did not really plan to go anywhere this year, but apparently, fate had other plans for me. Once again, my work takes me exciting places. This time, the trigger takes the form of the VivaTech, an annual technology conference held in...
My team lead proposed and organized that we visit there as a mix of professional development and team event. And so it happens that before long I should find myself...
Progressing to Paris
21-May-2024
Direct train connections to Paris don't run all that often, and as such, it is that I find myself leaving the Fox Loft at the crack of dawn (read: 5:15), and making my way to the S-Bahn station through roads yet dark.
Theoretically, I probably could have taken an S-Bahn or two later, but the first rule about taking the S-Bahn in Munich is "Do not trust the S-Bahn to be on time... or run at all for that matter", so I always plan in a gratuitous buffer whenever punctuality is of significant importance. Even this early in the morning, the S-Bahn is already quite busy, what with it being a weekday today and all.
Thankfully, there are no issues with the S-Bahn at this time, so I soon enough arrive at the Munich central station, which is still undergoing massive reconstruction. At this point in time, the entire entrance lobby has been demolished, and most stalls have been relocated to containers standing in the main hall. Plus there's several new girders just standing around, which will at some point become central to the new design of the main hall. However, with how slow public construction projects go in Germany, I don't think it will be finished within the decade.
Fortunately, any further involvement with ratty German railway infrastructure will be limited to the rails, as my team lead booked our tickets aboard the TGV - France's famous high-speed train (TGV stands for Train à Grande Vitesse "High-Speed Train"). I've actually been fascinated by these trains ever since I was little, and with good reason: These are the fastest trains on earth, with the Project V150 TGV holding the record of a whopping 574.8 km/h! That's airplane-level speeds! Granted, the model that we'll be riding today - a TGV 2N2, also known as the Euroduplex - is a little bit slower, but it can still reach top speeds of 320 km/h.
Regrettably, the impressiveness does not extend to the actual travel experience: Once in our seats, the three of us (Robert, Fabian and I, with Martin and Fabi having already gone to Paris in advance) quickly find that the legroom is rather cramped, which is pretty uncomfortable on a six-hour ride.
Be that as it may, we are now on our way west towards Paris. The German half of the route zig-zags a lot through all the hills and takes us through the cities of Augsburg, Ulm, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe in turn, each of which is a scheduled stop. It takes us roughly four hours to get to the border, immediately after which we have the cultural border city of Strasbourg (which changed ownership quite a few times during its 2000-year-history). Once on French railroad tracks, everything goes much faster, and the TGV proceeds nonstop to Paris past the cities of Metz and Reims, covering the remaining half of the distance in less than half of the time it took for the first half in Germany. That is most likely due to the French railroad system being government-owned, which means that they can invest in straight long-distance lines with tunnels and bridges that help people get around quickly and provide a more environment-friendly alternative to airplanes. If the German side of the network was also this well-built, this whole trip would probably only take 3 or 4 hours.
Ride Duration: 6h
Approximate Distance: 890km
Average Speed: 148km/h
Anyway, having gotten up this early, I didn't have breakfast yet, and only grabbed a Nussschnecke and a Käsebretze from one of the bakeries in the station, which I eat now that I'm safely (if uncomfortably) sitting in the TGV. By the way, at the time of our departure, it's still only 6:45.
As I do, our journey takes its course, first slowly through Munich and the surrounding fields and forests under a gloomy sky, where my camera really liked focusing on the poorly cleaned windows of the TGV instead of the landscape beyond. Near Ulm, there's a bit where the tracks run parallel to the Donau for a while, and then it's fields and forests again until we cross the Rhine next to Strasbourg. After that, we're in France, and you can see the landscape change notably: There's far more fields and far fewer forests around. The TGV has to climb its way out of the great Rhine valley first, but after that it really turns up the speed and shows its full potential: Not only does the landscape fly by, but so do the clouds above, which are notably beginning to break up. It's a mad rush across the hills for the rest of the ride, and before long we're all the way in Paris.
(Click here to view the video in a new tab if this website fails to display it)
By the way, the top speed that our particular train reaches during this rush is very close to its maximum allowable speed: At 318 km/h, we are covering the maximum width of a soccer field in the space of a second!
It is shortly after lunch that we arrive in Paris' Gare de l'Est ("Station of the East"), which is one of Paris' seven terminus stations. Despite its name, it is not the easternmost of the five (that one goes to Gare de Lyon), and it is, in fact, located right next to the Gare du Nord ("North Station").
Depending on where you want to go in France (or even just near Paris), you have to make your way to one specific of these stations. I suppose that's also a way to make sure that there's not too much traffic at any one station.
