Wow! A year has gone by?

Hey Everyone,

WOW! I cant believe that it has been a year since I last posted here! Nothing too much has been happening, I lead a pretty dull life these days. My computer has been broken for the past 6 months so I havent even been tagging and playing in paint shop pro.

My dad did come to Europe on a whirlwind trip and I did get to see him which would have to be the highlight of the past year :) I hadnt seen him in nearly 8 years! And now I miss him so much since he is gone again.

I also celebrated my 40th birthday and I think I may have some photos on my fotki site. I didnt do a real lot for it. We just took 20 or so close friends and family out to dinner and it was really special being surrounded by those I love most :) Otherwise, I didnt mark the ocassion with too much hoopla. But I did have several friends come to visit and stay the weekend, some also from England, and it was soooooo good to spend this time with them :)

Diet and weight wise? I put on about 5kg since my birthday but otherwise, I have managed to keep off most of what I had lost. But I havent lost anymore yet. I got pretty lazy on the exercise again, especially through the cold winter. And I am not quite as good as I was with eating. For example, I havent been living on rice cakes and soup like I used to. I am hoping I can get back into the swing of things and pride myself on not putting all that lost weight back on again. Wish me luck!!!!!!

I will finish here and must make a mental note to pop in a bit more often and not leave it a year again.....lol. Have fun!!!!!

2006 (A quick summary)

Well, this is my last catch up post on my adventures here in Belgium. And then I will start posting on what is happening now, my hobbies and interests, and my weight loss progress. But for the life of me, I am having trouble remembering what we did the past year. There weren't any international visitors and I guess we were a bit boring this year. But I will fill you in on a few things.

New Years Eve 2005 was the first time we stayed home in Belgium, we normally drive to Holland to watch and photograph the amazing fireworks. We didnt think that people let them off in the streets here and discovered at midnight that we were wrong. They were going off all over the neighbourhood. We shouldnt have been suprised, Belgium sells even stronger fireworks than Holland. When it is getting close to the end of the year, the police are sitting at the borders waiting to catch Dutch coming back home with their stash of Belgian fireworks. This year I think they caught someone with a couple of ton of fireworks trying to go back over the border. This year Hans was working the night shift on New Years Eve so it was just me. So outside I went at midnight to watch the fireworks :) However, they still do scare me a bit, being so close. And this year was no exception, especially when the next door neighbours started letting them off in front of the house when I wasnt looking.....lol.

As I mentioned, he winter was cold at the beginning of the year. And one day in February we had really good rijp (a type of frost). So we grabbed our cameras and headed off to the forest. We were not disappointed and I also enjoyed watching people ice skating on the lake there :)

Probably the most notable event this year was Hans' 25th anniversary at the factory. For this, he received several gifts and bonuses. Among these was a HUGE pay bonus in August which was the month that marked his 25 years working at the company. He was also given the actual day off work and then we had the dinner at the end of the year. Every year, just before xmas (this year it was 22 December), the company holds a special dinner for all those celebrating their 10th, 25th, and 40th anniversaries with the company, and also for those that retired that year. It is just for those people, their partners, the General Manager, and the other Department Managers and heads. It is actually a lunch, not dinner. A taxi was sent to pick us up and take us to the lunch which was a fabulous hot and cold buffet. We were greeted at the door with a glass of champagne and after a few drinks, we went to our tables. During the speeches, those who retired during the year received a special gift and those celebrating their anniversaries, received a commemorative pin. Later in the afternoon, the taxis arrived to take us all home again. It was really nice and we had a fabulous time :)

Another major event was the friendly soccor game between Holland and Australia in Rotterdam. Held just before the World Cup. As the factory that Hans works for is owned by an Australian company, Zinifex, they managed to get enough tickets for a couple of busloads to go to the game from the factory. And Hans managed to secure 2 seats for us :) It certainly was an experience and one that I thoroughly enjoyed!!!! I didnt know much about soccor beforehand and didnt have too big a interest but I had to go and support the aussies. And I have to say that since that experience and the following World Cup, my interest has definitely grown :) Here are a few photos and take note of Hans in his aussie outfit...lol. Of course there was Carnival again early in the year and this year we decided to check out the parade in Valkenswaard. Here are a few photos from the 2006 Carnival..... In October, there was an Australian Fair held in Utrecht at the Aboriginal Art Museum there. So Hans and I decided to go and check it out. It was fun and interesting to see, but not much there for us. It was all little stalls about immigration or travel to Australia, a stall about Australian Rules Football, a few aussie product stalls, one about the Flying Doctors, etc. They also had Didgeridoo playing and Boomerang throwing instruction :) I managed to get myself a little souvenir and an aussie cap and we came home with the biggest stack of brochures :) But we didnt take any photos.

