Academie Galan 2024 – The Art of Creative Recreation

There are places like Academie Galan that simply surprise you. The title „The Art of Creative Recreation“ is not an exaggeration. Beautifully situated in the countryside, you can practice „letting your soul dangle“ here in a very relaxed way. Between a bamboo forest, a vegetable garden, and abstract sculptures, you'll find an estate that has been nicely restored and brings „back to basics“ into our modern age.

Do you speak French? No? No problem, because German is spoken at Academie Galan, in the heart of France. This has incredibly many advantages for me, as I'm inherently lazy about French. After almost 10 years of French classes in school, I should have a better command of the language. And it's nobody's business that I even grew up very close to the French border! 🤓

For me, relaxation was the priority, so let's put language aside. With two left hands, I've been left without artistic talent. That's why I felt completely at home here in the countryside, petting the cats and counting blades of grass all day.

But what else is there to do here? How can one relax and what cultural activities are there to pursue? Let's see... I mean, of course, Voyons voir!

Galan

We are landing at the provincial airport Tarbes Lourdes Pyrenees Airport or to put it more papally: Lourdes Airport.

Here, at any rate, begins our journey to Galan. About 40 minutes by car from the airport lies the small village of Galan, just before the Spanish border, in the Occitanie region. 700 people find the place so great that they live there. It's very idyllic here and besides the town hall, there's a nice boulangerie (bakery) and a small supermarket that has everything one could need.

Academie Galan e.V.

At the center of the town lies the Academie Galan, which is led by Prof. Rolf Thiele. Until 2007, Rolf Thiele was a professor at the University of the Arts Bremen. He likes to refer to the Academie Galan as an art project. And when you walk through the Academie, you quickly get the impression that it is indeed a very successful art project.

The academy itself consists of a main building and several annexes, which house studios, kitchens, dining rooms, and workshops. Even though I personally have absolutely no knack for art, I notice the subtleties and details here. It's a place that's both relaxing and exciting.

I traveled here with my family to relax for a few days and enjoy nature. Our culinary needs are also taken care of, and unlike other accommodations, we eat together here. This is great because we meet some interesting people who tell us their stories.

The Academie Galan is not inherently the ideal place for a family vacation, and that's not its focus, but we felt very comfortable here. Primarily, art enthusiasts can let loose here (Editor's note 😉). Our kids, however, enjoyed nature. They were allowed to help in the garden, were shown the different plants, vegetables, fruits, and herbs, and of course, didn't miss the chance to eat all the strawberries. Yum yum!

They also got to build some great things for their dollhouse at home in the woodworking shop. That was one of their highlights. My highlight, by the way, was the peace and quiet and the nature. I love it!

Lourdes - What the F...aith! 😇

On the way to the Galan Academy, we practically made a successful pilgrimage past Lourdes. However, we also want to see Lourdes with our family. After all, our kids are growing up Catholic, just like I did, and a pilgrimage site like Lourdes shouldn't be missed. Especially since we're already so close. The drive from Galan is about an hour if you drive leisurely. We drive leisurely, if only because I find that cars in France drive on the wrong side. Driving on the right is tough, though. 🏎️

The view of the Pyrenees is thrilling us. This makes driving really fun. It's quite reminiscent of Switzerland here, even though the hills in the region are a bit smaller. We reach Lourdes at noon and find a parking spot right by the cathedral or basilica, at least the church that sits atop the grotto. Top-notch, right in the thick of it therefore.

Lourdes with family is definitely an adventure. We snake past all the soldiers from around the world and head straight for the grotto. What we notice first here is that it's not just a place for the religious faithful. People from all over the world come here, seeking healing above all, alongside blessings.

The Grotto of Massabielle

I want to briefly recount the story as I understand it. In 1858, here in Lourdes, the then fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous experiences something incredible. A radiant woman in a snow-white dress appears to her in this grotto. This vision repeats itself 18 times. The woman gives her the order to dig for water, and voilà, Bernadette finds a spring with supposedly magical powers.

Wildfire Meme, and soon millions of people will be flocking to Lourdes to grab a piece of the miracle. The Catholic Church nods in agreement and thinks: Yup, that's how it happened. Bernadette is celebrated as a star but continues to live modestly as a nun and dies at the age of 35. That was like 80 today back then. Lourdes remains the hotspot for faith and hope – then as now.