From there, we still have a good ways ahead of us before we reach our hotel, but before that, we have to get local railway tickets for our stay. Fortunately, there's a solution for that: The Navigo card, which can be used in a variety of ways, including as a weekly ticket. Unfortunately, the procedure to acquire one of these is slightly more complicated than the modern 21st century way of purchasing it in an app or even the second half of the 20th century way of getting it from a machine. Instead, we first have to go to a counter... only to find that it is closed and we have to go to another counter, where we have to wait in line for 20 minutes or so. For some strange reasons, we also need to bring a passport photo (which we were thankfully aware of and prepared in advance), and then we get a do-it-yourself assembly kit consisting of a card, a cardboard sleeve on which we have to stick our photo (at least there's a self-stick area and we don't need any glue, I did specifically bring some too!) and sign, and finally a transparent plastic sleeve to put it all into. Now put that in contrast with the Japanese PasMo/Nimoca/Kitaca cards that you can just pull out of a machine and use.
On the other hand, the glass doors and high-resolution screens on the metro platform are the again very reminiscent of Tokyo.
Anyway, as mentioned before, we are right now at the Gare de l'Est, which is located to the north of the inner city of Paris. Meanwhile, our hotel is located in Clamart to the south, and the way there is not actually all that straightforward. At first, we have some trouble picking out a good connection, and then settle on taking the Metro line 4 to Montparnasse ~ Bienvenüe ("Mount Parnassus ~ Welcome"), walking from there to Gare Montparnasse ("Mount Parnassus Station") - another one of the seven terminus stations of Paris - and then taking the mysterious N line from there.
Inside the metro, we soon realize that these are more akin to underground trams than the underground trains that we have in Munich: For one they are a lot more narrow, but more importantly, the corners they make are rather sharp and sudden, unlike the wide, flowing corners of railway lines, so you have to hold on tight. It is also in this very first trip that I witness something that I haven't seen on all my travels before: A snatch theft! As the train is stopped in a station, a young man rips off an elderly woman's necklace just as the doors start to close, slips out of the closing doors and then inconspicuously walks down the station as the train departs. It all happens so quickly that no one can do anything against it, and few people even notice what exactly happened. For most it looks just like the young man suddenly remembered he needed to get off here and darted outside, but the shocked elderly woman being comforted by the passengers who were sitting or standing right next to her tells a different story.
Shocking, but let us not dwell on that. On a more positive note, it seems that the Paris public transport has taken a bunny as its mascot, because you can see that one everywhere, for example on the warning signs at the doors.
Once at Montparnasse ~ Bienvenüe, we have to pass through roughly half a kilometer of underground walkways to get to Gare Montparnasse. There, I am glad that I've taken my trusty backpack for my luggage, because there's quite a few staircases along the way where not only my co-workers have to carry down their suitcases. Afterwards, there's a long travellator next to which a couple of interesting signs are on display.
And then, we're inside the Gare Montparnasse, where we face our next challenge: Trying to figure out which train to take, and where it departs from. Technically, that should not be that difficult.
However, in actuality, it is anything but straightforward, starting with the "timetable" which does not list any departure times, and illustrates that apparently the N line branches down into four. Fortunately, our stop is just two stops down the line, before it starts its forking nonsense.
Even so, I have to resort to asking, and although I don't speak more than a few words French, my international travelling aptitude is by now big enough that I can at least ascertain that one train that we were unsure about entering does, in fact, not run to Clamart after all. Eventually, my co workers (with some help from Google) figure out how things work here: Apparently, in France the departure times and platforms of local trains are not fixed, and the conductors simply ad-lib everything. So what people do is stand in designated waiting areas in front of screens, waiting until the departure time and platform of a train running where they want to go is announced...
...and then a throng of people heads over to the platform in question all at once. Great if you're a herd animal, but personally, I much prefer the Japanese version of having everything meticulously planned out in advance - or even the German version of at least trying to plan out everything in advance - over the French approach of simply giving up.
Anyway, this train is finally a real train, with plenty of space and legroom, and actually pretty modern equipment. It also features not four but five seats in each row, which works due to both the seats and the hallway being a bit more narrow.
Two stops later, we arrive at the Clamart station, where we can already see our hotel on the other side of the tracks.
Unfortunately there is no way across the tracks. Instead, we have to exit the platform via a bridge towards the far side of the tracks, then take a tunnel beneath the tracks, and then - because of construction - navigate around a whole (and actually kinda big) city block until we can finally reach our hotel, turning what could have been a 50m hop into a 1km walk. I am now not even two hours in France and I am already beginning to associate "French" with "cumbersome", should I be worried?
