Day 32 - 28 April 2019 Sunday - Paris

On Sunday in Paris I would normally have gone to Notre Dame and lit a candle for Flashy, but alas that option is not currently available to me.

I had a look in a real estate agent's window this morning and there goes my thoughts of retirement here.  An apartment in the area is going to cost at least 1 million Euros, so sort of double that for Aussie dollars.

Another walk around day, walked to Nappy's tomb and back.  The area around the Hotel les Invalides is under construction with the set up for the formula e grand prix.  I think that is what it is and it is obviously going to be a road circuit race, all the big car firms appear to be represented including Jaguar and BMW and will be racing electric vehicles.

Napoleon's tomb, one of a number of great corporals who attempted to conquer Europe.

On my walk I came across an imposing building set behind imposing gates and across the front of the building was a sign saying something like 'National HQ Guard de Republic', before I even thought about taking a photo I saw a very imposing gentleman in uniform carrying a large and imposing sub-machine gun appearing to take an interest in me.  Therefore discretion being the better part of valour I departed the scene.  I didn't get a photo but I bet they got one of me, which is probably now on an Interpol notice board next to the ageing photo of the guy who stole all the free chocolates in Ypres.

It was a nice day for a walk and lunch of chicken club sandwich and crepes with beer and wine on the way back to the hotel.

The Hotel de Seine is a very old and traditional 3 star Parisian hotel.  The rooms are small in the Parisian style and the elevator is tiny.  The elevator has room for one person with bags or two people without bags. Although the hotel is a little tired the rooms are very clean and comfortable and the bathrooms are reasonably modern with plenty of hot water.  Air conditioning has been installed sometime in the last 20 years.  The best thing about it is it's location, it is in the middle of the suburb of St Germaine, just off the Bvd St Germain.  It is close to restaurants and bars, close to at least two metro stations and within walking distance of many of the attractions that Paris has to offer.  The staff are also helpful and speak at least some English.

Room in Belle Epoque style

Fun Fact: Had a walk through a produce market today, very disappointed in the lack of free samples.

Market - no freebies!

Step Count: 13,302

Observation:  You see lots of people drinking but it is rare to see any drunks.

Day 31 - 27 April 2019 Saturday - Paris

These last three days in Paris are going to be a bit like R & R, I have nothing organised and nothing that I really have to do.  

Paris today has been cold and very windy, with one particularly heavy rainstorm.  Luckily I was indoors having lunch when the rain came through.

I thought that I would have a bit of a wander and possibly end up at the Musee d'Orsay.  This musee is actually an art gallery of French art from 1880 to 1914 and is located in a converted railway station.  I am not that interested in French art (from any period) but apparently the building and interior is stunning and well worth the visit.  

But first up I walked to Notre Dame cathedral, or as close as I could get to it anyway. As you could imagine the streets around it are closed off with lots of scaffolding and building material already on site.  So I took some photos and continued on my sojourn.

Now, one of my astute readers has made a comment, by SMS, that I haven't  posted any selfies.  I responded politely and advised that I don't do selfies.  Anyway as I have posted a food pic I have decided to break all the rules and descend into total anarchy and post a selfie, see below, and don't expect anymore!

A long and rambling walk, as you can see from the step count, took me from Notre Dame along the Seine to the entrance of the Louvre and then through the Jardin Tiuleres to the Place de Concorde at the bottom of the Champs Elysees.  My intention to walk along the CE was thwarted as it appeared to be closed off.  I don't know if this was done for security reasons as the 'yellow vests' were out and about again or due to something else going on.

Wouldn't be Paris without this pic

So onto plan 'C', crossed the bridge that used to have all the locks on it until it collapsed and then walked back up through St Germain stopping for a late lunch on the way.

I will tell you a little about the suburb of St Germain, which is where I am staying.  St Germain is on the left bank (of the Seine) and has traditionally been hangout of the arty and literary set, think Hemingway, Wilde and Orwell amongst others, the bistro Deux Magots was a hang out for these people and is just around the corner from me.  It is very touristy but also a residential area for local Parisians, typical of Paris the locals live in apartments over the shops.  In the area my hotel is in there are a lot of commercial art galleries selling very esoteric and expensive art, high end interior design shops and lots of speciality shops.  The Boulevard St Germain is one of Paris' great boulevards, once again lined with expensive looking shops and is always busy.  There is also one of Paris' major universities nearby so there a lots of younger folk around and lots of international students.  Nearby is Jardin du Luxembourg one of Paris' much loved public gardens where the children still hire a toy yacht to sail on one of the big fountains.  (Plus big kids sailing their remote controlled yachts and today a guy with a remote control submarine).  Because so many of the Parisians live in apartments with their children and dogs the parks are like their back yard to them.

Street scene from my bedroom window

The restaurants, bistros and cafes all have tables and chairs set up on the footpaths and it is a pleasure to sit at one of the little tables and sip a drink or two and watch the passing parade.

Field HQ 2012 B & B tour and typical bar for the area (also taken early morning)

Dinner tonight was at Chalet Gregoire that promotes itself as traditional regional French cooking.  I made the mistake of stopping to look at the menu in the window and the old guy out the front pretty much grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me inside.  For those of you who may be interested for entree I had a salmon tartare (which was interesting), main course was a lamb shank roasted in honey with little boiled potatoes and green beans which was delicious  and finished off with a chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream.  This was accompanied by a half bottle of 2015 Chateau La Tonnelle from Bordeaux.  (It is going to be difficult to come back to baked beans on toast for dinner).


Fun Fact: In France 'French onion soup' is just called 'onion soup', makes sense when you think of it.  And it is delicious.

