Day 10
We started the morning off with some rain as we headed towards Reims. This is the home of a famous cathedral as well as being at the heart of the champagne region in France. The drive was about an hour and a half.
Upon arrival in Reims, we made our way to the Taittanger Champagne House for a tour. We had a very informative guide and we spent about 40 minutes or so in the cellars. The tour started with a 10 minute film prior to going down to the cellars. Currently, there are approximately 10,000 bottles in the cellars and one thing we learned is that producing champagne takes a long time. At the end of our tour, we ascended from the cellars and got to sample the champagne. Now, I must confess, I am not a champagne connoseur. Those of you who are, may cringe at the fact that I really did not taste much difference between this champagne and any other champagne. I really haven't developed a taste for it and rarely drink it.
Any stop in Reims, must include a visit to the cathedral. Strangely enough, the itinerary did not include a visit inside. I have no idea why not? However, Colin arranged for us to go inside. The organ was playing, so we go to hear some of the music as we had a look around on our own. The stained glass is quite impressive.
Lunch was on the road today as we headed towards Fromelles. We first stopped at Le Quesnal Communal Cemetery Extension. This is a small Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery with 66 buriels. We stopped here so that one person on the tour could have the opportunity to visit and pay tribute at her family member's grave. This was another one of the very personal moments that we were able to be a part of.
We then visited Fromelles. The Australians saw action here and the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) cemetery is the newest cemetery for war graves and was dedicated in 2010. There are approximately 250 bodies in the cemetery including that of a 16 year old. Very sad indeed. They are in the process of building a visitors centre at this cemetery.
A short distance away is the poignant Cobbers Memorial, which commemorates the Australians killed in the Battle of Fromelles. The statue depicts a soldier carrying a wounded fellow soldier after a battle.
A further short walk away is V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery. There are 400 unidentified soldiers buried here and there are no individual graves. Instead, there are two white crosses which mark the areas where the bodies are buried. The memorial lists the names of many many Australians who were killed and have no known graves. We had a member of the tour who had family members whose names were inscribed on the wall. This was the third instance of a personal tribute that we were able to be part of while on this tour. While not directly involved, it meant a lot to me that these experiences were able to take place.
Day 11
This was a jam-packed powerhouse day. We were gone for over 12 hours seeing and experiencing. It is a day I will never forget!
Our first visit was to the Huts Cemetery near Ypres. There are over 1,000 graves in this cemetery. It is so named because of huts that used to line the road and which were used by field ambulances. This is a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery.
Colin then took us into Ypres proper for a walking tour and to let us see the Menin Gate. We would be seeing it that evening, but he felt we should see it without the throngs of people so we could really appreciate it. The gate really is something else. There are over 54,000 names on the gate, of people whose bodies have either never been identified or have never been found. That number is staggering to me. It's really difficult for me to articulate how I felt looking at all those names. It's a place for reflection, that is for sure.
Essex Farm was our next stop after completing our walk and time at the gate. Now, Essex Farm is a place near and dear to me. Not because I have family here, but because it is the birthplace of a very famous poem written by a Canadian. Every Canadian child learns this poem and it recited at every Remberance Day ceremony. Of course, the poem is In Flanders Fields and it was written by John MacCrae. Boy oh boy! I just couldn't believe I was standing in the place where the poem was written all those years ago.
John MacCrae was a soldier in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and this area was an advanced dressing station. You can still see the concrete structures used by the dressing station. Sadly, John MacCrae did not make it out of the war alive.
The other very poignant point in this cemtery is the grave of Valentine Strudwick. Have a look at his age on the grave marker in the photo below. I don't think you can help but be shocked and moved.
Another rare site that this cemetery is the grave of a Victoria Cross winner. You don't come across these very often.
All I can say is thank you for letting us visit this important site.
Our next visit evoked different feelings. We went to a German World War I cemetery. I think the important thing to remember is that these people were still men, regardless of which country they were fighting for. I will say, I didn't find the German Cemetery as warm as the Commonwealth or American cemeteries. Perhaps it is because the grave stones are dart and there isn't as much foliage. In any event, I believe it was a visit that we needed to do.
Our last stop before heading back to Ypres proper was to the St. Julien memorial otherwise known as the Brooding Soldier. It was at this location that the first gas attack of World War I occured. Over 2,000 people died as a result. On a side note, I was just in Ottawa and saw a mock up of this memorial and it was neat to be able to say that I have seen the actual memorial.