Anyway, I suppose the upside of this is that we're getting to see some admittedly pretty beautiful French buildings along the way, although I note that there seems to be a lot of construction going on around here, and incredulously, despite there being so many construction sites around, I see even fewer workers doing any actual work on them than in Germany.
With me being a seasoned traveller at this point, and quite used to carrying a fully-loaded backpack over large distances, walking this distance is not a problem. Not so for my two co-workers, who in addition to being less used to that also have to deal with navigating their nifty rolling suitcases over cobblestone sidewalks and whatever else construction works throw their way. As such, they are much, much more happy than I when we finally arrive at our hotel at the end of this last detour.
Having finally arrived in the hotel, I suppose this makes this a good time to share a few facts about...
Fascinating France
France is without a doubt one of the most defining countries of Europe. Not only is it the world's most popular tourist destination with over 100 million foreign visitors each year, at 550,000 km² of territory, it is also the third-largest country in Europe after the Ukraine and Russia (counting only area on mainland Europe for all). Add to that its rich history - such as the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars - and its 53 UNESCO world heritage site and add a pinch of Disneyland and Côte d’Azur ("Azure Coast") each, and you have a country without equal in the whole wide world. It is also one of the only two European countries bordering both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
Within France, we are within the Île-de-France ("Island of France") region, which is the beating heart of France, holding over one sixth of its population (12 of 68 million) on less than 5% of its total area (12,000 of 640,000 km²). This is a reflection of France's historic centralist design, remnants of which are still visible today, for example in the radial nature of the French railway network. Anyway, in terms of size Île-de-France is about as big as the little-known pacific island country of Vanuatu, while in terms of population it is close to Bolivia. Forming the ratio of the two nets us a population density of almost exactly 1000 people per km², which is a little less than Bangladesh.
And the heart of that heart is, unsurprisingly, Paris. Housing "only" 2 million people within its proper city limits, it is actually one of the smaller capital cities of Europe, netting only seventh place after Moscow, London, Berlin, Madrid, Kyiv and Rome. However, that comparatively low ranking is mostly owed to the fact that the area of Paris taken into account for that ranking is relatively small, and covers only the historic inner core of the city, an area roughly 10km across. If you use the Grand Paris metropolitan area as a reference (which is comparable in size to the other capital cities), then the population increases to 7 million, and its ranking jumps up from 7th to 3rd place. Immediately next to Paris are three so-called "departments", which I'd intuitively consider to be part of the city of Paris: Seine-Saint-Denis to the northeast, Val-de-Marne ("Valley of Marl") to the southeast, and Hauts-de-Seine ("Tops of the Seine") covering the hills responsible for the Seine's meandering course to the west. Incidentally, that last one is also where our hotel is located, roughly 2km away from the border of central Paris.
Now, with the broader geographical context having been taken care of, let's continue with...
The Place
The hotel we're staying in the Ibis Styles Clamart, which is one of over 600 hotels in a chain of budget hotels, which - as the name suggests - focus on stylish designs. And with "budget" I mean "only roughly four times as expensive as a comparable Airbnb". And with "stylish designs" I mean "look at this fancy graffiti outside the door".
Well, actually, they really do put a lot of focus on the style. For example, the lobby also features a mural that is both stylish and convenient, as it depicts the most important railway(?) routes in and around the city...
...and the breakfast buffet has its own cosmopolitan flair, featuring wishes for a pleasant breakfast in a variety of languages, including German, English and also Japanese.
But now to the most important part of the hotel: My room. I've got a room of my own, which is located in the souterrain and has a bed that is easily big enough for two. Also take note of the stylish mural here which continues the Ibis Styles promise.
It also features an... uh... "balcony?". I am actually not sure what to call this, given that it is actually located below the sidewalk level, but still gives me access to fresh air, should I desire it. Regardless of what you want to call it, it gives me a good view of the Montessori nursery across the road.
One thing it has over most Airbnbs is that my room has its own bathroom, which I suppose is a little plus.
What it sadly lacks, however, is a laptop-friendly workspace, and so I have to improvise a little.
Aaand, it is also one of these instances of design-failure places that just beg for you to lock yourself outside the room, because in order to enable the electricity in the room you have to insert your key card into a card holder by the door. Who even thinks of something hare-brained like that? During my three nights at this place it happened twice that I just barely remembered that my card was still stuck inside that blasted thing upon exiting and only just managed to push the auto-closing door open again before it locked me outside. Seriously, if they absolutely have to make such a thing, then they should design it in such a way that it is impossible to exit your room while the card is still stuck inside!
The power outlets meanwhile are more on the interesting side: Instead of the usual sockets, they feature surfaces at level with the wall that you can push inside if you want to plug in a device.
Back outside my room, there's a Yu Call button at the reception that you can press if you require assistance...
