David Whitley discovers a bizarre corner of Australia in a city that even the French don’t realise is in France.
Oz Bar in Metz, France
It is quite possibly the most unlikely place in which to stumble across an Australian pub. But no, there it is, crammed between a series of stores on the main shopping street of Metz.
And, just in case there were any illusions that Oz Bar may just be a cunning name, there is also kangaroo steak on the menu.
On the walls of the passageway to this curious underground den are a series of yellow road signs, one of which gives the impression that rogue great white sharks are a regular menace up and down the highways of Australia.
Once down the stairs and finally inside, it’s harder to imagine any bar that could look less Australian. It’s dark, dingy, and everything is made out metal; some kind of silvery steel overdose that seems more suited to a sci-fi film about a new crew having to go and rescue a long-abandoned spaceship.
But the lack of pokie machines, beer gardens, proper beers and ventilation is more than made up for by having a couple of bottles of Fosters in the fridge and a cocktail called Woomera Libre.
The clientele isn’t Australian either – the only other people in the bar appear to be seven British schoolchildren who all look suspiciously young to be drinking Fuzzy Wombats.
So it must be owned by Australians, then?
“Ah non,” replies the barmaid in the most French accent ever crafted. “They are from Metz. But people like to experience a different cool-ture, you know?” But of course…
New TGV train line
Then again, there’s a lot about Metz that doesn’t make an awful lot of sense, as a lot of people are probably going to find out shortly. The city is expecting a huge tourist boom over the next couple of years, fuelled firstly by the new TGV Est-Européen train line from Paris.
From June 10th, travel times from the French capital will be almost halved to 80 minutes, courtesy of the route on which the world record for train speed was recently broken.
Then, in 2009, the much-touted and very pricy regional branch of Paris’ Pompidou Centre will open. With a typically futuristic design, the phrase “The New Bilbao” is being harked around with some justification, and often followed by intense drooling from members of the tourist board.
Musée de la Cor d’Or
Until then, the main attraction is the thoroughly bewildering Musée de la Cor d’Or. It is virtually impossible to work out.
No matter how much informational blurb you have, you’ll end up wandering around interminable staircases, probably visiting things in completely the wrong order and wondering what a video screen is doing next to the remains of Roman thermal baths. After that, you’ll stumble across a collection of religious sculptures in a medieval granary, or descend some steps to come face to face with full-sized rudimentary houses within the confines of an exhibition space. And then you’ll cross a courtyard that’s appeared from nowhere and find yourself looking at fine art.
This is not to say the museum isn’t all that good – quite the opposite in fact – but it’s rather difficult to put your finger on precisely what it’s about, or slot it into a convenient little pigeon hole.
Metz cathedral
Precisely the same applies to the city that hosts it. It’s green-but-urban, historic-but-modern, commercial-but-cultured and laced liberally with fascinating buildings. However, it is often completely overlooked because it’s neither one thing nor another.
A classic example is the marvellous cathedral. Built in the bright yellow Jaumont stone that characterises much of the city, it somehow gives the impression of a big fluffy cake. It’s covered in statues and it has the most stunning array of arches and stained glass windows inside, but when a Paris-based magazine recently made a list of the best cathedrals in France, Metz’s was nowhere to be seen.
The reason, as discovered when disgruntled residents wrote in to complain, was that the publication had forgotten that Metz was actually in France, thinking it was probably part of Germany.
German-era Metz
That’s an understandable mistake to make whilst wandering through the area just south of the city centre. When Metz was annexed between 1870 and 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II was determined to make it a showpiece, being the first city reached in the German empire from Paris.
He embarked upon a huge building programme in this area, as can be seen on any walk round. The crowning glory was the railway station – it’s worth missing your train to look around it, noticing the tiny details in the sculptures and engravings.
Roman Metz
Elsewhere, the city is a complete architectural mish-mash. Metz began to grow in the Roman era, and has Roman remains scattered throughout. It has been a major crossroads throughout the centuries, and thus a major trading centre.
Place St Louis was the place where currency changers gathered, and the square has been restored to its medieval state. Shops sit incongruously inside cave-like arcades and the benches the changers used for laying out their coins have been reintroduced.
Historic buildings
This restoration and maintenance of heritage is something that Metz is very big on – laws have been passed to ensure anything over 100 years old cannot be destroyed without expressed permission, and huge sums have been poured into cleaning up various architectural triumphs.
Pedestrianisation is being introduced across the city centre to reduce the effects of pollution, and defunct buildings are being given new purposes. This means you’ll find a concert hall in the old Arsenal on Avenue Ney, and art exhibitions in the nearby St Pierre-aux-Nonains, which was a 4th century Roman sports hall before becoming a church.
Night time illuminations
There’s no point in having all these wonderful buildings, though, if you’re not going to show them off, and one thing Metz specialises in is illuminating its highlights at night.
Take a walk from the station, past the Arsenal and the playful fountains of the Esplanade, and every building of vague worth is showcased in a way that even Prague would struggle to match.
From there the evening stroll reaches the parks alongside the Moselle river, which are beautiful during the day, but suddenly haunting when bathed in subtle blues, greens and reds under moonlight.
In front are bridges and the little island that hosts France’s oldest theatre and the sinister-looking protestant church (Temple Neuf), which has bright orange radiating out of every portal. It looks completely out of place, but after washing down roo fillet with a Bondi Blast on the set of Space Mission: Year 3000, you tend to roll with the surprises.
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