We had a good break for lunch. I ate and ran because I wanted to go to the In Flanders Fields Museum. This museum is dedicated to World War I in Flanders and has a variety of exhibits including the different types of grave stones used by countries and the different uniforms worn. There are also mock ups of what the Ypres Salient looked like during the battles. Overall, this is a really interesting museum. Additionally, they give you this poppy bracelet with a microchip to wear. At the start of the museum, you enter your information and as you move on through, you hold your bracelet up to the screens to log in and it gives you information about a person who may be of interest to you. I had four names given to me. I have not had time to investigate, but at the end of the museum, you have the opportunity to e-mail the names and information to yourself. So, when I have time, I am going to be looking into this as I am intersted in why I was given these names.
Our next out of Ypres visit was to Tyne Cot cemetery. This is the largest Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in the world for any war. There are almost 12,00 people buried here. We learned that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has 4 permanent full time workers in this cemetery. When we were there, there were many more workers. They are in the process of replacing all of the grave stones ahead of the one hundredth anniversary of the war next year.
When had the opportunity to visit the 1917 Passchendaele Memorial Museum. This museum has examples of trenches and dugouts. I have to say, I felt pretty claustrophic down there and the loud sounds made it even worse. I can't imagine having to live and work in those conditions. The museum is small, but really well done.
Our last stop before heading back into Ypres proper was to the Hill 62 memorial. The photos on the memorial made this especially poignant.
We then had time for dinner. A few of us had a nice pasta and wine dinner at a lovely restaurant. On our walk back, we met an artist whose fascination with World War I led him to make some of his artwork. His Great Uncle is listed on the Menin Gate. I bought a print which depicts the names and images of Canadian soldiers. it's quite haunting really.
We then had the opportunity to watch the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate. This does get crowded and people do tend to push in right before the ceremony starts. It is still very moving. A really poignant way to end the day.
Day 12
This morning was an early start as we had what was probably the longest drive of the tour. It was three hours to Groesbeek from Lille where we had been based the previous two nights.
Our first stop was the Liberation Museum. Before we saw any of the exhibits, we were treated to Liberation Cake. i don't know how to describe this. It tastes like apple pie, but has a cakey like bottom and outside. It was very good.
Now, to the exhibits. The museum is on one of the landing sites involved in Operation Market Garden. As you go through, you see life before the war, life during the occupation, and then liberation. It's a really fascinating museum. There is also a memorial hall, which is designed to resemble a parachute. We spent a good bit of time here and had lunch in the cafe as well.
Nearby is the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery. There are over 2,300 Canadians buried here and many of them were brought from Germany.
If you have seen the movie A Bridge Too Far, then you will be familiar with the Battle of Arnhem the John Frost Bridge. This bridge is named after the commader of the forces who defended the bridge. We got the opportunity to stop at the site. I had actually watched the film prior to leaving and was looking foward to seeing the bridge.
We then headed into Amsterdam, or I should say Utrecht. This was a bit of an annoyance. We were scheduled to spend two nights at a hotel in Amsterdam. About two weeks before the tour started, Trafalgar sent out a notice that we would be staying at a different hotel in Utrecht on the first night. Utrecht is about 40 minutes or so outside of Amsterdam. More on that later.
After dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed into Amsterdam for the optional dinner. The meal was at Haesje Claes Restuarant. Everybody had a choice from four items for each course. I elected to start with a pea soup. I love pea soup and this did not disappoint. Delicious! I then had the vegeterian lasagna. Another item that did not disappoint. Yum! But, the piece de resistance was the cinnamon ice cream with brandy and raisins.
After dinner, we headed out for the canal cruise which was also part of the optional. In my opinion, you can't go to Amsterdam and not cruise the canals. You see so much. We had an hour or so guided tour.
Afterwards, we went for a bit of a walk because some people expressed a desire to see the red light district, LOL! One guy on the tour tried to take a photo of one of the girls in the window. Didn't really go over so well. Another guy really needed to use the toilet and the only one nearby was a green cage on the street. You can sort of see into these. Not my idea of a comfortable place to relieve oneself!
Now as for our hotel switch, the real consternation came with the wake up call for the next day. 5:45AM. The reason was because some people expressed a desire to see the Anne Frank museum and Colin was trying to accomodate those people, but he wanted to get there right when it opened so no one would have to stand in line for two hours waiting to get in. Of course, those who didn't want to go (who were the majority), including myself, were not happy. This was an issue becase of the Utrecht hotel. It would not have been an issue had we been staying the two nights in Amsterdam. I have been to the Anne Frank museum before and hadn't planned to go this time round. After much debate and the graciousness of Nico, our driver, those not going to the Anne Frank museum could sleep in and Nico and Colin would return to get us at 9AM. Unfortunately, this didn't get communicated to all parties because not everyone had taken the optional that night. A bit of a muck up all around and I hope Trafalgar does not do that for future tours.
