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| Linda, Jerry, Jerry, Mary Ann |
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Last Post Thursday, 04-30-2015
This is the final post for this blog. When you read this we should be somewhere over the Atlantic. Two years of planning for a 3 week trip. We have seen a lot, did a lot, great food, great adventure and best of all shared with good friends.
Checkpoint Charlie 04-29-2015
Our last day as tourists... Tomorrow we head home. We got a good view of Berlin yesterday, both East and West, from a bus. Today we decided to do it on foot. We took the bus down to the Potsdamer Platz and hopped off. We spent several hours at the Documentation Center (the Topographie de Terrors) and read about the history of the Nazi movement from beginning to end. It followed the events up to and including present day. The problems the Berliners faced in the 20's, the developments in the 30's, the events leading up to and including the end results of WWII. It talked about what happened to Berlin after it was divided up and when the wall went up and then was taken down in 1989 and what has happened in the intervening years. We had planned to end the day by 5:00 pm and return to our hotel and make plans for our departure tomorrow. After leaving the Documentation Center we walked over to Checkpoint Charlie, ate lunch, and hopped on the bus for the hotel.
I was looking at the bus schedule and saw where we would have to ride the bus for 1 and 1/2 hours. I had a great plan. We would get off at stop #15 and take a shortcut through the Tiergarten (Municipal Garden). This would save us at least an hour of travel time. Well, we got off the bus and I took a wrong turn and promptly was disorientated (lost). By the time I realized my mistake, we had walked almost back to where we got on the bus to start with. Hankins then took over and led us out of the Tiergarten. What started out to be a 30 minute walk ended up about 2 hours. But, what can I say..it was a walk in the park.
We made it back, got our boarding pass for Delta, and are making plans for tomorrow.
I was looking at the bus schedule and saw where we would have to ride the bus for 1 and 1/2 hours. I had a great plan. We would get off at stop #15 and take a shortcut through the Tiergarten (Municipal Garden). This would save us at least an hour of travel time. Well, we got off the bus and I took a wrong turn and promptly was disorientated (lost). By the time I realized my mistake, we had walked almost back to where we got on the bus to start with. Hankins then took over and led us out of the Tiergarten. What started out to be a 30 minute walk ended up about 2 hours. But, what can I say..it was a walk in the park.
We made it back, got our boarding pass for Delta, and are making plans for tomorrow.
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| Check Point Charlie |
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| Hankins looking for a Rolls Royce SUV , the picture is a 1926 Phaethon (first one) |
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| Tiergarten |
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| Lost in the park |
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| Still lost |
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| 1945 |
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| today |
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| Great place to eat. |
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| Beef liver |
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| Apple Strudel |
A tale of two cities Tuesday 04-28-2015
Sitting at home in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's......you get the idea. The Berlin Wall, the Cold War, while a reality and a concern in our lives, it takes on a new meaning when you can see the effects in person. Being newcomers to Berlin, we wanted to orient ourselves to the city proper. So we did as many thousands of tourist before us, we got on the "Hop on, Hop off" and learned about the East and the West. The yellow route was primarily in West Berlin and the purple route was in East Berlin. While there have been many strides forward since the wall came down and the unification took place, there is the difference like night and day between the two sectors. The West, while under the supervision of the Allies (the U.S., Great Britain, and France), moved forward and the East was stagnant under the Russian supervision.
1945 was a dreadful period of time for the Berliners, refugees from the East, released prisoners, returning soldiers. Everything was destroyed, no job, no money, no place to live. I've seen the pictures and it is hard to comprehend. I like Berlin, new construction is everywhere and the Americans are welcome here. They were our enemies at one time. That was then, this is now. It will be interesting to watch the development of both the East and the West as they move forward together, rather than apart.
1945 was a dreadful period of time for the Berliners, refugees from the East, released prisoners, returning soldiers. Everything was destroyed, no job, no money, no place to live. I've seen the pictures and it is hard to comprehend. I like Berlin, new construction is everywhere and the Americans are welcome here. They were our enemies at one time. That was then, this is now. It will be interesting to watch the development of both the East and the West as they move forward together, rather than apart.
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| The Berlin Wall |
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| Be careful |
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| Brandenburg Gate 2015 |
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| Brandenburg Gate 1941 |
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| Reichstag 2015 |
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| Ruins of a 18th century church...now a monument to WWII |
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| At the Brandenburg gate |
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| Brandenburg Gate, also |
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| After the Russians 2015 |
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| Russians 1945 |
On to Berlin, Monday 04-27-2015
Our trip across Europe continues. After breakfast we went to the train station in Brussels to catch our ride to Berlin. We met a very nice Belgian lady, who happened to going on the same train as we were and made sure we were on the correct train.
