Wednesday 16 May 2007

My Fantasmagorical Trip: Northern France, Belgium, Berlin and Prague

(Originally Emailed: Nov 11, 2006 7:05 PM)

Before I start, I just want to say that any lingering hope you have that I am not a complete nerd will be evaporated by reading this. I've embraced it.
Also, sorry, sorry, sorry about the length. I've tried to break it down a bit so its a bit easier to digest - just like food for old people.
Bish's Precis

- Massive thanks to Jeannie and Jamie for letting me stay at their place. Guys, I had an awesome time, and look forward to more taste testing in the near future. And all the best with the bub!
- Normandy was awesome - a truckload of WWII and medieval history
- the Somme was also fantastic, and I must go back, but not to Amiens
- the Last Post, played nightly at the Menin Gate at Ypres, is incredibly moving
- Everything about Brussels was fantastic, except Roly's fashion sense
- Berlin was amazing - I didnt even scratch the surface there and I must go back
- What happens on tour stays on tour for bucks weekends, stays on tour, but Prague is gorgeous
- If you're planning on being over here for Christmas, let me know. I'd love to catch up with y'all!

So a couple of weeks ago I went on a two week jaunt through Europe. I took a ferry to Caen in Normandy, then went to the Somme, then Ypres, Brussels, Berlin and Prague. I set of for Caen travelling by train to Portsmouth, and then by ferry to my destination. Infact I travelled by train from there right through to Prague.

Normandy

So I was based in Caen. While there I had the chance to be a complete history nerd. Normandy is famous for two cross-channel invasions. William the Conqueror's victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and taking of the English crown, and the D Day invasion on 6 June 1944, the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. Some of you know that I'm especially nerdy about medieval English history, so seeing some of the history of Normandy from that time was really great. I was especially looking forward to the most famous relic of the period, the Bayeux Tapestry.

I got in late at night, and went to the cheapest hotel I could find (there were no backpackers there). I paid for the first night and hit the sack.

For my three or so days there, I did the following:
- Went to the excellent Memorial de Caen, which covers WWII and to a lesser extent conflicts after that. I can't the place highly enough - its the best WWII museum I've been to.
- I did a day tour of Normandy beaches, which included Juno, Gold and Omaha beaches, Ponte du Hoc, the American Memorial, and a few other places. It was run by the Memorial de Caen, and was excellent also.
- Saw the Bayeux Tapestry, the famous contemporary record of the 11th century Norman invasion of England, and had a walk around the quaint town of Bayeux.
- Followed the William the Conqueror walk through Caen
- In Caen, I had a wander around William's Castle , the city itself, and the Sunday markets. The markets were awesome, with heaps of fresh seafood and other goodies for sale (I had seafood paella for breakfast, and while eating it, was assaulted by two elderly Jehovas Witnesses - in French)

The Somme

My next base town was Amiens. I guess it's one of those irregular french words. I know "merde" is French for sh!t, but I can only gather that "Amiens" is French for sh!thole. The town was awful I thought. Beset with social problems, and very much part of an industrial rust belt that has modernised poorly. I arrived late, but it was still light enough to see the city. After some trouble, I finally found a hotel.

But I was in Amiens to check out some of Australia's WWI history in the Somme. Tours were based in nearby Albert. On the way there I met two middle-aged ladies, one of which had a little boy. I'd just got my ticket to Albert, and they were asking the lady on the enquiries desk about the next train to Albert. They were South African and just walked up and talked at the lady in English. I butted in and told them when it was due, and they just complained to me that "noone here speaks English."

Then they walked off speaking to each other in Afrikaans.

We got the train and left the station together, with them deciding "its probably best that we stick together." Fast as I walked, they seemed to keep up (I really need to work out), so I found the Tourism Office for them, and we found out we'd missed the battlefield tour. I spent the rest of the day visiting the (limited) sights of Albert (the rebuilt Basillica, the "Somme 1916" museum), all the while trying to avoid my Afrikaans "friends".

I got back to the hotel and trouble was brewing . Seems like my hotel "accidentally" forgot that I was staying for two nights, and gave my room away. They were good enough to remove my clothes, backpack, etc from my room and leave them at reception. The lady on reception apparently "hadn't heard" that I wanted to stay a second night, and because I'd only paid for the first night ... well you get the picture ... sh!thole. That said I did get a really nice pic of the River Somme at dusk there, and one of dawn (looking over the railyards towards an industrial wasteland).

Anyways, I made it to the tour the next day. I was the only person on the tour, so we got to see some neat stuff, like:
- Lochnagar crater - see my pic here
- Gordon Dump Cemetery
- Pozieres, and the ANZAC 1st Division Memorial
- Mouquet Farm and Thiepval Memorial (which is massive - about 30m high!)
- Beaumont Hamel - intact trenches from WWI
- unfortunately I didn't get to Villers-Bretonneux

It was pretty good, and the guy was pretty knowledgable (he'd have to be - there are some real military buffs out there), but also pretty up himself. A school kid mistakenly thought a picture of Hitler from WWI was taken in Manchester, and he butted in and said "umm ... Manchester? What does that word say?? Munich. I mean *hello*!"