Step count: 13,860

Observation: Although it is almost a caricature of a the French you do see them walking from the bakery in the morning with one or two fresh baguettes under their arm.  And if it is a French man he will have broken the end off the loaf and will be munching on that as he goes on his way.

Day 30 - 26 April 2019 Friday - travel from Ypres to Paris

My original intention today was to drive to CDG drop off the car and grab a cab to my hotel (the Hotel De Seine) in Paris.  However due to my change of car in Amiens I am now dropping off the car in Amiens and catching the train to Paris.  This train trip is a bit over an hour and delivers me to Gare De Nord. I will catch a cab from there to the hotel.

I am a little concerned about what the yellow shirts are up to.  Yesterday I was talking to some Australians who had been in Paris last weekend.  They said that the disruptions, particularly to the metro were fairly significant, and that the riot police were everywhere.  Anyway I will play it by ear and keep out of harms way.

The Australians also told me that the Gypsies are back in town in a big way.  I daresay they are taking advantage of the police being distracted by other matters.

I am sorry to be leaving Ypres as it is a lovely town with good restaurants and bars, delicious chocolates and beer and friendly, if reserved, folk.  It is also a town with a lot of history and a particular resonance for Australians.  I may have mentioned this before but it is the only place on the Western front where we know all 60 battalions of the AIF served during TGW.

I arrived at Gare De Nord at about 5.00pm after a pleasant train trip from Amiens chatting to an Australian couple from Kyabram in Victoria.  I thought I would be having a beer in the 2012 Battlefields and Burgundy trip field HQ by 6.00pm but the wait for a cab and the Paris peak hour traffic put paid to that.  The traffic wasn't just horrendous it was mayhem.  Added to the usual mix of cars, buses, motorbikes, motor scooters and bicycles are these new electric scooters, they are everywhere and I had a cab driver who had no idea where he was going.

Anyway I eventually checked into the Hotel De Seine and was having a beer on the Boulevard Saint Germain by 7.00pm. 

Dinner tonight was at a restaurant I attended two years ago.  Like then I also had the entrecote but having learnt my lesson I had it cooked medium which still came out rare (last time I was here I had my steak rare and it came out blue), you only catch me out once.  It was a nice piece of steak served with some salad, chips and mushroom sauce.  I thought the waiter was going to hit me when I asked for some mustard, lucky I didn't ask for tomato sauce.  Anyway all was forgiven and I received a complimentary drink at the end of my meal.

A quick wander around the local streets around my hotel before bed.  Being Friday night the place was buzzing with lots of locals and tourists out and about.

Fun fact: The Belgians love their push bikes, not lycra clad lads on racing bikes, but good solid citizens on good solid bicycles.  I have even seen some bikes here with the old dynamo providing power to the lights.

Step count: 4,294

Observation:  Sounds of Europe:  Over revving motor scooters on the Boulevard Saint Germain

Day 29 - 25 April 2019 Thursday - Ypres - Anzac Day

Up at 3.30am this morning, yes you have read right, 3.30am in the morning to attend the dawn service at Polygon Wood. These are the things that your dedicated correspondent does to get to the heart of the story for you my learned, educated and entertained reader.

Seriously though folk, this was a very emotional dawn service.  The Buttes New British Cemetery is one of the larger cemeteries in the area, there are 2,000 odd graves of which 1,700 contain a 'soldier of the Great War, known unto god'.  Of 564 Australian burials, 407 are unidentified.  This cemetery is also the site of a major New Zealand memorial and on the buttes overlooking it all is the 5th Div AIF memorial.

5th Div memorial and graves pre dawn

So you can start to imagine the atmosphere standing amongst these graves, many of them unknown, during a simple and touching service.  There was a band there from Rossmoyne High School in Australia and a choir from the NZ Maori Arts & Crafts Institute. The Ypres fire brigade buglers played the last post and rouse and two pipers played the lament, the Belgium military provided the catafalque party and the guard on the 5th Div memorial.  It is hard to estimate the number of attendees, but I would suggest that it was well attended.  Although not bitterly cold it was cold enough to say 'crikey its a bit chilly' even though well rugged up.

After the service I was going to attend the breakfast at Zonnebeke.  I changed my mind and instead I picked up the car and drove to Paschendaele where I picked up a delicious filled roll and a coffee and drove to the Canadian memorial at Crest Farm.  This overlooks the Ypres battlefield where the Australians attempted to take Paschendaele and failed at great loss to them.  The Canadians also at great loss were eventually successful hence the Canadian memorial.  Although cold and blustery it was a good spot to have some breakfast and a quiet contemplation.

From here I drove to the big cemetery at Tyne Cot.  The road to Tyne Cot follows the 10th Brigade boundary of their unsuccessful attack on Paschendaele it also goes past where Lewis McGee of the 40th Battalion stormed a German bunker, an action that resulted in him being awarded a VC.  After a quick wander through Tyne Cot I headed back into Ypres to attend the service at the Menin Gate and Belgian memorial.

I will post some photos of both of these services once I get somewhere where the Wi Fi is robust enough to let me do so.  Good wi fi in the bar so getting some photos posted.

There is the normal 8.00pm service at the Menin Gate this evening and that will about see me out for commemoration services for a little while.

Lunch today was shrimp croquettes, salad, chips and beer.

Last night's dinner was one of the best meals I have had while I have been away.  I had a pork loin with potato croquettes and and mustard sauce and little chopped up vegetables followed by icecream with cream and chocolate topping.  The Belgians love their desserts and when you are sitting there watching them scoff into big bowls of icecream it is hard to resist.

