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Steven Ambrose Battle of the Bulge Trip
2024 |
 The Manneken Pis This is an underwhelming statue visited by thousands annually. Why? In 1619 he was erected to celebrate the early child labor force. Kids had to work from the moment they could walk One job was to pee in the pot for the leather tanner. They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were “piss poor.” But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot; they “didn’t have a pot to piss in” & were the lowest of the low. There are many stories but Ivan our tour guide believes this on to be most credible!
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I'm thinking about parents I'm thinking about Ivan our tour guide from Naples Italy in his last year of University at Brussels. He is 23 and leads English, Italian,German , Spanish tours of Brussels between classes to support himself. He is welcome to do two tours a weekend day but today, a Tuesday, he has a chemical engineering test in the afternoon. He apologizes because he cannot linger. He speaks of his family and their encouragement to study where he will be "enriched". Where his work ethic would be tested. He misses his home and is looking forward to a 5 day holiday visit to Naples around Christmas. He is nearly fluent in English and his mistakes are charming and understandable. We are just grateful for his knowledge and his kindness. He is wide eyed with surprise when Mark knows the answers to his otherwise mysterious questions and our tour becomes a "stump" the tourist battle of wits. He is a good young man. I found myself thanking his parents for his wings. Fernanda, too, a remarkable 22 year old from Frankfurt Kentucky who is studying in Madrid but decided on her way home from holiday in Dublin that she'd stop for a day in Brussels. She is a stunning beauty but doesn't know it. She is graduating this year with a degree in IT and then it is off to Law School as she wants to be an intellectual property attorney and she sees AI as a future adversary. She told me her parents are Cuban. Her mother is an interpreter for the city of Frankfurt and her Dad is a journalist/ owner of the county Cuban newspaper. I know your wondering how I got all this information while on a walking tour of Brussels???? Fernanda is homesick. She can't wait to see her family at Christmas. She praised her parents for supporting her Semester abroad and encouraging the travel. She speaks 3 languages, which makes her a powerful traveler at a young age. She said her parents were always taking she and her brother to witness other cultures. I said I thought travel makes us better people and before I could finish the sentence she blurted "100%." So here's to the wonderful parents of these two lovely humans who made me a better person today. Btw ... I've invited Fernanda to bring her folks to our house on Cape Cod when they come to interview at LAW schools in Boston. Something tells me....she will come! Trying to puzzle together a picture of my father’s path through Europe and WWII, I start in Brussels Belgium. A little back-story to set the picture. Well into the war, after the “Bulge”, Dad’s 17th Airborne Division returned to camp at Chalons-sur-Marne in France on 11 February 1945. Then back to Belgium on 21 March 1945 to prepare for the paratroop assault across the Rhine (operation varsity). Brussels essentially marked my father’s curtain-call of the war. It’s my 2024 gateway to places where my father once journeyed. Dad was permitted a “liberty chit” for 73 hours of R & R (rest and ruckusness) effective 0900 8 April 1945. He reported to the Brussels US Leave Center at Parc du Cinquan-tenaire. From there, I believe he and other trooper buddies raced off to Paris. * I have a photo of this official document (liberty chit)! Thanks brother Mike!    When Carole and Ian visited Mindy's gallery they bought two painting which hang in their kitchen! They admired the cutting board so I picked it up and brought it along with a Mindy original Nobska Light at Christmas! I had use the big luggage to fit the board!  Wow! A beautiful green velvet clutch paying homage to our safari!  Engraved cricket wicket cuff links! Mark just loves them!  When we met 6 years ago on safari... we knew we were destined for life long friendship!
We arrived in Brussels after an eventful plane ride from London. We were several hours late and the city was already dark. Lucky for us our hotel is right at the Grand Place and we were able to catch the Christmas Market and this amazing laser show!
London "hit and run"visit!