Tera and I did make our annual pilgrimage to Valkenburg for the xmas markets in the caves but ended up not getting there. We went on a Saturday which also happened to be the second last day of the markets and when we got there, the cues were a mile long. It may have taken us hours to get our tickets. So we kept driving to Aachen over the border. When we got to Aachen, we had the traffic from a soccor match and then all the car parks were full in the centre. We finally did find a parking garage with a spaces left and headed off to the centre to find somewhere for lunch and the xmas markets. This was easier said than done as all the cafes were completely full and overcrowded, even McDonalds. We finally found a cafe with a couple of spare tables and had a really lovely lunch. Then we headed off in search of the xmas markets. The markets were as wonderful as ever! And we had a great time even though it was a real fight to get through the crowds and we were soaking wet from the non stop rain. But I really enjoyed the markets and the atmosphere and managed to pick up some great goodies :) However, I dont think I will tackle the xmas markets on a weekend again......lol.

Our Christmas was quiet but really lovely. First we headed off to mass at the local church. Hans was playing a few songs on his saxophone with the local band at mass. It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas morning. When we got home, we unwrapped our pressies, talked to mum on the phone again, had a simple lunch and then a lazy afternoon. Our Christmas dinner in the evening was a little different to usual. This year we had Swiss cheese fondue and gourmet. Gourmet is very popular here on special occasions. It is tiny bits of different kinds of meats, and you cook your own pieces yourself on the table. It comes with all these tiny frypans and all the guests cook their own meat in their own little frypan right there on the table. Our gourmet set is not the best so I cooked up different bits of meat on the stove and put it on a plate on the table with the salads and veges etc. But we did our own fondue right there on the table. Second Christmas Day, Hans had to work the morning shift and then we went to visit the family in the evening. So it turned out to be a really wonderful Christmas :)

Another new thing I did this Christmas, was to make all my gifts for family and friends and receive home made gifts from my friends. It was LOADS of fun and I really enjoyed doing it and I think I may do it more often. I think home made gifts mean a lot more also, as they are truly from the heart and you know the person put a lot of thought into it. I think they are more precious than any store bought gift. And I enjoyed it so much!

That is mostly all of note for this year. I did have a wonderful dinner with friends for my birthday and a few other outings but no major sightseeing trips. Progress on the house has been at a bit of a standstill and I am dying to get back into working on it. I am getting extremely sick of my yucky bare concrete kitchen floor, etc. So fingers crossed that we manage to get some things done this year :) Well there is not much else I can think of to write. We are both well and doing great, as are all the pets :) So I guess I will keep this post pretty short and get on to some more current things :) I hope you have enjoyed the journey so far!!!

Trip to Flanders Fields and Normandy

We headed off early on the morning of April 25, ANZAC Day! And our first stop was the ANZAC day ceremonies in Ieper. It was good to see so many other Australians and New Zealanders also at the ceremonies. And I have to say that the ceremonies were conducted with great respect. The ceremonies are held beneath the Menin Gate. Menin Gate is a memorial to those fallen in the war and every evening of the year, the last post will be played at the gate. We naturally went back to see this done in the evening. Inscribed around the memorial is the names of 54,900 missing sodiers from around Ieper during the First World War.

Ieper is surrounded by so much war history. Every place you look or turn there is a monument, memorial, war cemetery, museum, or even a stark reminder of what happened there. Such as these hospital bunkers set into the hill just around the corner from the house we stayed in. Or these other couple of sites we encountered while just driving around the countryside surrounding Ieper. The house we stayed in was surrounded by farming fields and everytime I looked out the window I would wonder what went on in those fields all those years ago. How many young men died painful deaths in those fields. To say it was a sobering experience is an understatement.

We visited several museums in Ieper. We were there a few days but just could not fit them all in. We also visited different memorials, preserved areas such as "The Yorkshire Trench", and the Tyne Cot Cemetery. Tyne Cot Cemetery commemorates a total of nearly 35,000 men who died. This is a small description I found of Tyne Cot.....

"After the Armistice, the battlefields were cleared and the bodies found during the clearances, together with those from several nearby smaller cemeteries were concentrated in the Tyne Cot Cemetery. This cemetery is now the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in the world, with almost 12,000 graves."

It found it so emotional that the occupants of most of the graves are unknown. Many are known to be soldiers of particular armies by their uniforms and just their names are unknown. There are others that are totally unknown.

There are dozens and dozens of small war cemeteries dotting the landscape around Ieper and Flanders Fields. And I must note how pristine and well cared for, all these cemeteries are. They are constantly looked after and the lawns and gardens are well tended. They are definitely treated with the utmost respect and that was a wonderful thing to see.

From Flanders Fields, we also did a couple of day trips. One was to Dunkirk and Calais in the north of France. We stood on the beach at Dunkirk and visited the huge gun sites at Cap Blanc Nez and Cap Griz Nez. Just driving around, you can still see the craters on the landscape from the Second World War. Again, reminders of the past are never far away.

The other day trip was to the Australian Memorial Park in Fromelles, France. Part of the Somme battlefield. Again, I was struck with how well cared for these graves are. And it is so sobering as you wander around.

After leaving Ieper, we headed down to Normandy in France. It was quite a drive and we drove through the Somme which was another major battle area of the First World War. Here there were numerous more sites to see but as we didnt have a lot of time, we only visited a few of them. These included the new Australian Memorial Park at le Hamel, the Lochnagar Crater, and a few memorial statues.

