Category Archives: Belgium

Out of Time

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Our Route

I’ve gotten a lot of inquire about where we’ve been. This map may help. I think I’ve got it right. The Red Line is for cars and the Blue Line is for trains. Most were round trips, at least.

There were quite a few narrative threads I had hoped to follow but I have quite literally run out of time. I decided the best way to finish this voyage was to just show you some of my favorites and hope for the best.

Amsterdam, NL

Cologne Cathedral                                                        Cologne, Germany

Aachen Christmas Market                                                                                                                               Aachen, Germany

Aachen Cathedral                                                                                                                Aachen, Germany

Cologne Christmas Market                                                                                              Cologne, Germany

Amsterdam, NL

Monchau, Germany

Our good buddy Sabine at Museum Ludwig                                                                                              Cologne, Germany

Monchau, Germany

Rotterdam, NL

Monchau Christmas Market                                                                                            Monchau, Germany

Liege Christmas Market,                                                                                                                                        Liege, Belgium

Amsterdam,NL

Maastricht Central Station                                                                                                                       Maastricht, NL

The Afsluitdijk is a remarkable structure that has been protecting Holland from the sea for over 80 years. Built between 1927 and 1932 with over 5,000 workers, it is now an icon of the Netherlands’ constant struggle against water. In typical Dutch style solving all problems requires a creative approach. The 23 km long road that stretches across the dyke requires lighting, but not wanting to add to “light pollution” highly reflective surfaces that are activated by car lights and go dark after you pass have been added to the vertical structures.

Afsluitdijk

Maastricht Christmas Market                                                                                                   Maastricht, NL

Maastricht Christmas Market                                                                                                                                 Maastricht, NL

Maastricht, NL

Helpoort ca.1229                                                                                      Maastricht, NL

Maastricht, NL

Maastricht Christmas Market                                                                                                  Maastricht, NL

Valkenburg Caves Christmas Market                                                                                      Valkenburg, NL

Maastricht Christmas Market                                                                                                   Maastricht, NL

The Grand Hall – The Hermitage                                                                                                                           Amsterdam, NL

Asian Tourists at the Cologne Cathedral                                                                         Cologne, Germany

The Nights Watch at the Rijksmuseum                                                                                Amsterdam, NL

Have fun out there.

Places of Honor

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We find ourselves in a region our Dutch friends referred to as the Three Points where Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands all touch. While touring the area we have seen two American Cemeteries. These sites are just 11.5 miles apart and almost all of the over 16,000 soldiers buried here lost their lives on or near this very ground. Ground that is blood soaked indeed. These cemeteries lie close to the old Roman Cologne-Boulogne highway over which Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Hitler all marched their troops in the conquest of the  strategic Low Countries.

The Henri Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial

Located in Welkenraedt, Belgium, the Henri Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial is where the remains of 7,992 US soldiers are interred.

“Angel of Peace” by Donal Hord

554 unknown soldiers are buried in this cemetery.

Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial

The Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands is where 8,301 American dead were laid to rest.

The Court of Honor and reflecting pool.

This is Europe’s third largest war cemetery for unidentified soldiers who died in WWII. The walls flanking the sides of the Court of Honor contain the Tablets of the Missing  which display the names of 1,722 Americans who gave their lives in the service of their country and now rest in unknown graves.

“The Mourning Woman” by New Yorker Joseph Kiselewski

This sad but beautiful statue represents all the women who endured the war not knowing if their loved ones would ever return home. The three doves represent peace and the new shoot growing from the war-destroyed tree supports the following quote.

The Memorial Tower

The Memorial Tower

The “Tree of Life” chapel doors.

These are just two of the fourteen cemeteries for American World War II dead on this foreign soil. We have been told that, given the enormity of the horror, these two memorial sites represent but a partial view of the pain endured. It may seem small when viewed in that larger context, but it was most certainly not small for these thousands of soldiers that sacrificed all in the service of others. Each and every one of these somber white markers represents a life cut down in it’s prime and a future never realized. In this age of saber-rattling, these awe inspiring and sobering places should forever remind us that we must strife, above all else, to never sow fields of blood and marble again.

These sites are operated and maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission who’s first chairman, General of the Armies John J. Pershing promised,

“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”