Fun Fact:  I actually got a Belgian to smile even a laugh!  Last night when I was having dinner a family entered the restaurant and the last person in didn't close the door and it was chilly enough to be noticeable.  I looked up to see who the miscreant was and I caught the eye of a Belgian gentleman (about the same age as me) who was also looking to see what was going on.  Anyway one of the party that came in came back to close the door and the Belgian chap and I sort gave a bit of a nod that everything was now OK.  Anyway, later as the Belgian was leaving he said 'goodnight and have a good journey' and I said 'thank you and make sure you shut the door', this got a laugh from him and his companions.

Step count: 8,515

Observation: The businesses here must be battling a bit after the wind down from TGW centennial events as there are a number of closed restaurants and cafes around the market square and some other businesses are trading on limited hours. 

Day 28 - 24 April 2019 Wednesday - Ypres

A bit of domestic stuff today mainly checking arrangements for the various Anzac Day services scheduled for tomorrow.

I had a phone call from the AEC at 3.00am this morning checking if I am still available to work at the election, I understand that one has been called. I didn't answer the phone at 3.00am but rang them back at a more reasonable hour, for me anyway.

The people have spoken so I will publish a pic of a shrimp croquette as long as the wi fi holds up (I have discovered how to down load photos from my phone).

Shrimp croquette

The North Sea shrimp is quite ugly, worm like in appearance and in its natural state most unappetising, how they make them into delicious croquettes has got me beat. You can see some in the pic being used as a garnish.

The dawn service tomorrow is being held at Polygon Wood at the Buttes cemetery and the 5th Div memorial.  Because parking is limited in the area I have to park at one of the car parks for the nearby amusement park and then be bussed to Polygon wood.  The shuttle bus starts running from 4.30am for a 6.00am dawn service, going to be an early morning and a long day.  I drove there today to have a look at the arrangements so that I am not trying to find my way in the dark tomorrow morning.

The car park at the amusement park is very close to where the iconic photo of the Australian soldiers at Chateau wood was taken by Frank Hurley in 1917 during the battle of Passchendaele.  (The large photo at the end of TGW section of the Shrine with the soldiers walking along the duckboards).

After the dawn service there is a breakfast at Zonnebeke, a service at Tyne Cot, two services in Ypres, one at the Menin Gate and another at the Belgium Memorial and then a service at Toronto Road cemetery at Ploegsteert Wood (Plugstreet Wood to the Aussies) near Messines and the usual 8.00pm service at the Menin Gate.  Not sure if I will get to all of them or not, but will see how it goes.

As part of a bit of a drive around I visited the big German cemetery at Langemark and then came back to Ypres and walked the ramparts walk and then rewarded myself with a large beer and some corn chips.

Langemark German cemetery

Fun Fact: Still some of the old Contiki busses around, ahhhh the memories.

Step count: 9,125 (before going out for dinner)

Observations:  There are a few Australians around but I thought that there may have been more.

Day 27 - 23 April 2019 Tuesday - Ypres

A different day today, I visited some parts of the Belgium battlefields that have little association with the AIF, although one place I visited was the scene of an action that resulted in two Australians being awarded Military Medals (MM) in somewhat unusual circumstances.

First up I drove to the small Flemish town of Diksmuide that is about 15 kilometres northish of Ypres.  This was one of the front line towns on the small part of the Western front that was held by the Belgium army.  In Diksmuide there is a stunning memorial tower to the men of Flanders that served in the Belgium army in TGW.  This is a complicated story that not only involves the defence of Belgium but the nationalistic movement by the people of Flanders and their later collaboration with the Germans in the 2nd WW.  Rather than me try to explain all this, if you are interested have a look on Wikipedia on this intynet thingy.

A tower was built on this site after TGW but that was blown up after the 2nd WW as some thought that the Flemish got a bit too chummy with the German occupiers.  Not to be outsmarted the Flemish built another larger more dominant tower on the same site.

In very simple terms Belgium is comprised of two ethnic groups the Flemish, in Flanders who speak a form of Dutch and the Walloons in the rest of Belgium who speak French.  The Flemish have always thought that they were hard done by and that the Walloons sort of run the joint.  Due to this schism Belgium has been unable to form an effective national government for years.

Anyway, I digress, the tower is a massive concrete monolith 22 stories high with a viewing platform at the top.  You go to the top by lift (thank goodness) and then come back down the stairs, however at each level on the way down is a museum floor talking mainly about TGW experience in this part of Belgium.  The lower floors look at the building of the tower and the the Flemish nationalist movement.

After visiting the tower I headed off to the Belgium seaside town of Nieuwpoort, this town is at the mouth of the Yser river.  The Yser and its surrounds were flooded by the clever Belgiums hence stopping the German advance in 1914.  The British/Belgium lines occupied the western bank of the river and the German lines were some 100 metres to the west.  The lines remained relatively static for the balance of the war.

Now I can hear you all saying 'Graeme, what has this to do with the Australians in TGW?'  Well gentle reader read on and learn.  About 50 Australians from the 2nd Aust Tunnelling Company were based here digging a tunnel under the German lines.  On 10 July 1917 the Germans launched a surprise attack and along with 2 battalions of British soldiers they captured most of the Australians.  Four Australians escaped and one of the Australians swam across the Yser with a rope which allowed about 80 British soldiers to escape.  Sappers Burke and Coade were awarded the Military Medal for their role in this withdrawal.  Another Australian Sapper O'Connell was awarded the DSM for his role in rescuing a drowning British soldier.  

After a long walk I reached the end of the pier at the mouth of the Yser.  Whilst here I realised that I was also at the northern end of the Western Front.  The Western Front running from the French/Swiss border to this very point on the North Sea in Belgium.  I hadn't done this deliberately but I was pretty chuffed all the same.

Dinner tonight was a well deserved shrimp croquet and plaice.