...and the breakfast isn't half bad either, offering a variety of different dishes, along with a fruit press for your daily dose of fresh orange juice.
Now, with our stay place covered, and our luggage off our collective backs, my co-workers and I agree that there's still enough time left in this day to go out and enjoy...
The Marvels of Montparnasse
Before anything else, my first order of business is getting some food, as it is now already 15:00 and I still haven't had lunch yet. A small stray through the neighborhood reveals that there are not all that many food options around, but we do find an interesting-looking fast food place called Chicken Story, where I am able to secure a tasty burger with some fries.
Afterwards, we decide to venture out into the cultural district of Montparnasse that we simply passed through on our way to the hotel and check that out. And since the train goes only once per hour or so, we take one of Paris' fancy new electric buses to get there.
Incidentally, by now we have met up with our team lead Fabi, who has been here once before and wanted to show us this particular area. This should really just be a short walk - little more than 1km in length - starting from the Froidevaux-Gassendi bus stop, going north through the Cimetière du Montparnasse ("Mount Parnassus Cemetery"), and then west along the street to Montparnasse-Bienvenüe.
As we pass through a walled boulevard cutting through the Cimetière du Montparnasse, we get our first taste of how the weather should be during the remainder of our stay here, and that is very fickle. Essentially, it is a very New-Zealandic "feeling lucky?" sort of climate, where the sun is out and shining one moment, and then five minutes later its raining.
One thing that I should soon come to see as very French are the interesting house facades: For example, this one is made from rough-hewn stone, with the exception of a fissure made of red bricks that widens towards the top until it becomes a set of chimneys.
On the far side of the cemetery, there is a pedestrian traffic light that was apparently specifically built to troll German tourists like us, because who else would wait at a red traffic light across a road that is blocked off by a closed gate?
Anyway, we soon find ourselves in the heart of Montparnasse, with its historic buildings, never-ending store fronts, and the great Tour Montparnasse ("Mount Parnassus Tower") in the background.
The Boulevard du Montparnasse is particularly interesting, because it features an interesting way to separate its six lanes: The leftmost and rightmost two lanes are for car traffic, while the middle two lanes are for buses and bicyclists, making it effectively a huge bicycling lane in the middle of the road, separated by curbstones from the other lanes. Now there's a good idea!
Eventually, we are drawn into a Café by the name of La Ruche ("The Hive"), and I mean that quite literally: Because with four people we were hesitating a lot where to go for dinner until it started raining again and a shrewd waiter ushered us to a table.
There, wanting to go for something authentic, I go for the Sausage du Touluse, which is not bad. It also comes with a basket of tasty fries, which makes this the second time I've had fries with a meal here today. I think I'm beginning to understand why they are called French Fries.
Afterwards, we take the metro line 12 to get back. The trains of this one are I think a little bit wider, but it's still pretty cramped and makes sharp tram-turns along its route.
Inside the train, I also notice something that none of my colleagues sees, and with good reason: It's a tiny network plan of the Paris metro and tram network (as far as I can tell), only about 15x15cm in size. Good luck reading anything on there, especially with how hard the metro is shaking!
Now, the reason why we didn't take the metro on our initial approach to the hotel is quite easy: The closest metro station - Mairie d'Issy - is still over a kilometer away from the hotel.
And that distance is also mostly uphill, which is a lot less bothersome now that we've already dropped off all our luggage at the hotel. That is another thing I am just in the middle of learning about Paris: Unlike Munich, which is mostly flat, Paris is a pretty hilly city, especially the part where our hotel is located.
Right now, the weather is also pleasant again, which makes this a nice walk, and once again we also pass by houses with very nice old facades.
Also, Paris apparently has these really futuristic-design recycling containers for bottles and cans.
We get back to the hotel by 19:00, which is still relatively early, but considering how I've gotten up at 3:30 this morning and barely caught any shuteye in the TGV, I'm pretty beat by this point. As such, it isn't long before I go to bed that evening. After all, today was only the arrival, and the main events of this journey start tomorrow, which should turn out to be...
A Day of Tech & Nature
22-May-2024
After breakfast, the five of us (Martin has now also joined us) get together to discuss our plans for today. They all involve going to the VivaTech for the biggest part of the day, but everyone also agrees that we want to spend some of our time sightseeing. Today, this should mostly be done separately, starting right with the decision of how we get to the VivaTech: While the others are happy with walking the 1.4km back to the Mairie d'Issy station and taking the metro from there, I for my part decide that I want to walk to the VivaTech, which is actually only about 10 STEPs away from the hotel, and as such within extended walking distance. Sure, it'll definitely take me longer, but in exchange I'll get to see something of the city along the way, and for me, that's worth it. So, while the others head back to the metro station, I for my part am up for some...
