War Museums In Bastogne

We went to a smaller museum first where we saw Patton's coat. Bastogne has cement markers around town showing every spot that Patton gave a speech.

The town was bombed on December 25th, 1944. Here is a diorama showing what it was like to be in a bomb shelter on that Christmas night.

Being in a bomb shelter during a raid must have been so frightening.

After lunch we walked a couple of miles to the larger museum. This museum was full of artifacts (helmets, bullets, grenades, uniforms, boots, etc) . But it also had the stories of four people that followed us throughout our tour. The four people included a young German soldier, an American soldier from Arkansas, a 13 year old boy living is Bastogne, and a 25 year old female teacher from a farm outside Bastogne. These were real people and their stories made this museum a hit in my book.

 

Private Tour

Today we had a private WWII tour given by Bob. Bob picked us up at 8:30 a.m. and we didn't get back until 5 p.m. The tour was personalized regarding my uncle. We started at the railway station in Saint Vith. The American forces protected this railway for three days against the Germans which gave time for American forces to join them.

The railway has been removed so now it is a bike path.

Bob has been studying world war two for 19 years.

He gives a great tour. Part of our tour was spent in Germany.

This is the Our river. Getting troops across was important in world war two because it is too deep to ford without a bridge. We think my uncle may have detonated several bridges. He also might have been involved in fixing up some rubber boats and laying wooden boards on top so American forces could get across.

We stopped at another town to visit a church. There was a woman in there mopping floors. Bob and the woman started talking. She was a young girl when the town was bombed. She and her family hid in the church basement for protection. Her father was taken as a prisoner of war by the Americans. When Christmas came they celebrated together. Only her father knew how to play the organ so he played holiday music on the organ for Americans and prisoners of war.

A beautiful red and gold banner, important to the church, was stolen during world war two. Forty years later, the cloth was returned to the church by the son of the man who stole it. The church goers were happy to see it back.

These are knee high or higher sturdy cement structures called dragon's teeth. Germany installed 5K of dragon's teeth to prevent tanks from entering Germany. The teeth are connected under the grass in both directions. They can be removed with dynamite but that gets expensive. The eventual solution was to pour tons of sand on top of them and drive over the sand.

This is an American tank pointed at the medieval town near Bastogne.

We had a fine day with Bob.

Travel To Bastonge

 This morning we got up early to leave our houseboat in Amsterdam. As we hauled our luggage out of the house the coot was there sitting on a nest built on a floating tire. We said goodby to the coot and headed for the train. We took the Eurostar train into Brussels. This was a fast and smooth riding train. From Brussels we took a slower train into Belgium. From there we took a bus that wove through winding, curvy roads to our final destination of Bastonge, Belgium. We walked toward downtown not knowing exactly where to go. A woman on the sidewalk pointed us in the right direction. We found a tourist building where we got a map of the building and exact directions. Now here we are in Bastonge, ready to start learning about the battle of the bulge. We can tell some things are different already. Cash is preferred in Bastonge. Credit cards were preferred in the Netherlands. French is the predominant language in Bastonge. English was predominant in the Netherlands. We will get the hang of this eventually. 

Annelies Frank

This houseboat comes with a pet coot. Here the coot is next to the dock between the house and the road.

We visited the Rek Museum to see the art work on display. The place was crowded with tourists and school groups. After that we had lunch at a cafe in the subway system.

At 2 p.m. we had an Anne Frank walking tour. We walked around the Jewish Quarter. Anne's read name was Annelies. This is at the memorial for the Jews and Roma who died in World War II.

This memorial is for the deaf people murdered by the Nazis. The location is outside the deaf school. The deaf school is now an art school.

As the Nazis took away more and more civil liberties the dock workers had enough and had a strike. All those involved in the strike were killed. More civil liberties were taken away. And the Dutch resistance grew.

There is a part of town called Dam Square. This was the original center of town and where they first dam was built. This is a war memorial. The chained people in the center of the statue represent the downtrodden. The men with barking dogs on the sides represents the fight against oppression. The woman above holding a child represents a peaceful future. Then we toured the Anne Frank house. Getting a ticket to tour the house is very difficult. When I was here ten years ago we couldn't get a ticket so I was happy to have one now. When we got to the part of the building where the family was actually hiding, people got very quiet and respectful. This was a moving experience that not everyone gets to enjoy.

We got home and our houseboat was warm from all the sunshine today. I left the door open so the hot air could escape. Our coot came by for a look see.

