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BELGIUM
AND OLD HOLLAND TOUR
Words and pictures from our online reporter Ken Amery
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Belgium and Old Holland Tour
On Thursday 29th September forty
members of the St Michael’s
congregation and their friends boarded an Armchair Tours coach
for a tour of parts of Belgium and Holland. The trip to Folkestone
to board the Shuttle was uneventful and we were soon travelling
through France and on into Belgium. Our arrival must have been
awaited, for shortly after entering Belgium we were stopped by
the local Police, who checked our driver’s documents and
that we were all strapped in. Jeff our driver being an experienced
driver in Europe had all the correct documents. If any had been
missing it would have meant a 1000-euro fine!
Our first stop was the beautiful city of Bruges, often referred
to as “the Venice of the North” due to its canal
system. Some travellers took the opportunity to visit the various
places of interest, take a ride in a horse drawn carriage or
boat trip along the canal. While others found vantage points
at one of the many restaurants around the Square and just watched
the world go by while enjoying a leisurely lunch.
We stopped fairly shortly after leaving Bruges at a chocolate
makers. This was an opportunity not only to watch the famous
Belgian chocolates being made but also sample and purchase the
product as well!
Our base in Antwerp was the Hotel Carlton. After the evening
meal in the hotel, the more active walked into the city centre
while others took the opportunity for a few hours of leisure.
Friday dawned grey and wet, but Michael our Armchair tour manager
assured us that the weather would improve before we were too
far into Holland. We drove straight to Rotterdam, the largest
port in Europe where we all joined a fascinating cruise around
this very busy harbour. Rotterdam itself is a very new city having
been almost razed to the ground during the Second World War and
its architecture is very modern and unconventional.
After our cruise we made our way to the outskirts of Delft,
the home of the famous “Blue Pottery”. Here we visited
one of the four original potteries where we were given a guided
tour and shown how the pottery is made from start to finish.
The clay to make the pots is not produced locally, as this is
not suitable for the white based pots, but comes mainly from
Cornwall. All the items are hand painted and we watched a number
of the artists at work. Needless to say, the shop on the premises
was very busy before we left.
We then spent the afternoon in Delft itself, which is similar
to Bruges, with a square and canal system but on a smaller scale.
Many of the travellers found Delft even more charming than Bruges.
On one side of the main square is the church and on the other
is the town hall. This area was busy all afternoon with a non-stop
procession of wedding parties going from one to the other. Those,
who arrived early for their wedding, took shelter in the restaurants
and cafes on the third side of the square, waiting their turn.
No matter where you looked you seemed to be tripping over brides
either on their way to a marriage ceremony or on the way back!
On our return to Antwerp, the rain, which had stopped for our
visit to Delft, resumed. Jeff, our driver volunteered to take
us into town. Many took him up on the offer and ate in one of
the many restaurants around the magnificent cathedral, which
looked particularly impressive, lit by floodlights.
We had a free morning in Antwerp on Saturday. Some walked into
the city centre and visited the cathedral and harbour. Others
visited Rubens House, where Rubens and his family had lived for
a number of years. This was a fascinating visit, but unfortunately
the house was not all it seemed. The house had been bought by
the city of Antwerp in 1937 when it was in a severely damaged
state. It was restored using sketches from the 1680s to make
it as authentic as possible.
Our afternoon visit was to Ypres. The town itself had been virtually
destroyed during the First World War having been fought over
time and time again, but had been lovingly restored over the
years to its former glory. The Cloth Hall now houses the “In
Flanders Fields” museum. With static exhibits, audio and
visual displays it brings the suffering of the local population
and the fighting men of both sides during the First World War
much closer.
Many visited the Menin Gate where the names of 54,896 British
and Commonwealth soldiers from the First World War, who died
prior to July 1917 and have no known grave, are listed. 100,000
soldiers have no known grave; those who died after July 1917
are listed on the wall at Tyne Cot cemetery. Those, who had the
time, visited St George’s Memorial Church, which was consecrated
in March 1929 as a memorial to the soldiers of Great Britain
and the Commonwealth who fought and died in the many battles
around Ypres. The walls of the church are full of memorials to
individuals and regiments while the hassocks are embroidered
with the badges of many famous regiments.
Our last trek was in fact the most sombre. With an expert local
guide we went on a two-hour battlefield tour. We visited a number
of locations and cemeteries, all lovingly maintained by the Commonwealth
War Graves Commission, which of course, has its head office in
Maidenhead. We stopped at the largest cemetery – Tyne Cot.
Whether revisiting or coming for the first time, the effect of
rows and rows of white headstones is always the same – it
is very difficult to stop a tear coming to the eye especially
when you read the ages of some of the men who died here. Our
guide told us that the youngest soldier to die in the war was
killed in one of the battles here at the age of 13 years 11 months.
He was apparently a tall young man who had lied about his age
to join the army! From here we had what for many of us was a
new experience - a visit to a German war cemetery at Langemark.
Here there are
44,000 German soldiers buried – some in
a mass grave. This cemetery looks and feels much more severe
than Tyne Cot. Memorial stones are dark and are laid in the ground
and unlike the British cemeteries where the stones carry some
few words in memoriam, these memorial stones just list the names
(if known) of the dead soldiers, which only adds to the sombre
feeling. Our last visit was to the “Yorkshire Trench” which
is a trench system discovered in 1992. Many artefacts were discovered
along with the remains of some 160 British, Commonwealth and
German soldiers. All were carefully exhumed and laid to rest
in one of the military cemeteries. The trench has been preserved
to give people some idea of what living in a trench during the
First World War was like.
We arrived home at 10pm that night
after what many described as a trip of great contrasts. The hustle
and bustle of cities and towns compared with the peace and tranquillity
and our own thoughts at the war cemeteries.
World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on a coach!!
All through our journey the travellers supported the Macmillan
Cancer Relief’s “World’s Biggest Coffee Morning”.
Not by brewing coffee on the coach but by making a donation every
time they had a cup of coffee or glass of wine in Belgium or
Holland.
Macmillan Cancer Relief has confirmed that this is the first
time that the coffee morning has been held on a coach trip in
Europe. A first for St Michael’s. £150 was raised
for Macmillan, which will go to help sufferers in Berkshire.
Well done to all those who contributed.
Ken Amery
9th October 2005
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