Yes – it has been a long time since our last post. It has been a busy few months. So busy in fact, that we have not taken the time to sit down and updated our BLOG. I guess the best way to cover off all that we have been doing is to look at it month by month. So I will do that below. But, in summary, it has been a great summer so far.
For starters, the weather has been fantastic. We could not have expected so much warm sunshine, but we have had it. If you don’t know – Belgium is one of the grayest places on the planet. It rains, A LOT in Belgium. So we were a bit concerned about the change for us and the kids. From Sunny California to South Central TX, cold and rain were few and far between. Here it’s the mainstay. But we have been lucky.
Both Alex and Austin ended their school year – one of mid- year transition – very well. Both received high marks and seem to have found they really like there new school. Each got to take fantastic “class trips” this year. Austin was first off to Florence, Italy and Alex went next to Normandy France. Both got to spend a week in their locations with classmates. Frankly, we still cannot come to grips with how lucky they are to have done this. Can you imagine, a “field trip” to Italy and France? They have both had visitors from the US this summer. Hannah and Duke both came all the way from Texas to spend a few weeks with us. In fact, as I write this, Duke is still here. So far this summer we’ve done our best to absorb Europe too. Our summer started in May with a visit from Lori and Jay Fowler, followed by June which was opened with visitors and the kids ‘graduating’ from school. In July we went to the world’s largest Horse show in Aachen Germany and took a great trip to Normandy, France to visit all of the great WWII sights there…
May 2009
May kicked off a great summer for us. Lori and Jay came to visit. We started off our weekend with a stay in Amsterdam. It was really good to be away for a weekend (the kids stayed home) and even better to see Lori and Jay. Pam and I had not really gotten any time to spend with Lori and Jay – so it was really good to just hang out and catch up. They had flown into Amsterdam so Pam and I drove up from Brussels to see them. We spent the entire day (and most of the night and the next morning) touring the town – mostly the “District”… After a long evening we had stumbled into this bar and came across one of the coolest bar tenders you can imagine. At closing time – he closed the bar – but locked us all in and the entertainment went on for a few more hours. It was good fun for a couple of mom’s and dad’s who needed a night out to “re-visit” our college days…. Pam and I also got to do a small reunion with Larla, Femka and Jackie. Jackie used to take care of Alex right after Alex was born. The lived near us in Tracy and are actually Dutch. We had just made contact with them again after more than 10 years. What a small world. The next … afternoon, we got out of bed and drove back to Brussels. Pam took Jay and Lori to Koln, Germany for the day – because I had to go back to work – Jay may still be there trying to climb the bell tower… May is filled with “bank Holidays” so we had some time to spend around the house and get caught up on “real life” work.
June 2009
June was a very busy month. For starters I was headed back to the US. I had to take my airplane to South Carolina for its annual maintenance inspection. It was a world wind trip; Brussels to Chicago, Chicago to Austin, 6 hours of sleep in Austin then off that next morning at 0600 for flying to South Carolina. The flight was great, mostly because I had not been in the airplane for so long. The trip was planned from Austin to Meridian Mississippi (KMEI) for fuel and a quick bite of lunch and then from Meridian to Laurens (Clinton) SC where the work would be done over the weekend. Just inside of Mississippi the weather started to get bad – making for an eventful first segment but we had landed on time and were hungry for lunch. As luck would have it, we ended up having a mechanical issue and got to enjoy Mississippi for 24 hours. I had to wait for a part to be shipped – so it was off to the local Holiday Inn Express for a grand stay in downtown Meridian. All I can say is that the people of Meridian are very friendly – but I was not sure I was still in the USA… It’s a different place. We departed the next AM and the rest of the weekend was great. I got to “assist” in the annual and for the first time I was able to see my airplane “inside out”. It was a great learning experience for me. Austin had is year end Band Concert – dad missed this – AGAIN!
Back in Brussels – it was back to work for me and hello to Hannah and her Mom. They had come to visit for ~2 weeks so Pam got to play host and tour guide for them. They did the Brussels tour, went to Germany and got to see the sights in and around where we live.
I got to take another flying trip in Europe too. We took a flight from Antwerp to La Havre. That’s on the coast of Normandy. It was a great flight and I really hope that I get to do a lot more flying in Europe.
Before we knew it the month was over and we were headed into a busy July.
July 2009
The July 4th weekend was our first away from the US, ever. It was a bit strange missing all of the festivities – but we had our fun anyway. We spent a full day in Aachen Germany and visited the world’s largest horse show. (Alex day J ). You can read about the show here: http://www.chioaachen.com/ . It was fun. There were thousands of people at the show and it was full of riding, jumping and exhibits. The weather was great and the evening ended with a show from several of the Olympic and world riding champions from the past few years. Alex was in heaven, Pam was too (we were in Germany and that’s her favorite) I was having a good time just being outdoors and Austin was bored out of his mind. In the end it was a great day. It is strange being at an event like that, where the entire deal is in a language you don’t speak. But I took note of the fact that all of us did not seem to mind. It struck me that we are all getting used to being in places where very few people speak our language. I reflected on the past 6 months transition and decided that yes, everyone was starting to feel at home here in Europe. It was a good feeling, indeed.
A few weeks or so after that we had a chance to say “bonjour!” to one friend and a sad “au revoir” to a few others. Duke was visiting from the US – and Austin was very excited for him to come. He’s still here as of this writing. John and Patty Wheeler, friends we had met, were at the end of their assignment in Brussels and were moving back to the US. They have been here three years and are headed back to Atlanta, GA. We had gotten to know them fairly well but it was all too short. It was also kind of a surreal transition for us. Seeing them going back made us realize that our stay here is not permanent either. There is an entire “eco – system” of EXPATS coming and going. That combined with a few going away parties at ISB reminded us not to take for granted the opportunity we have here.