To the guys and gals at the Shrine good luck for Anzac Day, I know that it is a long day for a lot of you but it is a very rewarding day as well.  I will ensure that I raise a glass (or two) of Passchendaele beer in respectful commemoration, Cheers!

Still experiencing dodgy Wi FI and causing problems downloading pics, will try and load some photos at another time.

Fun Fact: I still can't get a Belgium to smile (some readers of my earlier trip blogs will recall my daily efforts to get a Belgium to smile; it doesn't count if they are taking money off you).

Step Count: 11,886 (seems like heaps more)

Observation: EU subsidies must be up this year, it seems like every Belgium farmer is driving a very big new tractor and remember they have very very small farms.  No wonder the Poms want out.

Day 26 - 22 April 2019 Monday - Drive from Amiens to Ypres via Etaples 

I used to come to Belgium to visit the battlefields now I come here for the prawn croquettes and beer.

Anyway before I get to the croquettes and beer I have to get to Belgium, Ypres in particular.

I have decided to drive to Ypres via the French town of Etaples.  Etaples is a town on the English Channel and was the site of probably the major support, supply and medical facility for the British army in France during TGW.  At any one time there would have been 10 of thousands of British (including Australian) troops in the area including up to 20 military hospitals.  Etaples was also the site for the infamous 'Bull Ring'.  When the British soldiers were returning to the the front from hospitals or long leaves in England they had to pass through one of the 'toughening up' camps in Etaples.  One of these camps was known as the 'Bull Ring' and was well known for its iron discipline and onerous physical activities.  The closest that the British military came to a mutiny occurred at Etaples due to the harsh treatment of the troops there by the staff of the Bull Ring.

As with many of these sites the only thing remaining from TGW is the Etaples military cemetery.  Given the area was the location for a number of military hospitals the cemetery here is massive, over 11,000 graves including soldiers and support people from all over Britain, the Dominions, India and even one lonely grave of a Chinese labourer and a number of German graves.  Surprisingly there are only 450 Australians buried here, given the numbers I would have thought there would have been more.  I thought that there was an Australian hospital in Etaples so I wonder where the  deceased from this hospital are buried.  A little research project for later on.

There are also a small number of graves from the 2nd WW including a RAAF crew member who died in this area in 1943.

After a little time here, back in the Peugot 2008 for an easy 150km drive to Ypres.  I arrived at about 1.45pm and my room at the Novotel wasn't ready, so park the car and zoooooooom around the corner to the market square and by 2.00 I was ordering a Passchendaele beer and shrimp croquettes for lunch.  Delicious!

After lunch I visited the tourist information centre and picked up some info for my proposed foray to the northern battlefields tomorrow.

Ypres is a lovely little city and it is impossible to believe that what you see is almost entirely rebuilt after TGW.

Fun Fact: After TGW Winston Churchill wanted to leave Ypres in ruins as a memorial to the TGW (another of Winnie's better ideas?), anyway the locals thought differently and returned to their town and started to rebuild.

Step count: 7,895

Observation:  If Trumpy wants to find out how to build a fence he should send someone to Calais.  During my drive I bypassed Calais but you should see the fences around the railway lines, trucking depots etc.

Day 25 - 21 April 2019 Sunday - Amiens

A bit of battlefield stuff today but first a visit to Heilly Station military cemetery.  Some of you may recall that this is the cemetery where 27 young men of the 40th battalion AIF are buried, all of whom died on 28 March 1918.  The 40th Btn was the wholly Tasmanian battalion (the only one in the AIF) that my grandfather, private Alan Sutton, was a member of.  These men died on the same day that my grandfather was wounded.

This is an interesting cemetery, there are a lot of graves with two bodies and quite a few with three bodies.  Given this cemetery was next to a casualty clearing station there are very few unknown internments.  To my surprise I came across a grave for Brigadier General Duncan Glasford, commander of the 12th Brigade AIF.  My trusty Anzacs on the Western Front tells me that Glasford was the most senior Australian officer to die in France.  Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Howell-Price of the 3rd battalion is also buried here, he was one of three officer brothers to die on the western front.

Heilly Station Cemetery

Most senior AIF officer to die on western front

After spending a little time at Heilly I drove to the 3rd Division memorial located on the ridge line between the Ancre river and the Somme. 

I then wanted to have a look at a bit of the Battle of Amiens, the battle that took place on the 8th of August 1918, and declared 'the black day of the German Army' by the German military supremo, General Ludendorf.  This battle guaranteed the safety of the allied transport hub at Amiens and kicked off the 'hundred days' that led to the end of the war.  The Australians and Canadians played a major part in these battles with all five Australian divisions fighting as the Australian Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Sir John Monash. 

The start line for some of the Australians on 8th August was where the Australian Corps memorial is now located.  This position was a German strong point that was taken by the Australians on 4th July 1918 and the remains of the trenches used by both sides are still visible. 

Aust Corps Memorial and remains of trenches

Monash overcame a number of obstacles to achieve command at this level, firstly his parents came to Australia from Prussia (Germany), Monash was Jewish (a bit of anti semitism around in those days), he was a part time soldier (engineer by trade) and possible worst of all he was a colonial.  Rupert Murdoch's father, Keith Murdoch, who was very influential at the time actively opposed Monash's appointment and tried to use all of his influence to prevent it.  The official AIF historian, Charles Bean, also opposed Monash's appointment, but despite their best efforts Monash got the job and showed them that he was the best man for the job.  Bean later apologised to Monash, Murdoch never did.

Dinner tonight was rotisserie chicken with a butter sauce at a restaurant on the bank of the Somme with a pitcher (smallish) of Bordeaux and finishing with some delicious ice cream.  Warmish evening and lots of people around. 