Day 13
A heavenly lie in this morning for about 28 of us. It was lovely. There was no one in the breakfast room either, which was nice. Didn't have to battle hoards of people for a place to sit.
Colin and Nico arrived at the hotel at about 9:30am to pick us up. Many people had chosen to do a day trip optional to Volendam and a Diamond Cutting Factory. About 13 or do did not do this optional including myself. I knew that if I did it, I would have no time to see any of the great sites that Amsterdam has to offer like its museums.
Those of us that wanted to do museums were dropped near museum square. I had intentions of going to the Rijskmuseum. i had been several years ago before they closed it for renovations. But it was raining slightly and the first museum I came upon was the Van Gogh Museum. Since I'd never been in this one, I decided to start here. There were only about 10 or so people in line to buy tickets at that point. There is a security check.
The museum is really well done. The exhibitions lay out Van Gogh's history from how he learned to paint all the way through to his last works. It was really interesting to see some of his earlier paintings with the faint graph marks he used. Van Gogh also copied other works as he was learning. There are many paintings to see so if you are a Van Gogh fan, this museum is a must see delight. You could spend hours here. I did spend a fair bit of time and even had lunch in the cafe.
There is also a really nice gift shop. i saw a scarf I really liked, but in the end. I couldn't justify spending 99 euros for a scarf.
As I left the Van Gogh, I saw the line ups for the Rijksmuseum. They were massive by this point and since we were being picked up at 3:30pm, I decided not to go. I didn't know how long I would be in line and didn't want to waste a lot of time.
Instead, I went for a walk down towards the Royal Palace. I went through a lovely area with some high end art galleries and shops and some lovely flower markerts. An entire area along one of the canals was all flower markets.
It took about 20 minutes or so to walk from the museum to Dam Square and the Royal Palace. The Palace was open to visitors so I bought a ticket. They do have a bag check here. I always carry a little plastic bag in my day bag for this type of eventuality. I simply take out my wallet and phone and put them in the bag and then there is nothing worth stealing left in the checked day bag. Entrance comes with an audio guide.
The palace is really nice inside and what a novely, they allow you to take photos. King Willem-Alexander had been inaugurated as King less than 30 days before and one of the rooms had been used for the signing of the Abdication Document by Queen Beatrix. Once you got to the room in question, they had set up a large tv screen to show the room being used for that purpose. It was really interesting.
Beside the palace is the Niewe Kirk church. This was the church used for the recent inauguration. They had it all done up as it was for the ceremony with the exception of the flowers. They had the inauguration dresses of the 3 previous Queens as well. Additionally, you could watch a video of the ceremony as well as the two previous inaugurations. It was all fascinating. No pictures allowed though.
I then met up with the rest of the group and we all went back to the hotel to freshen up for the Be My Guest Dinner, which was also the farewell dinner. The dinner was held at the Pauw Family Farm (parents and 3 children). It was about 40 minutes or so from the hotel. We were their very first tour group. The dinner was like having a home cooked meal. It was really lovely and the kids seemed to be enthused to have us there and to help out with serving. There were two alcoholic drinks included. They gave us menu cards which we could keep if we wanted. The meal was buffet style and there was tonnes of food, so you could get as much or as little as you wanted. My only criticism was that the space was a little small for the 48 of us and it was small even with us split between two rooms.
The first course was pea or vegetable soup and then the buffet, which was: Root vegetables, curry kale, endives, sausages and dutch meatballs. Dessert was apple pie with ice cream. Yum!
After, dinner on the way back to the hotel, we were given the surveys for the tour. It was a mad rush to get them completed as Colin needed them back that night as well. I had a really early flight back to London the next day. As a result, I don't think anyone really got to say proper goodbyes. I then had to go back to my room and do a proper packing of my suitcase to prepare it for air travel. Wake up call was at 3:30 AM the next day. It's my own fault though, I wanted the first flight of the day back to London, so I could have a full day in London.
So all in all, I really enjoyed the tour. I know there were issues and I know not everyone enjoyed it the same. However, it was the first running of the tour and there were bound to be kinks. Yes, the tour was very fast paced and yes people didn't really bond per se. I do find that with shorter tours, it is hard to get around and really get to know everybody. It's not like doing a 30 day tour where you really get to know people.
I still highly recommend that tour and think it would be a great opportunity for families to share in the experience. There were lots of mother/son, mother/daughter, parents/children combinations on the tour. I should point out tthat when I say children, I don't mean there were young children on the tour, I just mean it in the context of parents and their children.