On the weekend of July 18th Pam, Alex, Austin, Duke and I took a trip to Normandy France. What a fantastic trip. I have been wanting to see Normandy for as long as I can remember so, quietly, I was looking forward to this trip from the day I found out I was moving to Europe on assignment. Recall from above that Alex has a field trip (FOR A WEEK) to Normandy – so we had a fantastic tour guide in our party. As always, Travel Agent Pam, made the plans for our drive and hotel stay and the entire trip was planned out in advance. It was great! The route we drove is linked below. You can follow the Google map. It was a fun drive and took ~ 5 hours to get there. We drove from Brussels to Sainte-Mere-Eglise and stayed the night in a Hotel there. The stops are listed below the map.
Sainte-Mere-Eglise
If you are not a WWII buff – This is the first town to be liberated on D-Day. If you want to learn more start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-M%C3%A8re-%C3%89glise. This town was the landing zone of the 82nd and 101st Airborne and became a thematic foundation for “The Longest Day”, the story of John Steele hanging from the church. As you can see in the pictures below – the town keeps a symbol of that event at the church. A “man” hanging from a silk parachute is there all the time. The church is a fantastic visit. It was badly damaged in the liberation – but was restored with the help of many of the paratroopers that fought there. We also visited a fantastic museum. The Airborne Museum (Musee) is in the center of town. You can see information here http://www.sainte-mere-eglise.info/pageLibre00011a22.html. This was one of the best exhibitions of WWII that I have seen in a long time, mostly because it’s there. The displays are authentic and the entire set up is top notch. Let me just say this, because it was the single biggest reflection I have about this little town… If you ever generalize about the French ‘not liking Americans’ – you need to visit here. These people have not forgotten. You feel like you are entering a July 4th party when you enter the town. They are very friendly and have done a great job in paying respectful homage to the men who fought to liberate them from “the devil”. You will see in the pictures below – the first US flag that was flown after the liberation, hanging proudly in the town hall. Also in front of that “town hall” is Milestone 0. The fist of a set of markers placed by Patton’s 3rd Army, 20th Tank Corps that lead from Sainte Mere-Eglise to Bastogne. You can see pictures of the last in our Blog from early on and our visit to Bastogne. I’ve decided I need to do research now – because I would love to drive along the entire route taken by Patton’s 20th. I bet that would be great!
Pointe Du Hoc
Our next stop was Pointe Du Hoc. This is a fantastic stop. You can see the installation of Germany batteries and a landscape of craters where Allied Bombs blew the heck out of the place. The kids got to run free across the space – run in and out of huge bomb holes and crawl around in the gun bunkers of the German army. Pointe Du Hoc is 4 miles west of Omaha Beach and is famous for the attack made by the 2nd Ranger Battalion to silence guns that could take aim at Omaha and Utah. You can read about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointe_du_Hoc . It is just one more amazing story from the war. Some of you are old enough to remember the speech Ronald Reagan gave there in 1984, on the 40th anniversary of D-Day. His words have become part of the memorial that stands there today.
Omaha Beach
Clearly, this stop was the apex of the entire visit to Normandy. We began our tour at the American Cemetery Memorial. http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/no.php. I have been thinking of ways to describe this place, to people reading the Blog that have not been to Normandy. The best I can come up with is “Awe inspiring”. This is probably one of the most moving places I have ever visited. Rivaling Arlington National Cemetery it has to be one of the most sacred places in American History if not World History. Can you imagine…. 172 Acers, the resting place of ~9,400 US troops, ~1,557 named that were never found and on the back drop of the biggest offensive in history. I’ve seen footage, watched documentaries, read tons of material, and talked to several who have been there… but I was completely unprepared for what it would feel like to be there. If you are every spending time feeling bad about what you have, or worse yet, feeling sorry for what you DON’T have – I’d recommend a visit here. Perspective is granted in a moment! It’s almost unthinkable in today’s world. Some 406,000 killed in a war to defend allies and the US alike. Almost 2500 to 3000 on D-days first few hours. And if you are even just a remedial student in Math you cannot help but notice how young most of these soldiers were.
Frankly, I think Tom Brokaw summed it up the best in the title of his documentary “The Greatest Generation”. And that generation of American is almost gone. I think that my generation deserves a huge slap on the back of our heads. Not just Americans – but our generation around the world. We are smug, spoiled, brats, that bask in the freedom and lifestyle that our grandparents fought for. I’m not so sure about the next generation either. We live in a world now where people hold their hands out and EXPECT to be given to, and a world that is critical of “go earn it yourself” thinking. We sit back and whine about the failure to “re-distribute wealth”, to “provide” national services and our unshakeable believe that prosperity and standard of living are god given rights to everyone. They are not! Those are privileges granted to those who earn it. Our grandparents were far worse off than the majority of us who sit back and complain, while getting fat watching TV and cursing “those people”. Our ability to avoid self accountability is breath taking, and our belief in what we “should have” is astounding. If you do even the slightest research on the men and women that fought in WWII you know that they did what they did because “it was just the right thing to do”…. I’m not sure we even comprehend what that means anymore. If the US government wants to Socialize something worthy – they should mandate a trip to Normandy, or Iwo Jima or Bastogne! It would generate far more long term gains than keeping the assembly lines of a business that failed 2 decades ago running in the name of “handing out more.”
But – I digress!
In the end – for a short weekend – It was a great trip and so far a really fun summer. In Aug we have a week off and are going to Spain. I hope to have more updates to provide after that!
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