Park Parcouring
Distance: 4.0kmAscents: 30m
Duration: 1.0h
0/2🎁︎
The most direct route to the Porte de Versailles ("Versailles Gate") expo - where the VivaTech is being held - would actually be less than twice the distance to the Mairie d'Issy station, but the way that I take is a little bit more scenic and thus longer. First, I head northeast to and through the Parc Frédéric Pic and then continue that way past the Square Etienne Jarrousse. There, I head a bit north as the sprawling expo grounds necessitate, and then west until I reach the entrance to those two pavilions of the complex that are actually occupied by the VivaTech.
For the first part, I make my way through some suburban streets...
...where I unexpectedly come across a perfectly unafraid magpie perched atop a fence post. In French, by the way, these birds are called simply "pie". Isn't it just a cutie-pie?
Incidentally, some roads here are so steep that they eventually just give up and turn into stairs.
I also come across an E-Bike hub, complete with charging stations, which is something that I would like to see in Munich as well.
Next, I make my way through aforementioned Parc Frédéric Pic, which is a nice and green place that can be enjoyed by humans and felines alike.
Interestingly, this park also runs a policy of gradual reforestation by planting 11 new trees for every 10 trees that die in the park (or have to be removed because of safety concerns).
Right outside the north gates of that park, there's a quite unusual boulevard which features a sidewalk in the middle between two one-way car lanes.
A little bit further down the road, I come across the Place de la République ("Square of the Republic"), which not only features a little merry-go-round, but is also located right next the Église Saint-Remy de Vanves ("Saint Remy Church of Vanves").
After that, I ascend another hillside by means of a street that takes me past the Sushi Ba...
...and then walk past the Place du 8 Mai 1945 ("Square of the 8th of May 1945"), celebrating the date of Nazi Germany's surrender at the end of the second World War.
My path then takes me into a courtyard, where I come across an interesting structure. Fortunately, I did already come across something with the same function (albeit of much different design) all the way back in New Zealand (see Book I ~ Chapter 26 ~ The Opotiki Opportunity), so I know that the purpose of this structure is to make bicyclers get off and push their bikes through, and to make sure there's absolutely no way you can just ride through no matter how skillful you are.
What lies on the other side of that barrier is much less of a courtyard and more of a court wood, a veritable jewel box of trees, bushes and flours, surrounded on all sides by the artificial stone cliffs that are houses at least nine stories tall. And this hidden gemstone has a name: The Place des Provinces ("Square of Provinces").
Why, this little hidden park even features its very own dedicated doggy toilet. Now there's another thing I haven't seen yet in all of my travels!
By the way, up until now, I've still been in the Hauts-de-Seine district. It is only at the Place des Insurgés de Varsovie ("Warsaw Uprising Square") that I finally cross over into Paris proper.
At this point, I am already at the gates of the Porte de Versailles Expo. Unfortunately, that one's the back gate, and the expo is almost a kilometer across as its widest, with the VivaTech naturally being located at the far end, so I still have a little bit of walking to do.
That's no problem for me though, especially since it means that along the way I come across... whatever in the name of Dragon that is supposed to be.
Walking down the Boulevard Lefebvre, I get to see my first tram in Paris, which looks a lot more modern than the metro. It is also quite long with 7 cars in total. By contrast the longest trams in Munich feature only 4 cars.
After that, I finally reach the gates of the expo, and judging from the number of people here it's going to be quite a busy event.
With that, my first stray for today comes to an end, but I should do plenty more walking on the VivaTech, where I should soon see the...
Mirokai & More
So, here I am, at the gates of the VivaTech, Europe's biggest startup and tech event, featuring hundreds of speakers, thousands of exhibitors, and hundreds of thousands of visitors. Incidentally, most of these seem to be in front of me... I would say "in line", but there's not really a line here. It's more of a scuffle all the way to the gate.
Despite the large number of people, it only takes me roughly 15 minutes to get inside though since the procedures are pretty streamlined, and I also did print out my digital pass in advance. By contrast, I should later learn that some of my co-workers had much more trouble, since they only brought the digital version of their passes and the on-site printer had a technical malfunction. Now here's my personal impression of how that played out:
"Sooo, you are Europe's biggest tech event..."
>"Yeeeeeeeeeeesssss???"
"And you've only got one printer?"
>"...well, if you weren't smart enough to print out your digital pass, then doom on you!!!"
>>"Doom on you! Doom on you!!!"
Anyway, potential entrance troubles notwithstanding, it is once I'm inside the main pavilion that the VivaTech really starts to shine... quite literally.
