I obtain a pass to go to Amiens from 2 pm till midnight.
Start at 2 pm on a 9 kilometer tramp. Arrive at Amiens at 3:15 pm. Visit the Cathedral. The Exterior front is guarded against destruction by airship bombs by thousands of sandbags piled up. The interior is very pretty and richly embellished.
In center of Cathedral is a casket (transparent) which contains a piece of bone of St. John the Baptist. Quite a few effigies but not equal to English Cathedral specimens and quantity.
The High Altar is the best ever seen. Very mystic, golden candlesticks and other ornaments. At back of altar is a piece of work representing the sun behind the clouds and cherubims among them. Golden rods represent the sun’s rays. A dove is suspended from the ceiling and hangs amidst the clouds.
Some good tracing work and carving , a treasure house of Flemish glass Azure blue etc.
*Amiens – At the start of the war Amiens was an advance base for the British army. It was captured by the Germans for a short while in 1914 but taken back by the French soon after. It was an important rail hub due to its proximity to the western front. During the final year of the war it became an important target for the Germans and their inability to capture it helped lead to their eventual defeat.