Everything was going just great. We had to change trains in Kohln. Our original schedule gave us 33 minutes for a change. However, due to a slowdown on our train, when we arrived in Kohln we had 7 minutes to de-train, go from track 4 to track 6, and board our next train. We got off, made our way to the proper track as our train pulled in. We were on board and moving in about two minutes. When they say these trains are departing, you had better be on it or you will be waving it good bye.
While on the train, Mr. Hankins made a new acquaintance. A chap from Australia. Jerry was telling him about our trip to Normandy. He asked Jerry, " Which theater were you in?, the Pacific or Europe?"
Everything was going just great. We had to change trains in Kohln. Our original schedule gave us 33 minutes for a change. However, due to a slowdown on our train, when we arrived in Kohln we had 7 minutes to de-train, go from track 4 to track 6, and board our next train. We got off, made our way to the proper track as our train pulled in. We were on board and moving in about two minutes. When they say these trains are departing, you had better be on it or you will be waving it good bye.
While on the train, Mr. Hankins made a new acquaintance. A chap from Australia. Jerry was telling him about our trip to Normandy. He asked Jerry, " Which theater were you in?, the Pacific or Europe?"
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| Our speed |
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| Our ride |
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| Nice Belgian lady who offered to help us |
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| Relaxing |
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| Asparagus soup |
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
War and Rememberence Sunday 04-26-2015
Before we started the day, we decided to have a cup of coffee. Hankins went into a coffee shop to buy two cups. "Do you want small or grand?", he was asked. Grand..he said. and that is how we ended up with two bowls of coffee.
As bad as the tour yesterday was, today was so much better. We took a group tour to Ypres, Belgium with about 25 of our closest friends. We visited the "Ypres Salient", a WWI battlefield that saw horrific losses on both sides from 1914 to the end of the war in 1918. Our guide, Dietrick, was excellent. He was an elderly gentleman, around 65 years old, and was very good in painting a picture of events that took place 100 years ago. We visited the trenches, the battlefields, the museum, the cemeteries, we walked the ground. What went on here is almost beyond comprehension. The war to end all wars. Did not happen.
Every day at 8:00 p.m. there is a remembrance ceremony at the Menin Gate to honor the fallen from the Great War. This has been going on since 1928. It was stopped during the German occupation and started back the day after they left. It is a perpetual ceremony.
We had a dinner of Flemish Stew before we left. Very tasty. (It reminded me somewhat of our beef stew).
A great day...Yesterday was a 0 on a 1 to 10 scale...today was an 11 on the same scale.
As bad as the tour yesterday was, today was so much better. We took a group tour to Ypres, Belgium with about 25 of our closest friends. We visited the "Ypres Salient", a WWI battlefield that saw horrific losses on both sides from 1914 to the end of the war in 1918. Our guide, Dietrick, was excellent. He was an elderly gentleman, around 65 years old, and was very good in painting a picture of events that took place 100 years ago. We visited the trenches, the battlefields, the museum, the cemeteries, we walked the ground. What went on here is almost beyond comprehension. The war to end all wars. Did not happen.
Every day at 8:00 p.m. there is a remembrance ceremony at the Menin Gate to honor the fallen from the Great War. This has been going on since 1928. It was stopped during the German occupation and started back the day after they left. It is a perpetual ceremony.
We had a dinner of Flemish Stew before we left. Very tasty. (It reminded me somewhat of our beef stew).
A great day...Yesterday was a 0 on a 1 to 10 scale...today was an 11 on the same scale.
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| Flemish Stew |
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| A bowl of coffee |
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| another bowl of coffee |
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| 5th largest church in the world |
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| WWI trench in Diskmude |
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| Taps at Menin Gate "Last Post Ceremony" |
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| Menin gate |
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| Selfie |
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| old castle |
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| wreath laying ceremony at Menin Gate |
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| German cemetery, A Mother and father mourning their child. He was buried at the foot of the statue |
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| River scene in Ypres |
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| WWI trenches |
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| 19 underground bombs were set off uner the German positions. Results over 10,000 Germans KIA Bomb crater 100 years later. |
Monday, April 27, 2015
You win some, you lose some, Saturday 04-25-2015
This has been a great adventure. Everything has gone very well, from our departure to England, various tours, France was exceptional, and we headed for Belgium. A trip highlight was planned. A private tour of the "Battle of the Bulge". So we thought. Jean(John, Jacque) picked us up at our hotel to begin the tour. An English spoken tour, mind you. So we headed off for the Ardennes, sight of one of the most famous battles in the U.S. history of modern war fare. This was as good as it got.
Our tour guide was not fluent in English. We all had a difficult time understanding him. I don't want to bore you, but it was bad.