Fun Fact: 50cl of Stella E5.90 ($9.30 approx AUD)

Step Count: 8,385

Observation:  ADF Federation Guard are still in town.

Day 24 - 20 April 2019 Saturday - Amiens

A day out in the field today, beautiful weather again, clear blue skies and about 22 degrees C.  What more could you want.

In order of attendance I visited the following;

Lochnagar Crater - large crater left by the explosion of an underground mine under the German front lines on the first day of the battle of the Somme.

Pozieres - the Windmill - One of the objectives of the Australians during their involvement in the battle of the Somme

Pozieres - 1st Division Memorial - traditional obelisk memorial to the 1st Division AIF near the site of the remains of a German blockhouse known to the British as Gibraltar.

Pozieres - site where great uncle Horrie (26th Btn, Gallipoli veteran) was shot and wounded.

Thiepval - museum - Newish museum at the Thiepval memorial visitor centre featuring a magnificent 60 metre long mural of the 1st day of the battle of the Somme, sort of like a modern Bayeux tapestry.

Thiepval - memorial & cemetery - The British now have young uni students doing a sort of internship here taking tours and helping visitors (a bit like volunteers at the Shrine, but not quite as knowledgeable or good looking), similar to what the Canadians have been doing at Beaumont Hamel and Vimy for years.  This is the major British memorial on the Somme and has the names of some 70,000 British and South African dead soldiers who have no known grave enscribed on its walls.

Thiepval - Leipzig redoubt - One of the German strong points that cost the British dearly on the 1st day of the battle of the Somme.  

Dinner was in an Italian restaurant across the road from my hotel.  I had a delicious tagliatelle carbonara that comes served with a raw egg on top.  The idea is that you mix the raw egg into the dish and when you mix it up the heat of the meal cooks the egg.  I also had a delicious tiramasu all accompanied by the appropriate drinks.

Fun Fact:  They are still revolting in Paris!

Step Count: 11,099

Observation: Still only two kisses.

Day 23 - 19 April 2019 Friday (Good Friday) Amiens

Amiens is a delightful small French city and I always enjoy coming back here, being a university town it has a good bar and restaurent scene, and on a nice spring day it is a pleasant town to walk around.  It has a large cathedral also known as Notre Dame.  (Don't worry Flashy I lit a candle here for you given the usual place I light a candle for you has burnt down).  The Somme river flows through the town and there is a restaurant precinct on the banks of the river.  The French here are a bit more down to earth than Paris, but the amount of English spoken is significantly less.

Bit of a sleep in this morning but out of the hotel by 10.00, with a new museum, a cave  and a chateau to visit.

In order of appearance I visited the museum at Vignacourt, the caves and museum ant Naours and the chateau at Bertangles.

Just briefly and with no pics due to dodgy wi-fi the museum at Vignacourt is based around the 4,000 glass plate photos recently discovered and recovered from an attic in a building in the town.  During TGW Vignacourt was a distance behind the front lines and was a rest and support area for initially French troops and then a rest area for massive numbers of British troops, including Australians.  Louis and Antoinette Thuiller had a camera and for 2 francs they would take a photo (usually in their studio) and provide a print to the soldier or soldiers photographed.  These plates remained undiscovered for a 100 years after the war and were discovered by Australian channel 7 in 2010 and the whole lot purchased by Kerry Stokes and donated to the AWM.  They are marvelous photos and are the subject of two books, The Lost Diggers of Vignacourt and The Lost Tommies of Vignacourt.

Managed to download a couple of pics

The little museum is located in the barn where most of the photos were taken and is only tiny and very well done, a young local girl took me around the museum and explained the story of Thuillers.  A number of the photos of the Australian soldiers also included local children or animals, possibly indicating how much the Australians missed the everyday life at home.  Well worth a visit.

After the Vignacourt museum I drove to the town of Naours.  Naours is an ancient town and over the centuries the local dug out caves in the chalk under the town.  When then town was attacked the villagers would pack up their valuables and retreat into the caves, wait until the attackers moved on and then come out of the caves and get on with their lives.  Well, during TGW these caves became a bit of a tourist attraction for the troops, including the Australians, encamped around the town.  Not only did the Australians visit the caves they left their mark in the form of graffiti written on the chalk walls.  Most of them wrote their name, unit details and where they came from in Australia, amazing a 100 years later to read these inscriptions on the walls and to reflect on who of these men survived and who didn't.

And last but not least, the chateau at Bertangles.  This chateau was Sir John Monash's headquarters when he was planning the battle of Le Hamel and the big battle of Amiens.  This is also the scene of his investiture of his knighthood by King George V, the last battlefield knighthood by a reigning British monarch.

At dinner tonight I was sitting in a restaurant on the banks of the Somme and then all of a sudden there was a group of about 15 young Australians sitting down, ordering beers etc and I wondered, what Kon Tiki tour are these people from.  It is funny how the Australian accent sounds broader when you are abroad.  Anyway, they sorted themselves out and arranged seats and sat down.  I noticed then that they all had short haircuts, although a couple had beards, there were slightly more men than women and a couple of people who appeared to be in charge.  Eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I asked one of them what group they belonged to, turns out they are members of Australia's ADF Federation Guard and they are in Amiens in preparation for the Anzac Day Dawn Service.  (The Federation Guard is Australia's ceremonial military group and comprises member from the three services, hence the guy with a beard, he was from the navy). So not yobbos on a Kon Tiki tour.

Fun Fact: Jules Verne lived a lot of his life in Amiens and wrote most of his books here.

Step Count: 7,159

Observation: Good Friday in France, a strongly Catholic country is not a public holiday.