In fact, there's so much going on here that it is quite stunning, both in terms of visuals and volume, so one of the first things I do is take the escalator to the upper level to help me get at least a little bit of an overview of the many, many stalls here. And all that is just Pavilion 1!
(Click here to view the video in a new tab if this website fails to display it)
And in addition to that hall, there's still the impact bridge, which is wholly dedicated to tech innovations that focus on making a tangible and beneficial contribution to the environment and society...
...beyond which lies Pavilion 2, which is a lot smaller, but still cramped full of yet more stalls.
But one thing after another. First, here's the floor plan of this massive event, with Pavilion 1 to the right, the smaller Pavilion 2 to the left, and the Impact Bridge connecting the two.
Now, if I tried to cover everything I saw on this expo in detail, we'd still be here by the time the next VivaTech opens its doors. Instead, I'll just focus on the things that particularly stood out to me, such as Bioteos, who work on purifying the air of urban indoor spaces using micro algae...
...or these fancy holographic LED fans that are able to make it appear as though an image is projected into thin air, and animated images too! In fact, I tried taking a video of them, but unfortunately the frame rate of my camera in conjunction with that of the fans caused the images to be cut into eights in the recordings.
However, the most eye-catching exhibit is clearly that of enchanted tools. That stall - which is strategically located at the point where everyone coming across the impact bridge enters Pavilion 2 - is always surrounded by a thick crowd of people, and not only because of its fancy design.
No, the main reason why it manages to impress is its cure anthropomorphic and slightly furry Mirokai robots which are constantly on display... except for when they're under maintenance, which is actually quite often. It's very obvious that they're still under development, but with how much attention they're grabbing, I have no doubt that Enchanted Tools will be able to secure enough investors to perfect them.
(Click here to view the video in a new tab if this website fails to display it)
They also have cheap but adorable paper Mirokai ears as free giveaways, and of course I just have got to get a pair of these!
Apart from the exhibition, there are also a number of stages where experts talk about all sorts of technology-related stuff (this one is Stage 4, by the way), such as risk-management and best practices, such as for example communicating clearly and openly when you've had a data breach, because attempting to cover it up will never truly work, and only end up costing you way more trust in the end.
Come lunchtime, I head out to the food court, meeting with the others as we try to figure out how this works. There, they have a "Fo Cood Urt", which describes a long line of stalls that only accepts digital orders placed via a site to which a QR code links, and which requires you to pay by credit card. The sad thing for a technology conference is that the Free WiFi does not reliably extend all the way out here, so to order you either need to use your mobile data or go back inside. Also, the website is not very well done for a food site, lacking pictures of the food for reference, and sometimes also not having any English translations. After that, you have to wait for an indefinite amount of time in front of the stall until your name is called out and you get your bag. Not really what I'd call high-tech, but definitely very French!
Not finding any stall that sells something particularly French, I go for some Chinese dumplings instead, which come with a bowl of rice and are not bad.
After lunch, I stray around the Viva Tech some more, finding the international corner, where companies from all over the world congregate under the banner of their country...
...as well as some regional stalls from Germany, the message sent by which is dubious as best, because nothing quite says "High-Tech" like the Bavarian stall with its presenters in Lederhosen and giant inflatable Pretzels. Or maybe rather go for the Saarland, Germany's hidden champion? Let's see, maybe the chairman of superstars anonymous is around here as well?
Moving on to more interesting stuff, there's the quad bots of Unitree, which are quite impressive in their dog-like motions, and while not as cute seem to be a lot more sophisticated than the Mirokai. In fact, those are already used for evacuation missions, and the big one is strong enough to carry an adult human as the exhibitor was happy to demonstrate (though I didn't manage to capture that moment).
(Click here to view the video in a new tab if this website fails to display it)
I also come by Stage One, the One Stage to rule them all, and looking at the queue in front of it I quickly decide that it's not even worth checking what panels will be held there, because the chance of me getting in there is approximately zero.
And honestly, what is the point of spending my time waiting in line if I can just walk around and see something interesting at any one of the little open stages, such as the Pitch Studio where presently an university startup with the name of Think Nature (from Japan, by the way) is propagating their solution for identifying ecological problem areas by using AI.
But it doesn't always have to be high-tech end results: Sometimes the product is surprisingly mundane, even if the methods involved are innovative, such as these paper bags and cardboard boxes that are made from fallen leaves! How come no one ever thought of making use of this seasonally abundant resource before?
The last thing I see at the VivaTech today is this futuristic looking helicopter, which I assume is supposed to function as an air taxi. It looks ready to lift off at any minute, and it would have been so cool if they had let it hover a bit every now and then. However, disappointingly, all you get to do is take a look into the cockpit, and even that only if you're willing to wait in line for quite a while.