 

Zaanse Schans

Today we left to visit the Zaanse Schans area. Unfortunately I left my phone on the house boat so I have no pictures. The Zaanse Schans area has about 8 large windmills with other smaller ones. One cuts wood. One pulverizes materials for paint pigment. One is a mill. We walked around this large site for hours. Our first stop was the museum which explained what life was like there in the 1800's. This was very interesting. Part of this museum has a chocolate factory. We visited the chocolate factory and learned the process from grinding cocoa beans to making chocolate covered cookies. And we got a free cookie! After the museum I walked up the stairs of a tall observation deck. I saw a horned grebe swimming. I tried to get a picture with my cousin's phone but that bird was camera shy. We walked on to a weaver's house. The weavers in this house weaved sail cloth for ocean voyages out of hemp. After that we walked on to a windmill that ground pigment for paint. As we climbed up the ladder and out the door I was frightened as a large windmill blade swung through the air right in front of me. Most of the other windmills were not open yet but we walked down the length of them. At the other end the windmills looked better because they were facing us. Back near the museum we stopped at a famous restaurant that served pancakes as big as your plate. I had a pancake with apricot preserves and whipped cream. All those carbs but I have to say it was good. The pancake was more crepe than pancake. After that we stopped at a wooden shoe demonstration where a guy showed the audience how the shores are made with the help of machines. They had a great supply of wooden shoes to sell but I know better. I used to wear Dr. Scholl sandals so I know what walking on wood feels like. We took the bus back into town and got off at the Centraal Center. Outside the Centraal Center are ferry boats that will take you across the bay at no charge. We took the ferry boat that was crowded with pedestrians and bicyclists with their bikes. We walked to a tall building that we saw yesterday with swings at the top. This is the love tower. When we arrived in Amsterdam we bought the I Amsterdam city card which pays for many museums and buses and trams and subways (but not trains). We got to go up the tower in the A'Dam lookout. As the elevator rises 100 meters high a light show is at the top ceiling which we can see through a glass roof on the elevator car. We walked around the balcony on top of the building but chose not to pay extra to ride on the swings. Food and drinks are also available up there. As we left we saw an eye museum across the street. Our I Amsterdam city card paid for our admission here too. An exhibit showed the history of how movies are made. We got to watch a couple old movies as well. We had another great day in Amsterdam. 

Keukenhof Gardens

Today we took a tram, the subway, and a bus to Keukenhof Gardens which is the largest flower garden in Europe

Here is an organ with moving characters that played happy circus music.

The gardens are meticulously groomed.

Tulips galore.

Each section of bulb flowers is surrounded by green lawn.

They had a wooden shoe boat in a pond near a miniature windmill.

This working windmill was moved here from somewhere else. The whisper boats (run by electric motors) were right behind this windmill.

The whisper boats take 20 people through the canals between fallow fields and fields of tulips, hyacinth, daffodil and crocus flowers.

We saw acre upon acre of flowers. Geese and ducks and coots swam in the canals.

We were cold after the boat ride so we went indoors to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate.

We got there early before the crowds.

By afternoon the place was crowded with people.

March 19th through May 10th is the time to visit when flowers are in full bloom.

They offered bulbs for sale but spring is not the time to plant tulips so we didn't buy any. Keukenhof Gardens is a great place to visit.

 

Van Gogh

This morning we returned to the Centraal Station to take the tram to the museum district. We needed to be there by 10 a.m.  We had time for breakfast in the Centraal Station.

The Van Gogh museum is so busy they schedule patrons to come throughout the day.

We toured the museum for 90 minutes.

We walked about 8 blocks to a park that was very beautiful and crowded with people. So many bikes here! Those yellow flowers in bloom across the water are marsh marigolds.

Then we took another tram back to Centraal Station to take a canal ride. We bought an Amsterdam City card for 4 days so our tram rides and canal ride were included with the card. From this bridge you can see 7 other bridges in the distance. Sorry about the poor picture.

We came to one intersection that is so busy the boats have traffic signals (red and green only).

Our 90 minute canal ride was very relaxing. With the wind we were glad to be in a covered boat.

We have the first third of this house boat. Our hostess has the rest of the boat. It's very nice.

 

Netherlands

Traveling is getting to be a chore. I traveled from Winona to Minneapolis to Dublin with a final destination of Amsterdam (or, as the pilot calls it, The Amsterdam). The older I get the more difficult it is to lift my luggage into the overhead bin. The older I get the more my legs swell. The older I get the more uncomfortable compressions socks feel. The older I get the less comfortable I feel with pressurized air filling my intestines.  A gate agent in Dublin told us our gate was 305. We waited at 305 from 8 in the morning until 1. Our actual gate was 407 so we missed our connection. We had to go through customs to buy another ticket. We told the customs man what happened. He suggested we buy the tickets and then buy some lager. We took his advice and bought a half pint of lager and a glass of wine. As I waited for the bartender to fill my order I told the young guy next to me that this was my first time in an Irish pub. He told me I was definitely not in an Irish pub. I was in an airport pub in Ireland but not an Irish pub. Whatever buddy, I an considering this an Irish pub. Then we waited patiently at our gate until they moved it to another gate. We got on our plane and landed at Schiphol Airport. We took the train to the Centraal Station where we had planned to walk with our luggage a thirty minute trip to our houseboat. But since it was dark and raining we decided to take a cab to our houseboat. Our hostess was very gracious and we were happy to be in the Netherlands at last.