Day 22 - 18 April 2019 Thursday -Amiens

Early part of the day is taken up with a visit to the Hertz depot in the industrial backblocks of Amiens to arrange for the transfer to a new vehicle.  Again not much English spoken and after some discussion and phone calls to Hertz HQ somewhere I am on my way in a little Peugeot 2008, a far more practical vehicle around these parts.

A nice warm spring day and I am off to the new Sir John Monash Centre (SJMC) at the Australian National Memorial (ANM) at Villers Bretonneux (VB).  

I arrived at the ANM at VB and it was a hive of activity, they were making preparations for the Anzac Day dawn service next week.  There were people setting up chairs, by the 100, putting in wiring for sound systems and lighting, putting up tents and gazebos, signs telling you where to go if you were a VIP and so on. I wonder how many DVA, ADF and DFAT people are going to get a nice little junket out of this, not to mention the politicians.

Anyway the SJMC is located behind the ANM and below ground level so it doesn't intrude on the ANM aspect or vista.  The first thing to remember is that the SJMC is not a museum, it is, in the current vernacular, an interpretive centre.  It is designed so that if you walk in the front door knowing nothing or little about Australia's involvement on the Western front in TGW you walk out the other end knowing and understanding a lot more, and to this end I think that it works.  There are very few cases with items on display and of the ones that are there they contain relics that were dug up during the building of the centre.

Entrance to SJMC

Most of the information is presented in large scale audio visual presentations that are driven by the viewer, how this would work if the place was busy I don't know, but when I was there it was very quiet.  The actual exhibition space is quite small, however by using the A/V system the amount of information that can be presented is immense but it is in logical sequence and easy to use and follow.  (For those of you who don't know, the audio aspects are presented to the listener via a mobile phone app that worked without a hitch for me, although I understand that others have experienced difficulties with this.

Interior SJMC

I saw the tapestry that had been hanging at the Shrine for a while.  It is hanging over the main entrance however is not very conspicuous and easily missed which is a pity given it is a fine piece of work.

The big question is 'is it worth $100 million or could that money have been better spent.  I will leave that with you gentle reader to make up your own mind.

Despite all the work going on I decided to have a look around the ANM, and started by climbing the tower.  The ANM is the AIF's (Australian Imperial Force) principal memorial site on the Western front.  It is located near VB as many of the battles involving the AIF occurred in this area, and it is located near the Somme battlefields as well.  The Ancre battlefield where my grandfather was wounded in March 1918 is also nearby.

View from the tower inc Anzac Day preparations

The memorial is comprised of a central tower with an arm on either side and the names of thousands of Australian soldiers who died on the battlefields who have no known grave are inscribed on these walls.  The whole memorial is at the back of a British cemetery containing many Australian graves.

Anyway, back to climbing the tower, I reckon every time I come back here they have added a few more steps to the climb.  The views from the top of the tower are magnificent and you can see why the hill that it is built on was the scene of much fighting (he who held the high ground held the advantage).  For those of you reading your histories it was referred to as hill 104.

After spending a little time here and taking the obligatory photos I descended and paid my respects to the men of the 40th Battalion (my Grandfather's battalion and the only battalion in the AIF comprised entirely of Tasmanians) whose names appear on the wall.  I walked back through the cemetery to my car stopping along the way to pay my respects in the cemetery visitor's book and drove back to Amiens.

For those of you who may be interested I had a traditional French dinner, started with some stuffed olives a small amuse bouche (don't know how to spell it and don't care), duck pate wrapped in pastry with a small salad that include little pickled onions, main course was an entrecote (steak) that was requested cooked medium but would have been rare anywhere else in the world with frites and salad.  For drinks I had a G & T for starters, a small bottle of 2015 Chapelle De Brivazac Bordeaux and finished with an Irish coffee and a quick stagger back to my hotel.

The wi fi here is crap and makes downloading pics here problematic, will download some pics when able.

Fun Fact: Fashion here seems to be tight blue jeans, a bit short and white runners, any brand, and that is only the blokes.

Step Count: 9,037

Observation: All French wines still have corks, no screw caps here.

Day 21 - 17 April 2019 Wednesday - Krakow to Amiens (France)

With some regret I said bye bye to Krakow, (don't know how to say goodbye in Polish) and headed to more familiar territory, Amiens in France and the Western Front.

Today's travels involved a flight from Krakow to Amsterdam with KLM and a transfer there to a flight from Amsterdam to CDG, Paris France.  In CDG the plan was that I pick up a car and drive to Amiens where I had reservations at the Mercure with views of the cathedral (another Notre Dame by the way, and bigger than the one in Paris, even before the fire).  Except my room has views of the lane way, anyway I digress.

Flights went well, transfer went well, which was a relief given my experience with my transfer in Vienna a while ago (the send 'lawyers guns and money' transfer).

But when I went to pick up my car they had given me a Renault van thing that looked like it would be used by people smugglers (I had asked for a small car).  Anyway by that stage I just wanted out of there so I jumped in an and navigated my way out of CDG and found the route north.  Anyway as I was driving into Amiens, BANG, there goes a rear tyre.

To cut a long story short there was a number of phone calls to the Hertz people a bit of a wait for their road assistance people, a lovely young girl driving a flat tray tow truck, who didn't speak any English and the space saver tyre is on the car and I am on my way again.

Now Flashy will remember the access to the car park in Amiens and here am I negotiating my way in in the people smuggler van, it is tight to say the least. Completed successfully I must say, and having a beer at the Mercure Amiens by about 8.30.

No photos today, although I could put in a stock photo of a cat playing the piano if you like.

Fun fact; I am typing this at 7.00pm in the bar at the Mercure Amiens and I outnumber the patrons and the staff.