Before traveling there is that complicated rush … a mix of excitement coupled with dread. The excitement is all about the adventure. The people you see or meet, the sights, the history….all the planning coming to fruition. The dread…did I pack enough? Where are the passports? Paper tickets or mobile? Did I get enough dog food? Oh all of the complications of travel. The animals all know it. They sniff the luggage, lay on the pile of clothes that are undecided, the cat finds a corner of the suitcase and curls warmly in as if to say…”take me with you”. Yet, they will be well cared for with an army of friends to walk them, feed, them and scratch their ears. We are all set. At some point you just give in and agree that what ever you are forgetting (besides passports) can be picked up at any shop in any country… let that angst go! Our first stop on our trip to The Battle of the Bulge tour is London. Six years ago we were traveling on safari in South Africa when we met Ian and Carole. We became fast friends and have maintained close contact from “over the pond”. They visited us on Cape Cod this past summer. They picked us up at Heathrow in the midst of an awful storm and scurried us safely to their home in Hamstead Heath. We had told them we only had 24 hours and did not need to be entertained we just wanted to visit with them. Carole cooked for days… surprising us with a lunch of broccoli and Stilton soup with olive bread toasts. The dinner… boef bourguignon with fresh veggies, mashed potatoes and shrimp and salmon starter! Delish! A rainy afternoon car ride illuminated the century old country side with villages of thatched roofs and clay or brick homes. There were Pastures of green rolling hills littered with the white backs of grazing sheep. The fields marked with hand made stonewalls from days gone by. The homes right on the road for easy access. The doors are short as if Economically planned to keep the weather out and the warmth in. Sweet unfamiliar countryside often witnessed in movies filmed in this country. It’s a fairy tale location. I expect the 7 dwarfs to walk down to the pub. Most villages have a central square with buildings surrounding a Village Green or a pond. I suspect when lit by the sun these villages are magical with stories to tell. We decide to park to go into the Greyhound Pub for a late day pint. Parking is a challenge and we skip through the puddles to get out of the rain. How wonderful to have fireplace full with warmth and welcoming. There are three dogs mingling. All enjoying a community water bowl and the warmth of the fire. They’re humans are enjoying a stout or a wine as the rain hits the windows. I am quick to visit with the dogs… because dog people understand our love language. The German shorthair is a puppy and full of nips and wants to be a lap dog but is already too big. She wears a full rain coat. She is not as easy to love up with her sausage casing. Yet the dog’s owner says it’s so hard to on and off. They’ve walked a long way for their pint. The black lab is a staple at the Greyhound. It’s easy to understand her importance at the pub as she greets the familiar locals with a full on belly wiggle and tail wag. She is beloved and knows it. She is the charming personality of this already charming pub. I venture to guess that she is all the unconditional love and free therapy some townspeople ever get. Tom is her owner. He sits at the head of a shared table with his back to the fire only moving to add wood or fill up his glass. He is, like his dog, part of the daily mix in the 16 seat 400 year old tavern. He tells about the restaurant, the courtyard seating and the rooms to let. He encourages us to “walk about the building” and take it in. Our bartendress offers up stories of the movies that were filmed here. The Avengers, the Dirty Dozen, the “Bridget” movies and several others. The facade of the Greyhound is often a backdrop professional photos. It’s a fond wedding location. We definitely had a taste of English hospitality! WE"RE NEARLY A MONTH AWAY from the 80th anniversary of the bloodiest battle for American forces on the Western Front during World War II — the BATTLE OF THE BULGE. Annie and I will be walking in the shadows of my father’s footsteps, the foxholes, the farm fields, the forests, the little hamlets and ridge lines near Bastogne Belgium. Follow as we trace the paths of so many of our young lads that bore their greatest courage into what they, those band of brothers, gifted us. Annie and I will be remembering with each reverent step… their names, their feats, their scars and sacrifice. Join us on our blogging (Annie says we’ll be doing some video with narration) as we trek into the hallowed halls of our American history. BONUS NOTE - The 17th Airborne Division, my Dad’s unit, began its journey to WWII’s western front from Camp Miles Standish, presently Myles Standish State Park in Massachusetts. |
Annie Hart CoolAnnie is a avid traveler and sometime writer, philosopher and cheerleader. 
Daniel J Hart
Donald E Cool. Age 19
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