After that, I take my leave from the VivaTech for today in order to spend the remainder of the afternoon...
Meandering Meudon
Right in front of the VivaTech, there's a colorful array of barriers and construction fences and how in the name of Dragon do I get to the metro entrance?
Eventually, I find my way down into the slightly unusual Porte de Versailles metro station. What makes this one so interesting is that while it has three platforms, they are not all succinctly aligned with one another. Rather, the third track is offset by roughly half a platform's length, and has its own semi-separate "tunnel", while at the same time the trains coming from there drive along a third track running in parallel to the platform for the other half of the length. I'm sure there's a very French reason for that.
Anyway, since I want to focus what time I have on covering new ground, I take the metro to the terminus of Mairie d'Issy, which is where this stray begins in earnest. First, I head southwest for a few kilometers, making my way through cityscapes and parks, until I reach the main area of my stray for today: The Forêt Domaniale de Meudon ("State Forest of Meudon"). There, I continue my trajectory until the top of the Tapis Vert ("Green Carpet"), and then head north towards the Bellevue station, making a bit of a detour towards the west along the way in order to stay within the forest a bit longer.
Distance: 11.0kmAscents: 250m
Duration: 1.0h
2/5🎁︎
For starters, I make my way through the streets of the Issy-les-Moulineaux ("Issy-on-the-Mills") neighborhood, the name of which reflects on how this area once featured many watermills along the run of the Seine. However, today's stray should not take me anywhere near Paris' famous river.
Before long, I come across my second Place du 8 Mai 1945 today, which is only 1.8km away from the last one. Well, at least they're in different neighborhoods (the last one having been in Vanves). I wonder if every neighborhood has one of these.
Just beyond that lies the entrance to the elongated Parc Henri Barbusse, which starts out with a climb that would be no fun by bike, followed by a long boulevard of trees.
Regrettably (or maybe thankfully) it does not go up high enough to offer a good view of the city below. However, something that is blatantly obvious is the threatening sky above. Believe it or not, I specifically picked today for my stray because of all days it had the best forecast. Even so, the weather is still very "Feeling Lucky?" today, and I should yet get wet.
It is here that I come across a construction site of the ambitious Grand Paris Express metro construction project. Started in 2013, this huge project includes the extension of two metro lines, as well as the creation of 4 completely new lines. A total of 200km of new tracks (mostly tunnels) will be added, 68 new stations constructed, and all of that by 2030! That's over 11km of tunnels and 4 new stations being built ever year for 17 years! By contrast, the very embarrassing project of the Deutsche Bahn to build a second trunk line in Munich - which is also scheduled to last 17 years - only adds 10km of track and three new stations. Can we maybe fire the Deutsche Bahn and instead get whoever the French have in charge of their railroad system please?
As a result of that construction, the park exit is a little bit improvised, but hey, whatever works!
After that, I make my way through the Rue Emile Duployé - named after the author of the Duployan shorthand technique, a stenography technique that widely used in France in the early twentieth century - where I also come across an unusual house that has little stone dogs and windmills on its outer walls.
This road terminates at the railway trench, which is where the N-Line from Montparnasse cuts through the terrain. In fact, I arrive just in time to capture one of the hourly trains passing right under (but not in time enough to get to the middle of the bridge before I have to press the shutter).
Things get progressively more interesting on the other side, starting with more idyllic cobbled facades...
...continuing with a dispenser for Canisacs beneath a very intuitive "one way road except for bikes"-sign...
...and finally ending with a sudden rain shower that makes me glad I've wisely chosen to wear gear with Lv2 rain resistance for today.
Fortunately, the shower doesn't last for too long, and by the time I reach the Forest of Meudon, it has stopped raining again.
In fact, even while I'm still walking the initial paved road deeper into the forest, the sun sheepishly comes out behind the clouds again.
Before long, the paved road gives way to a wide dirt road...
...and with all the rain of the last few days, it does not come as a surprise that this dirt road soon enough turns into a mud road, which makes my advance just a little bit more complicated.
Eventually, the road reaches the top of an incline that looks precisely like a landslide recently took place here. At any rate, trying to go down here - especially with the ground being this muddy - would be a daring act even by my standards.
Having passed my lunacy check for once, I manage to find another path that is both smaller and less muddy, and also takes me down the incline at a less challenging gradient.
At the bottom, I come across what might be a forest camp built by children...
...and then it's up the other side again, through what kinda seems to be more of a little riverbed than a path.
However, eventually I manage to find my way back to a proper big forest road again...