Step Count: 5,225

Observation: Once you move out of Paris less and less people speak English

Day 20 - 16 April 2019 Tuesday - Krakow

Last day in Krakow, so went exploring, back streets, lanes and interesting looking nooks and crannies and local markets.  Also visited the last remaining part of the city walls, including the barbican.  At some stage the King or whoever was in charge at that time decided that as they hadn't been invaded, pillaged, looted etc by the Goths, Huns, Mongols, Tartares, Swedes, Prussians, Russians amongst others for at least five years, that the city walls were no longer necessary so he had them knocked down, and then they were promptly invaded with all the associated pillaging & looting.

Taken in a church, I like the skull and crossbones

A barbican

Artistic shot from the ramparts

Being a beautiful day, and not having any serious touristing to do I settled in for lunch and a few beers on the market square.  The sun was out and it nearly had some warmth in it.  I also had to check on flights for tomorrow and make sure that I had enough time for the transfer at Schipol (Amsterdam), wouldn't want to get lost would we.

I really did like Krakow, it is an attractive city, with good restaurants, bars and lots and lots of history.  It helps that the hotel I was staying in was comfortable and clean and incredibly well located on the market square.  The people are friendly and helpful even if on occasions there isn't a lot of English spoken.  Places with markets are interesting and fun to wander around.  And of course the visit to Auschwitz - Birkenau is one of those things that stick with you for a long time.

Do you tie your horse up to this?

Memorial to Tadeeusz Kosciuszko, Polish patriot, prominent figure in American war of independence and person our highest mountain is named after.

Wi fi at Mercure Amiens is giving me the abolsute whatsits!

Fun Fact: Dinner tonight was a cone of french fries from a market stall and 3 gin and tonics from the bar across the road from my hotel.  Anybody want a picture of that?!

Step Count: 10,199

Observation: I had an observation here and then the wi-fi collapsed and I can't remeber what it was. 

Day 19 - 15 April 2019 Monday - Krakow

My word these days are wizzing past.

Weather is beautifully sunny but still cold, 7c at 9.00am.  Still need to be rugged up.

A few years ago the Krakow city fathers & mothers decided that they would excavate and resurface the market (Rynek) square.  When they started to dig they discovered that the remnants of the medieval city still existed below the current street level.  So they said, 'hey we can make money out of this', sorry, what they actually said was 'this should be preserved for future generations and it will become a world famous archaeological site'.  So they have turned it into a museum called Rynek Underground and it has been very well done.  The whole museum is below the market square and it has all the remains of the medieval city, including cobblestone streets, water and drainage systems and lots of artifacts.  It all sounds a bit 'dry' but I assure that it isn't, there are also lots of modern AV presentations and lots of information about life in the city during the period.  It talked quite a bit about the place of the guilds, including blacksmiths, silver and goldsmiths and tailors etc in city and in particular how each guild had a place to defend in the case of attack.  I spent a good 2 hours in there and it was well worth it.

Kid in a sculpture

Food photo for Andrew

Still a beautiful day when I emerged from the depths of the Rynek Museum, so the Wawel Hill castle complex was next on the list.  This is south of the old city and is a complex of castles, palaces, cathedrals etc on a hill overlooking the Vistula river and is magnificent on a day like today.  I am not up to speed with my history of the Polish royal family but I think at some stage they lived in a castle on this hill but not in the buildings that are currently there.  Although, a number of Polish kings and/or queens have been coronated, married or had funeral's held in the cathedral there.

The views of the vista of the Vistua river were magnificent and there was nice cafe for beer and cake for afternoon tea, and a quite sit in the nearly warm afternoon sun.

On my walk back from the castle I walked past a little restaurant down a side street near my hotel and they were advertising themselves as traditional Polish and on the menu posted outside they had 'Pork Knuckle'.  I have been looking for a good pork knuckle since I arrive in Europe.  

This was a funny sort of a restaurant approached off a lane way off a side street and then down two flights of stairs to a basement with a number of rooms with arched brick ceilings.  I sat down and asked the waiter to bring me pork knuckle and beer.  The pork knuckle arrived in its own roasting dish with a rich gravy, the by now obligatory pile of roast potatoes and mountain of sauerkraut, with little pots of mustard and horseradish.  It was delicious!  And then t0 finish things off I received a complimentary glass of peach schnapps.  

I slept well tonight.

Fun Fact:  Peach schnapps helps you sleep.

Step Count:  10,584

Observation:  As I was about to go out to dinner CNN started to report on Notre Dame burning down.

Day 18 - 14 April 2019 Sunday - Krakow

Ok, hands up all those who knew that today is Palm Sunday????

I didn't but I do now.  I was having a slightly aimless wander around the market and the market square when I noticed a lot of people wearing Polish national dress and I twigged that there must be something going on here today.

At little later there was a procession around the market square of various groups from what appeared to be different diocese or towns dressed in variations of national dress and accompanied by small bands or men playing piano accordions.  Some were carrying palm leaves and that is when I made the connection with Palm Sunday, (doesn't take long for me to catch on).  They call Adelaide the city of churches, I tell you now Krakow leaves Adelaide for dead in the number of churches stakes.  There are cathedrals, churches, monasteries, convents, abbeys and any other religious building you can think of everywhere.  Of course Poland is strongly Roman Catholic and I think Krakow would be at the top of the list of the devout.  Obviously the Reformation didn't make it this far north.

And now for the parable of Jesus and the Australian with a cold.  A little later I came across a stage set up in the market square and each village group got to do a little musical number which appeared to be being judged by Jesus.  A sort of heavenly X Factor.  Anyway as this finished Jesus was coming down off the stage and I went up to him and said 'I have a bit of cold do you think you could do something to help cure it',  anyway he looked at me and said something in Polish that sounded a bit like 'Fuck Off' or he could have been giving me a blessing.  Anyway, as I still have the cold I don't think that he was giving me a blessing.  (Photo of Jesus follows, although his donkey looks a little stuffed)

After my religious experience I decided it was time for a beer and then headed 

off on the walk to the Oskar Schindler Museum.  On the way I bought a bread bagel/pretzel from a street vendor for my lunch.  I'm becoming almost European.