The Australian Memorial Park at le Hamel is new and was only opened in 1998 and is at the site of a significant battle which was fought and won there in 1918. The memorial park also contains information about the Red Baron who was shot down near the site.

The Lochnagar Crater was definitely something to see. The crater was caused by an explosion that sent debris 4000ft into the air. The soldiers dug tunnels underground, right to under the enemy line. Here they planted charges, with the case of Lochnagar Crater, it was two charges of ammonal of 24,000lb and 30,000lb. The charges were then blown. Human remains have been found quite recently. This mine crater is around 100m in diameter and 30m deep. It is still the largest man made crater to be created in anger.

We continued our journey to Normandy. We had booked into a hotel in Caen and our drive took us through the centre of Rouen. Now there is a city that I would like to explore but we did not have time to stop, it was already late afternoon. There is just so much history to explore in Normandy and we only had 2 full days which we used to discover the history of the D-Day landings. But Normandy has so much to offer and I hope that one day I can get back there and spend more time discovering it's rich history. For example, there is Rouen. Victor Hugo called Rouen the city of a hundred spires. Claude Monet immortalized its Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame. And it is also the city where both Joan of Arc was burned at the stake and William the Conqueror died. Rouen is one of France's most ancient and historic cities. Apart from Rouen there is also the abbey of Mont-St-Michel. It sits on a high rocky islet and connected to the mainland by only a very narrow and long causeway. It dates back to 709 and was unconquered during the Hundred Years' War. It is surrounded by over half a mile of massive defensive walls. It is also known for the tides, the higest on the continent, that rush in at enormous speed and swept the enemy away without warning. Today there is a permanent road to the islet for the tourists. Like I said, Normandy is so full of amazing history and I would love so bad to get back there and explore more. But now, back to what we did see :)

We did get to see a number of museums and sites between Sword Beach and Omaha Beach. Unfortunately time ran out before we got to Utah Beach or the town of St Mere Eglise. We saw each of the beaches, Sword, Juno, Gold, and Omaha. The first stop was at Pegasus Bridge where the British parachuted in from gliders. There is also a museum right there at the bridge. And nearby is the Merville Gun Battery museum that we also took a look at.

We also visited the American War Cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer, above Omaha Beach. The marble crosses and Stars of David stretch as far as the eye can seeand is a very sobering experience. Unfortunately, I only have have video footage of the cemetery.

Not far from the American War Cemetery is La Pointe du Hoc. It lies between the Omaha and Utah beaches and to this day, remains unchanged from when the American Army Rangers scaled its sheer cliffs. You can see from the photos, the huge craters that were the result of the naval bombardment that preceded the Rangers invasion. Most of the German bunkers also remain.

We also visited Arromanches, a seaside town at Gold Beach. You can find one of the best D-Day museums here as well as the Arromanches 360 film. My mum and I went into the film and it was quite an experience. You stand in the centre and the film is projected onto 9 screens in a circular 360degree cinema. The film alternates between present day pictures and unreleased footage from the archives of war correspondents taken on D-Day. It was quite an emotional and unforgettable experience. There are scenes that will remain with me forever. Looking out to sea at Gold Beach you are again struck with reminders of the past as the coast is littered with remnants from D-Day.

Another site that we visited was the German gun batteries at Longues-Sur-Mer. This site is wonderfully preserved and shows the incredible fire power that the Allies faced on the Normandy beaches. 3 of the guns remain in their concrete bunkers.

Apart from these amazing sites, 4 of the 5 beaches, and several museums, we did get to take a quick look at the cities of Caen and Bayeux. Bayeux was liberated during the Battle of Normandy and its buildings remained virtually undamaged as the German troops were pulled away to help defend Caen. It is famous for its tapestry that was made to commemorate the Norman conquest of England in 1066. It's large Romanesque Cathedral dates back to 1077.

Caen, where we were based, is famous on two counts. First for its very historical buildings that were built during the reign of William the Conquerer, who is buried there, and secondly for the Battle for Caen during the D-Day invasion. We paid the castle there a visit and it is quite a site. It was built by William the Conquerer around 1060 and it is one of the largest medieval fortresses of Western Europe.

All to soon, our trip came to an end and it was time to come home. We dropped mum and Noel at the train station in Caen so that they could catch the train to Paris. They spent the night in Paris and climbed the Eiffel Tower before catching the fast train back to Antwerp. A friend of theirs picked them up at the station in Antwerp and they spent a few days with him before coming back here. For Hans and I, it was a very long and hot drive back home. Along the way, we drove through the Somme again and stopped for photos at a couple more sites at Bullecourt. One of these was the bronzed slouch hat memorial which is probably the only war memorial in the world which focuses on an item of the uniform.

The other stop was at the Bullecourt Memorial Park. There were some 10,000 Australians killed or wounded in 2 battles at Bullecourt in 1917. The Memorial Park overlooks that battlefield. It contains the bronze statue of the "Bullecourt Digger".

We arrived home late in the afternoon and the site as we pulled into the driveway had me in fits of laughter. We were greeted home by 14 fluffy little babies running around the yard...lol. That was the first of our baby chicks :)