...which I subsequently follow all the way to the top of the Tapis Vert. This historical garden dates back to the 17th century, where it extended south from the Château de Meudon (which was destroyed in the french revolution, rebuilt, destroyed again in the French-German war of 1871, and now is partially rebuilt as the Paris Observatory). It was eventually abandoned, and only restored in 1942, albeit not in its full former glory. However, it is still impressive, and since it extends right into the Avenue du Château on the other side, that means there's an axis all the way to the Bellevue station here.
By the way, there is an unusual type of animal that makes the Meudon forest its home. I've caught glimpses of individual members on my way thus far, but haven't been able to get a good shot... until now as I stray down the side of the Tapis Vert: Chipmunks! Specifically, Siberian Chipmunks. As you can tell by the name, they are not native to these parts, and yet these cute critters clearly thrive here. They actually came to Europe via South Korea, where they were bred and sold as exotic pets, some of which escaped into the wild. A total of 200,000 animals were sold and shipped to Europe before the EU classified them as invasive animals in 2016, officially banning any further imports.
Eventually, I arrive at the Étang de Trivaux ("Trivaux Pond"), the first of several ponds located in the forest of Meudon.
There, I am able to observe a pair of grand cormorants perched just above the waterline, as well as a pair of coots and their chicks swimming in the water. In French, those are called "Grand Cormoran" and "Foulque Macroule" respectively.
Not far from there, the perfectly hexagonal Étang de Chalais is located ("Chalais Pond"). Unfortunately, there's no way for me to get into it from here. My best guess is that it is attached to the nearby Hangar Y art gallery and restaurant or something.
Moving on, I next pass by a roundabout featuring a wireframe airship overgrown with plants...
...and then make my way into the woods once more.
Before long, I reach the Étang de Meudon ("Meudon Pond") - my final pond for today...
...the trees near which are interestingly adorned with photos of many local animals.
Moving north from there should end up with me having to navigate some really muddy paths...
...so I am quite grateful when I finally get the opportunity to turn on a more solid path...
...which eventually takes me back to a proper road again.
Though out of the woods, I am still atop the heights of Meudon, which means I get a pretty good view on the skyline of the metropolis below. Specifically, these skyscrapers are located in the La Défense neighborhood of the northwestern part of the Hauts-de-Seine district.
Incidentally, I can also see the Eiffel Tower from here. Since I was already at the top the last time I was in Paris (when I visited Disneyland with my father as a little kid), I decided I didn't need another go of that this time around. By the way, at this point I am roughly 130m above the base of the Eiffel Tower, which puts me a little above it's second level.
One downhill jaunt later, I arrive at the very long and straight and green Avenue du Château, which forms the counterpart to the Tapis Vert in the hills of Meudon.
At the end of the Avenue du Château, I find another junction with something on its middle isle. This time it's a telescope, befittingly pointed towards the Paris Observatory.
Eventually, I reach the Place du Souvenir Français, which has nothing to do with actual souvenirs. Rather, this is the French Remembrance Square.
And right beneath that place, there's the Bellevue station, where I am pleased as punch to see that one of the hourly trains is just about to arrive. With how much walking I've already done today, I really didn't feel like adding the 4km back to Clamart on top.
Two stops later - after riding the train through the very trench that I crossed over earlier - I arrive in Clamart, where I embark on another short-ish stray in search of some dinner.
That stray should yet take me up and around through the narrow streets of Clamart...
...until I loop back around to where the Chicken Story is located. Near there, there's also a little Restaurant. It's a bit shabby looking, but I suppose it will do.
...except it really won't, because I am informed that they only serve food for lunchtime. So instead I head over to yet another food place in the immediate vicinity (those are kinda clustered here)...
...where I order myself a "Taco" to take back to the hotel, and Dragon was that a good choice! I don't know how much the many miles that I walked today factored into this, but I think this "Taco" was the single most tasty thing I ate in my entire stay in France. And it's quite filling too!
With that, my first full day in France comes to a close. Time to update my maps, and then get some much-needed rest. After all, tomorrow I need to be prepared for...
The Urban Undertaking
23-May-2024
On this second day, I should resolve to do a bit more with my co-workers... at least later in the day. Once again, I want to start out by walking another route to the VivaTech, which this time around should result in some...
Street Straying
Distance: 4.0kmAscents: 20m
Duration: 1.0h
1/3🎁︎
[To be continued...]
Lego & Lectures
Reverse Roads
Burning Burgers
The Retrospective
The French Finale
24-May-2024
Fast Forward
Robots & Rovers
Getting to the Gare
Distance: 6.0kmAscents: 20m
Duration: 1.5h
Hurry Homewards
Ride Duration: 5.75hApproximate Distance: 890km
Average Speed: 155km/h
The Road Ahead