It was about a 3k walk but very pleasant in the almost warm sunshine.  After negotiating the usual bun fight at the entrance.  (Now this was supposed to be a ticketed admission by time, and I went to some trouble to get the appropriate ticket for the appropriate time, I am not sure why I bothered, I could have got in with a jam jar label). Anyway the museum is the building where Oskar Schindler had his factory and sheltered his Jewish workers during the German occupation of Krakow in WW2.  It was very well done and told the story of Krakow from the beginning of the occupation in 1939 until the German defeat in 1945 and the subsequent occupation by the Soviets.  The poor old Poles had a tough trot off it for a while there. 

After the visit to the museum I got a cab back to my hotel, it was getting late and eating into my pre dinner drinky time.

Dinner was a nice veal dish with potato pancakes and a mushroom sauce accompanied by a dark beer (porter) at 9.5% and a glass of local red wine.  (Although I did give them a bit of a rev as I was leaving for ignoring the single diner sitting in the corner, me, and told them that they would be getting a bad review on trip adviser, that put the wind up em).

Fun Fact: Pedestrian crossings are advisory, not obligatory.

Step Count: 7,475

Observation: The sounds of Europe - The clickety clack of trolley suitcases being dragged across cobblestones.

Day 17 - 13 April 2019 Saturday - Krakow - Day trip to Auschwitz and Salt Mine

Cold today and I have a cold, but I am soldiering on like the good little trooper that I am.

Today is a full day out, getting picked up by the bus at the hotel at 8.20am and then returning at about 8.00pm.  However after today I have three days in Krakow with nothing much organised apart from visiting the obligatory, castles, cathedrals and museums including the museum located at Oskar Schindler's factory of Schindler's List fame (or of the book Schindler's Ark written by the Australian author Thomas Kenneally that the movie was based on).

At 8.20am, as arranged I am picked up at the hotel by a mini bus for the journey to Auschwitz-Birkenau with 8 tourists already on board.  There are 2 youngish English couples and one couple's daughter, Millie or Minnie, I was never quite sure which, and an Australian couple, Brian and Rae, about my age, from Rye. 

Auschwitz-Birkenau is the complex of concentration camps created by the Germans in WW2 and is about 70 kilometres out of Krakow.  The camp is comprised of 2 separate facilities, the first being an old Polish army barracks that the Germans used as the basis for the Auschwitz concentration camp and the second was the Birkenau camp that was built from scratch.  The images that you maybe familiar with; the trains arriving at the camp, the selection process etc actually took place at Birkenau.  Birkenau also had the largest gas chambers and crematorium, although Auschwitz also had a smaller gas chamber.  Between them the two camps were responsible for the deaths of between 1.1 and 1.5 million people, the majority of them Jewish.

Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Birkenau

Birkenau

Salt Carving in the Salt Mine

Chapel in the salt mine with salt chandeliers

As you could imagine a visit to these two camps was a very sobering experience.  The atmosphere was also heightened by it being very cold, grey and bleak.  The Birkenau camp is also on a flat open plain and the cold was bone chilling.  Although the tours of both facilities were well organised, due to the volumes of people going through they were a little rushed particularly at Auschwitz and we didn't really get any time for quiet contemplation or to try and absorb the magnitude of what we were experiencing.

After leaving Auschwitz-Birkenau we drove back towards Krakow and after a late lunch (miner's plate for me, two sausages, a heap of potatoes and a mountain of sauerkraut served in a sizzling fry pan), we visited the salt mine at a place whose name I cant remember.  Anyway this is a proper underground salt mine that has been in operation since 1500 something.  I was a little disappointed as I expected a salt mine to be all white shiny reflective crystals, but no, underground salt is a dirty grey and almost rock like.  Anyway it was quite interesting and warmer than above ground level.

Back at the hotel by about 7.00 after a big day and a day with a significant emotional impact.

Fun Facts:  On the way back from a concentration camp nobody wants to have a sing song on the bus.

Step count: 9,351

Observation: I have fallen behind with the blog but will catch up over the next couple of days.

Day 16 - 12 April 2019 Friday - Train from Przemysl to Krakow

This broadcast is coming to you from somewhere in Europe.  That is how Chester Wilmot (I think), the famous 2nd WW war correspondent used to start his broadcasts as he wasn't allowed to say where he was for security reasons.  I am saying it because I am on the train to Krakow and I am not sure where I am apart from in Poland.

The train journey is three and half hours and there is no buffet car, so I bought some iron rations with me, a bottle of water and a block of chocolate. Half an hour into the journey and I have drunk most of the water and eaten most of the chocolate, could be a long trip.

 The weather forecast for Krakow is max 4 degrees and min 2 with rain and possible snow, with a similar forecast for tomorrow.  Tomorrow I am doing a bus trip to the concentration camp at Auschwitz.

Quite a bit of snow on the ground and buildings on the way to Krakow, very hard to get a picture of snow from a moving train.

I arrived in Krakow early afternoon and checked back into the Imperial Hotel.  I went for a walk and decided I needed a coffee, all the market square cafes were closed due to the weather, but lo and behold before me was a McCafe, should I? would I?  I should, I would and I did and I had a surprisingly good coffee and a pastry.

Fun Fact:  The Poles in my train compartment weren't as amused by the sight of snow as I was.

Step count: 6,940

Observation:  McCafe makes good coffee!