 

 

 

Forensics

This time I read a non-fiction book. Val McDermid is a crime writer and she also wrote Forensics The Anatomy Of a Crime. Each chapter has a different area of forensic medicine. The first chapter was about bugs. The age of maggots can help determine the time of death. The was a chapter on blood spatters and a chapter on DNA evidence. There was a chapter on finger prints. She lives in Scotland so many of the cases are from Scotland. She interviewed forensic experts all over the world. Several of her experts have done work on mass killings like the one in Kosovo. Several of the more famous forensic experts of the time were wrong. The last chapter was on court room drama. A forensic expert has information crucial to the trial but if the lawyers don't ask the right questions the truth does not come out. And sometimes juries make fickle decisions.

 

 

Belgrave Road

Belgrave Road is a novel written by Manish Chauhan. The story is about Mira and Tahliil. Mira was living in India with her family when her parents agreed to an arranged marriage. Mira traveled alone by plane from India to England. Now she resides is a small house outside of London with her husband and his parents. If she remains married for five years she will be able to be a citizen. Her husband and his parents grossly misrepresented their wealth. After taking an English class and gaining confidence, she gets a job at a restaurant. The restaurant is next door to a small market. Tahliil works at that market stocking the shelves and moving merchandise. Tahliil and his sister moved from Mogadishu, Somalia to England to care for their mother. Tahliil and his sister are applying for citizenship. Tahliil and Mira meet during their lunch breaks behind their shops. Both are searching for better lives. They hope to be together someday.

 

 

When The Lights Go Out

When The Lights Go Out is a mystery book written by Mary Kubica. Only she turns the R around in her first name like Toys R Us. The story is about a young woman named Jessica who is nearing the end of high school when her mother, Eden, discloses that her breast cancer has returned and she is now terminally ill. Jessica gets insomnia; really severe insomnia. She goes for a week without sleeping. This part of the story is told slowly and in great detail. I think there was too much of the insomnia symptoms. Also, Jessica goes to apply to college and is told her social security number lists her as deceased. She has no birth certificate. Jessica suspects her mother of stealing her as a child. The ending was ridiculous. Loose strings all over the place. 

 

 

Happy Equinox

 

Baking Cakes In Kilgali

Rwanda is a country that has many issues. Killing gorillas for bush meat, civil war between the Hutu and the Tutsis, HIV infections, female genital mutilation, and poverty. I learned much in reading the book Baking Cakes In Kilgali. In this story we learn what life is like through the eyes of Angel. Angel lives with her well educated husband who is a professor at the local university. The couple lives with their five grandchildren. Their son died of AIDS and their daughter, HIV positive, died of suicide. Now Angel makes money baking cakes for special occasions. She is like an artist with her cakes. Angel uses vast quantities of food coloring. She is big on being professional. She had a cake order form printed up using four local languages. She interviews each client looking for ideas that will give her inspiration. Her conversations with her clients remain private. Over the years she has learned how much to charge for the cakes so she can still make a profit. She thought about declining to make a cake celebrating female genital mutilation. In the end she makes the cake but is fearful to go to the celebration. This author used an amazing plot twist to make a good outcome on that day. I was amazed. While she is doing all that plus being a wife and a mother, Angel finds time to help her neighbors. She encourages a lonely diplomat's wife to teach literacy to some people in the neighborhood. She sponsors a wedding for the single mother/owner of local food mart down the street. She gives a talk at a local high school about her business and how to be an entrepreneur. She helps a young girl who is raising her siblings how to get out of prostitution and make money tailoring clothes. I loved reading about Angel and all her successes.

 

 

Pigs In Heaven

  I finally read Barbara Kingsolver's sequel to The Bean Trees called Pigs In Heaven. In The Bean Trees, Taylor Greer is driving to Tuscon from the east coast. As she stops for a break in a small town in Oklahoma, a woman hands her a 4 year old girl saying her mother is dead and her father is abusing her. So Taylor takes the girl and later adopts her. The girl is very clingy so she gets the name Turtle (because snapping turtles won't let go of a stick). She raises Turtle in Tuscon and gradually she recovers from her horrid past and begins to talk and to grow. Later Turtle and Taylor help a young guy and get national recognition for saving his life. People from the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma can plainly see that Turtle is one of their clan. They take steps to reclaim Turtle. This panics Taylor into moving out of their  home and going on the run. Invoking the parable of King Solomon where two mothers are fighting over the same child and Solomon gives the child to the mother who does not agree it should be cut in half, Taylor and the Cherokee Nation work out their differences. This is an epic tale based on a grouping of true stories of children being taken from the Cherokee Nation and raised with Caucasians.