The next morning, after checking out of our Air BnB, we jumped on the train and 2 transfers later we made it to Versailles, France. The goal of the trip was not just to site see in Paris but to join our Military LDS Branch in attending the temple for worship. Germany has a temple in Frankfurt but it has been closed for renovation for some time now so our Military Branch (which is mostly Military members but there are several civilians that work as contractors or for the Department of Defense Education Activity (Elementary through High Schools overseas) or Germans who just want to come to our Branch) will make a monthly or Quarterly Temple Trip to other places, like the temple in Hague, Netherlands.
(Setting up a selfie before I found the timer)
As we got off the train a family consisting of a mother and father (both in their 60's) and daughter (20's to '30s) who were speaking English and dressed for church assumed correctly we were going to the temple and joined us. We just missed the bus so decided to walk. I misjudged the distance and it was another 1.7 km walk... but we made it! Thanks so much to this family with Zachary as we were carrying all our luggage.
Every LDS temple is worth visiting. This is no less true in this case. The French Government were very specific in their requirements in building the temple (must not be higher than any other building, must match the local style, no Angel Moroni, etc), and the designers clearly met these requirements which are easily noted when you arrive and could easily pass it without noticing it (unlike the LDS temple in Washington DC which towers over the interstate).
(Zachary somehow finds rocks everywhere and either holds on to them or throws them...and the temple was no different. It was hard to not get him to throw rocks in the fountain)
The Temple here is considered a "Mini Temple" and it felt to me to resemble a Mini French Palace: entrance arch, central courtyard, fountains, and appropriately designed gardens, and surrounded by several wings of the palace. We quickly moved to the cafeteria where the temple allowed us to keep the children.
Sadly Jari could not find her temple recommend when we were packing for the trip so she decided to stay back with the kids so I could attend the temple. I am not sure the experience was one of peace for her, but it was lovely for me (Thank you Jari!)
After entering the temple there is a central staircase that is beautiful and leads to a second story where the worship session takes place. The interior decorations were akin to many of the palatial decors we had seen elsewhere with the French Lily (fleur de lis) being a prominent feature (I think a subtle tribute to the French Royalty/Aristocracy which I think the French Government likely appreciated). The stained glass was wonderful.
They ran out of interpretation headphones and asked if anyone was willing to listen to the services in French. I did so and due to my background in Spanish, understanding the context of what was presented, and knowing what I should be hearing in English allowed me to understand 30-80% which was really great. Since then I have heard French and understood 0%. So I think this was tender mercy provided by the Lord to help me understand while at the temple.
We got out at 1:30 pm and came without lunch... so at this point we were on our way to the Palace of Versailles which was another walk. Some friends took our luggage which was super helpful. Even still the walk was long enough that we gave up and sat down at a restaurant and got some basic food (burgers, pizza). I know, we were in France why not eat crepes? It is because the Crepe restaurant we found en route was closed from 2 to 5 pm and we were arriving at that 1:50 so they did not want our business.
Here is a lovely stained glass window in the visitor center.
After lunch, we walked past the palace and went to the train station only to find out it was closed that day only for some cleaning as we had to walk to another train station. Maybe it was a good thing because we were able to help some folks visiting from Los Angeles, CA.
Versailles is a place we could easily spend 2-3 days visiting. Another time perhaps.
Special recognition of Charlotte on this trip. She walked so much and was a real trooper about the whole thing. She usually is quick to complain about walking (like every day in Korea when we walked to school) but not only did she walk a lot on this trip but took turns carrying the backpack with stuff in it which was not all that light. So Charlotte, you were so great this trip.
Hazel likewise did great on this trip. She did not carry anything but did very little complaining. For a four-year-old, she did wonderfully. Thanks, Hazel for helping to make this a great trip.
And a special shout out to Mr. Osterman, Charlotte's 1st-grade teacher. He was 100% supportive of going on this trip and only asked that she keep a journal and present it upon her return. She wrote about two things or more each day and drew lots of pictures all without help. A funny side note is that at this time we received a letter from the school saying that Charlotte had been screened and qualified for ESL (English as a Second Language) services. It was apparently based on classroom observation, testing, and records review. I am 100% sure it was only based on the records review because we provided her Korean Kindergarten certificates when we came. Jari and I laughed really hard and quickly responded that we don't think she needs ESL classes and don't want her screened in the future. Mr. Osterman wrote us an email stating that "Charlotte's journal was OUTSTANDING!" He agrees that she does not need help.
Zachary... did as well as I could hope a 2-year-old could. I did carry him a lot. He was pretty crazy on the ride home though it was late.
Here we are on one of the many trains reading "Dealing with Dragons" to the girls.
And a special recognition of Jari who carried this little gal everywhere! And a recognition of Camille who tolerated the Ergo carrier for so many miles.
We hope to return to the temple someday soon.
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