There's not much going on today, and we don't have to wait to visit the grotto. Since Google didn't give me a chance to enlighten me beforehand, I didn't know what to expect here. In my imagination, it was a beautifully furnished and decorated grotto, with great statues and lights, etc. However, it's just a giant rock. A rock with water running down it, holy water from the spring, see above.

In front of us, a few people in wheelchairs are pushed very close to the stone, and those who can rub their heads against it. I see a man trying to hug the rock. You can't linger here for long, because within a few seconds, people from behind are already pushing forward, wanting to hug something too.

A special place, magical in a certain way. I love that such places exist because there are indeed people who draw so much hope here that they feel better afterward. Whether it's the water, the place itself, the faith, a Bernadette, or whatever, if someone feels better afterward, such places always have their right to exist.

Beyond that, it's pure commerce, of course. You can leave a fortune here. There's no entrance fee for the grotto, but you can buy the smallest candle for 10 EUR. You can pay for it with all major credit cards, cash, and next year, surely with Bitcoins too. By the way, the most expensive candle costs 500 EUR and it was SOLD OUT! Afterwards, we saw countless of these large 500 EUR candles burning. Those things sell like hotcakes. Incredible!

The town of Lourdes is then of course also just commerce and a tourist hotspot. At first glance, there are only souvenir shops and restaurants here. We stock up on a few souvenirs and have a delicious and completely overpriced lunch. Here in Lourdes, people speak English again and possibly even German.

My highlight in Lourdes with family

We were lucky enough to see the military parades. It was super exciting because I had never seen the Maltese military or the Swiss Guard in action before. The whole procedure only lasted about half an hour and was really great to watch.

In the afternoon, we happily and contentedly drove back through the beautiful landscape to Galan. Personally, I wouldn't visit Lourdes a second time, but I'd advise everyone to go once and see it. It was an exciting day with many impressions, crazy, but also a kind of craziness I wouldn't want to miss. We didn't visit the churches because everything seemed less Catholic than in Malta. So, we have all of that too.

Tarbes – The Capital

Tarbes, which I didn't know and had never even heard of until a few weeks ago, is a truly charming city in southwestern France. It is the capital of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region. The city is located at the foot of the Pyrenees and has about 40,000 inhabitants. It's not far from the airport. A bus will take you there for a few euros.

Therefore, we decided to spend another half day here before departing. I particularly enjoyed the view of the Pyrenees here. In the center, there are a few nice shops and also shopping malls. We'll take advantage of that and buy a few more things for the kids. We'll walk through the entire city and enjoy the great weather.

Tarbes Airport – One of Europe's largest aircraft graveyards

Towards the evening, we'll get a ride to the airport from Tarbes. The bus works perfectly for this. Since Tarbes is a small provincial airport, you don't need to be there hours in advance. Everything moves relatively quickly.

Already on the way in, I noticed that a lot of decommissioned planes were parked along the side and runway. Tarbes is one of the largest aircraft graveyards in Europe. Hundreds of planes have been brought here, especially since the pandemic.

These are taken apart and recycled within six to seven weeks. Therefore, during boarding, we paid very close attention to ensure everything was still there. It seems that Ryanair only lacks comfort. Some padding was removed here and there so that another row could fit into the plane. Otherwise, everything else seems to have been there.

We were able to take off successfully, and I never worry about the landing anyway. Why not? On January 1, 1914, the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, flew from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida. This is considered the first passenger flight. This means that since 110 years Not a single plane stayed up! They all came down. That's enough for me for the statistics. 🤪

Conclusion: Travel Report Academie Galan and Surroundings

These were the first three days of vacation I'd taken since 2019. Back then, we spent a few days in Madrid and Ibiza and my laptop was broken. Yes, I travel a lot, of course, but work always travels with me. When you work on the go, you don't need a vacation. It was different this time, and although we had an interesting business meeting in the end, the three days without a laptop were great and felt amazing.

A sense of slowing down sets in as soon as you enter the Galan Academy, and I was able to relax and switch off from the very first minute. Strolling through the wonderful gardens and the scent of nature contributed to this. There would have been so much more to see around Galan, but for that, you would need to plan a longer stay.

We spent a total of three great days here and also visited two exciting places, Lourdes and Tarbes. The Academie Galan is definitely a place I would like to return to. To relax again, hear great stories, meet interesting people, and enjoy the beautiful region of France.

Here are a few more impressions from the Galan Academy, Lourdes with family and Tarbes.

Impressions of the Academie Galan and Lourdes with family