We went to the Big Red One (First Infantry Division) monument. Jean said this is a monument to the Big Red One. They fought the Germans at this location. We drove through a valley that was called "three bridges". Here the U.S. Forces blew up three bridges that stopped the German Armor advance. Jean was not sure which bridges were blown up. We went to a small village that had a German tank on display. He said the tank was taken out of the river in 1948. He thought it had been used in the battle. We drove to Luxembourg to see Patton's grave. A drive that lasted over 1 1/2 hours. Tremendous traffic jam on the interstate. We pulled up to the cemetery , took a picture of the grave site, used the bathroom, and were on the road again in about 15 minutes. We stopped at the memorial for the Malmedy massacre. The monument said this was the location of the killing ground. Jean said he thought the location was across the road. We started at 0815 in the morning. We finally arrived in Bastogne around 1630. The museum closed at 1800. Jean wanted us to meet him at 1745. We had 1 hour an 15 minutes to view the museum. The ticket office suggested we come another day, because it will take 2 hours to view the museum properly.
Let me back up a little bit. After we spent the afternoon driving to Luxembourg, being stuck in traffic (for road construction), I said I had a question. I said" Jean, John, Jacque, or whatever your name is, why did we waste the afternoon driving to Luxembourg and sitting in traffic. This situation did not just occur, it has been going on for several months." It went downhill after that. After we left the museum we stopped at some depressions in the forest that Jean said was a foxhole. (Maybe...maybe not..) By this time most of what he said was suspect. On our way back to Brussels, he pointed out a site that 13 boys were murdered by the Nazi's. I said "13 boys? What 13 boys? I don't know what you are talking about." Jean said he was doing the best he could. I said "Pardon me" (In a sarcastic tone). Jean got angry and said I was attacking him personally. We were about 169 km from Brussels. One and 1/2 hours. Complete silence for the rest of the trip. When we got back to the hotel Linda and I got out and walked inside without another word. We left Marry Ann and Jerry with Jean, he was offering his abject apology for losing his temper.
I can't wait to get home and do my evaluation with Viator and Trip Advisor and tell what I really think about Jean, Jack, Jacque. An absolute waste of our time and our money. Let it go...Let it go....
Our tour guide was not fluent in English. We all had a difficult time understanding him. I don't want to bore you, but it was bad.
We went to the Big Red One (First Infantry Division) monument. Jean said this is a monument to the Big Red One. They fought the Germans at this location. We drove through a valley that was called "three bridges". Here the U.S. Forces blew up three bridges that stopped the German Armor advance. Jean was not sure which bridges were blown up. We went to a small village that had a German tank on display. He said the tank was taken out of the river in 1948. He thought it had been used in the battle. We drove to Luxembourg to see Patton's grave. A drive that lasted over 1 1/2 hours. Tremendous traffic jam on the interstate. We pulled up to the cemetery , took a picture of the grave site, used the bathroom, and were on the road again in about 15 minutes. We stopped at the memorial for the Malmedy massacre. The monument said this was the location of the killing ground. Jean said he thought the location was across the road. We started at 0815 in the morning. We finally arrived in Bastogne around 1630. The museum closed at 1800. Jean wanted us to meet him at 1745. We had 1 hour an 15 minutes to view the museum. The ticket office suggested we come another day, because it will take 2 hours to view the museum properly.
Let me back up a little bit. After we spent the afternoon driving to Luxembourg, being stuck in traffic (for road construction), I said I had a question. I said" Jean, John, Jacque, or whatever your name is, why did we waste the afternoon driving to Luxembourg and sitting in traffic. This situation did not just occur, it has been going on for several months." It went downhill after that. After we left the museum we stopped at some depressions in the forest that Jean said was a foxhole. (Maybe...maybe not..) By this time most of what he said was suspect. On our way back to Brussels, he pointed out a site that 13 boys were murdered by the Nazi's. I said "13 boys? What 13 boys? I don't know what you are talking about." Jean said he was doing the best he could. I said "Pardon me" (In a sarcastic tone). Jean got angry and said I was attacking him personally. We were about 169 km from Brussels. One and 1/2 hours. Complete silence for the rest of the trip. When we got back to the hotel Linda and I got out and walked inside without another word. We left Marry Ann and Jerry with Jean, he was offering his abject apology for losing his temper.
I can't wait to get home and do my evaluation with Viator and Trip Advisor and tell what I really think about Jean, Jack, Jacque. An absolute waste of our time and our money. Let it go...Let it go....
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| Movie we watched in the van, no sound, just French subtitles. To set the mood for the tour. |
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| Beautiful cemetery |
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| Big Red One..they fought the Germans |
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| Malmedy Massacre |
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| U.S. combat vehicle |
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| German tank, rusty, taken out of creek in 1948 |
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| WWII foxhole in the Ardennes (maybe, maybe not?) |
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| We had 5 minutes to visit and get on the bus |
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| Crab dinner, that night. |
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