The kid was about 13.

And on that note it was off to Ypres in Belgium.

Ypres and Ghent

Ypres is incredible. It was completely devistated during WWI, and the town square was rebuilt exactly as it was before. The old gate on Menin Road was replaced by a massive dedication to the missing soldiers of the British Empire, called the Menin Gate. At 8pm every night they play the Last Post. And going to it is incredible. Goosebumps. Shivers down my spine.

Other than that, all I did in Ypres was another day tour, which included visits to:
- a few cemeteries, including Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth forces cemetery in the world
- the moving German cemetery at Langemarck
- the Brooding Soldier, and amazing Canadian monument
- the Hill 62 Museum

The museum was based on some untouched trenches . And inside the museum was clutter. It was like everything that they had they put out on display. Piles of rusty shell casings. You could barely move.

Then I saw the guy who ran it. He was huge (I had to pretend I was taking a picture of the stuff in the foreground in this pic - look at the evil he's giving me), which sorta made sense. No discretion or moderation in what he displays, and no discretion or moderation in his diet.

I had a brief stop in Ghent (I got there at about 5pm, left at about 7 the next morning - I saw some wierd stores, "insightful" grafiti, some beautiful buildings and canals, and gorgeous women), and I hope it won't be my last. It was an impressive university town.

The Fusses in Brussels

So Saturday morning I arrive in Brussels, and eventually (after a bit of trouble with trains, and an expensive taxi ride) to nearby Rixensart, where Jeannie and Jamie live. They have a wonderful place, in a beautiful leafy setting, with a couple of dogs, a cat, some fish and a cellar chockers full with beer.

After a brief walk in the forest with the dogs we headed into Brussels, had some kick-ass baguettes, checked out a few places (like the Groot Markt and the colourful bureaucrat district), and then went on an extensive expedition to sample the local wares. The variety of beers available is unbelievable, and there were no better people to share it with than our hosts (although Jeannie wasn't drinking), Tarek, Louie, and Roland - and Sleepy, who has just come over here! The night out was fantastic. Roly's fashion sense was less fantastic.

The day after was recovery mode (after we woke up to Mel and Emmanuel's wonderful news), and culminated in a brilliant Jamaican curry, including plantains. It was awesome! Then Jeannie and Jamie dropped me at my train and I made my way to Berlin overnight.

Jeannie, Jamie, once again, thanks heaps for having me. I had an awesome time.

Ich bin ein Berliner

JFK said it best - "I am a jam donut." I arrived in Berlin at about 8am on a Monday morning. It was a really great overnight train trip actually - much better than my previous trip to Munich.

So that day I headed straight out to the Olympic Stadium, where the World Cup Final has just been held, and home of the infamous 1936 Olympics. Got a great view of it from the belltower, looking back towards Berlin. I also saw a picture of Hitler at Langemarck Cemetery, which I had just visited in Ypres. I also checked out Museum Island ("actually its just a peninsula").

The next day was a highlight of the tour for me. A seven-hour walking tour of Berlin. We covered so much - the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Jewish Holocaust Memorial, Potsdam Platz, the Book-burning Square, Hitler's Bunker, Checkpoint Charlie, and some of the older museums and buildings.

We were running well over time (because there was so much to see!), and that worked out to our advantage because Berlin's Festival of Light had just begun. Some of the old buildings looked amazing, and some of the neon signs were dripping with irony.

I followed this with a day of following up some of the more interesting spots from the tour. I toured the Reichstag - have a look at the line when I came out at 10.30am. What followed was the biggest disappointment of the tour: the Stasi Museum. Nothing in English, panels out of order, and they hand you a 170-odd page book with the translation. It was really disappointing, especially as I was really looking forward to it!

Much like the lions in Munich, there were bears left over from the World Cup in Berlin. In the brand new railway station, they had a whole lot of bears done up for different countries. My favourite was Moldova, which had painted on the bear a map of Europe showing Moldova. Talk about insecure!

Pra-ha: Take on me

The final stop on my tour was Prague. I was there for a bucks weekend for Alan "Mal" Goh.

Sorry, but what goes on on a bucks weekend stays on the bucks weekend (every little thing).

But before it started, I had a morning of sightseeing, where I managed to see:
- Wencelsas Square (with a memorial for Soviet rule and a shrine to St Wencelsas)
- the old Town Square (with the Jan Hus monument, and Town Hall with its famous Astronomical Clock)
- a great view of the city and river from the roof of the Charles Bridge tower
- changing of the guard and St Vitus' Cathedral at Prague Castle

Prague is a beautiful city though, and I will be back - hopefully I'll be sober for longer too so I can look around. But with pints for 90p, I make no promises!

So that's it

Now I'm back in London, and still between jobs. I'm managing to stick to a tight budget (50 squid a week, not including rent), and spending my time going to the gym and teeing up interviews. But I'm sure I will like London a lot more when I start earning some more pounds!

Finally, if you're planning on being over here for Christmas, let me know. I'd love to catch up!

OK, so long for now. Miss you all heaps!

Cheers, Rosco

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