Welcome back everyone, I’m still trying to catch you all up on my recent travels and adventures.  Three weeks ago I left you with my trip to Bruges and the incredibly moving and powerful visit to the Canadian Vimy Ridge Memorial in northern France. I meant to post this part of my travels two weeks ago but I had a mishap with my computer and I may or may not have left it with my friends in Cologne for the week (I did)… Oh well, I have it back now and here is part two!

The Last time the entire Rogers and Messick familia were together!

Not long after my trip to Belgium, I returned home, back to Charleston, South Carolina to see my family for the first time since January, almost 5 months prior.  On the agenda for the next week was my mom’s birthday, Mothers’ Day, and my best friend Garrett’s wedding in Atlanta. For those of you that might not know him, Garrett and I have been friends for over 20 years now, going all the way back to pre-k and tee ball (when my dad and Dr. Royster used to coach us).  We’ve stayed close ever since with trips skiing in Colorado, fishing at Tanglewood and Charleston (and Miami), and fun weekends meeting up in Nashville and Winston-Salem.

Charleston, Nashville, Atlanta, Beaver Creek, and Miami

But, being back in Charleston is such a different atmosphere than Europe. The smell of the saltwater in the air and the pluff mud at low tide are things you don’t realise you miss until you’re surrounded by them again. Not to mention all of the things you take for granted until they’re not a part of your daily routine anymore.  Like the great weather, looking for alligators in the ponds, keeping an eye out for dolphins while on the Wando River, and seeing the Ravenel Bridge and the church steeples of downtown Charleston highlighted as the sun goes down.

Can you see the sunshine? Can’t you just feel the moonshine?

I remember the last time I flew home from Europe, I was so sad to be leaving Salzburg and Austria.  At the time, I wasn’t sure when I would ever be able to go back, so even though I was thrilled to see my family again, it was bittersweet having to say goodbye to such an amazing place. But this time, I could just focus on how amazing it will be to see my parents and my Seattle family again, especially my chunky little nephew who I could only see over FaceTime and who was growing so fast!

My favorite nephew

I arrived in Charleston on a Saturday, and had until Wednesday afternoon before I flew to Atlanta for the wedding. It was a great weekend, full of boat rides in the harbor and back up in the marshes. The weather was fantastic all week, as it usually is in Charleston and on Tuesday we had a great birthday dinner for my mom on Shem Creek. Russell, of course was the star of the show as we all love him so much. He had just figured out how to pull himself upright but was still wobbly on his chubby legs. Now, he’s a pro and is just now walking when I FaceTime with Alicia and the family. We also spent some time planning our next family trip to Europe at the end of September, and it looks like we’re going to be headed to Barcelona, Spain and we’re all so excited for that!  But.. before I knew it, my time in Carolina was up and it was time to fly to Atlanta.

Shem Creek, Charleston SC

I flew out Wednesday afternoon, and Garrett picked me up just in time for dinner at the Ponce City Market. We had some beers and some great Chinese food at one of the weirdest tables I’ve ever seen in a restaurant. It looked as though it was some ancient Chinese skee-ball table and our chairs were these massive wooden thrones. All in all, it was pretty bizarre but the food was incredible and we were both stuffed before heading back to his and his soon to be wife’s new apartment and watched our favorite drinking show, “Mountain Monsters.”

If you’ve never seen it, it’s definitely worth the watch just for the laughs and how utterly ridiculous the concept is. It’s a show following a group of over-weight rednecks from West Virginia that attempt to track and capture different “mountain monsters,” such as bigfoot (which apparently has multiple species), wompus beast (looks like a bobcat pretty much), the moth-man, and other myths and legends from the Appalachian Mountains. The show follows the exact same plot line every single episode, the crew drives to some back-woods location, they talk to a “witness,” they do some nighttime reconnaissance where they have an “encounter” that isn’t caught on camera, then they meet another “witness” with a blurry photo or video “proving” the existence of said beast, they then attempt to make a trap to catch it, and at the final nighttime hunt they corner the beast, get it into the trap, but it escapes and they all claim to have “proven” it exists without a single shred of evidence. Add that and a few beers and you end up laughing for a few hours before calling it a night.

The Georgia Aquarium

The next day and a half up until the rehearsal dinner felt like a blur almost.  But the quick run-down is that we picked up the groomsmen, met the bridal party to all catch up and get drinks, then went to the Georgia Aquarium (which is fantastic, the tank in the photo above holds 4 whale sharks, and 3 manta rays among hundreds of others fish), before all heading to the rehearsal dinner Friday night. The food and venue were great and Laura and Garrett (mainly Laura, sorry bud haha) did a fantastic job planning and scheduling everything that weekend. And again, before we knew it, the big day was upon us.

Sean, Demone, Garrett, myself, and Michael ready for rehearsal

The next morning Garrett comes down to the hotel room the groomsmen were sharing, “slightly” hung over from the night before. He hops into one of the beds and requests from his groomsmen, and I quote “an orange Gatorade.. Not a Powerade, a Gatorade, and definitely orange.” Now, this wouldn’t be too big of a deal if we weren’t in Atlanta, home of Coca-Cola, owner of Powerade.. Gatorade practically doesn’t exist in downtown Atlanta. Almost all vending machines, small convenience stores and corner-stores in downtown Atlanta are full of Coke products. The fact that we were also, I don’t know maybe 100 yards from “the World of Coca-Cola” museum didn’t really help our search either. But, being good groomsmen we tracked down a CVS and found some “ORANGE GATORADE” for our buddy.

A few hours later as the the groomsmen were supposed to be getting ready for a pre-wedding photo shoot with the photographer, we had a curveball thrown our way. Garrett remembers (just in time, I might add) that he had left his wedding present for Laura back at her mom’s house in Marietta, about 30 minutes away. Garrett and I race back to Marietta, avoiding Atlanta’s traffic as much as possible (thankfully it was a Saturday), go into Ms. Webreck’s house, find the gift and wrap it (impeccably) before sneaking back out with nobody being the wiser. What we didn’t know, was that we weren’t the only ones rushing around and barely missed the recovery of the bride’s veil from the upstairs closet!

But an afternoon of relaxing and having a few drinks to ease the nerves before the big night had disappeared with zero drinks and zero relaxation and as we got back to the hotel we all knew that we had to get showered and cleaned up and to the venue in about 20 minutes. Luckily, Garrett’s dad and my parents were both staying at the same hotel so Garrett used the shower in his dad’s room, while I ran to my parents’ room. I called them but didn’t get an answer but as luck would have it, the maid was just cleaning the room and I somehow convinced her to let me shower in their room and we all made it to the venue just in time.

Speech-DONE… Time to have some fun!

Overall, the wedding was great, the venue was really neat, the pastor did a wonderful job with the service, the bride and groom looked fantastic, the food was delicious and most importantly everyone got along schwimingly and had a blast. I was honored to be the best man and that I was able to say a few words on such a special occasion. And although giving speeches isn’t exactly my forte, I thought I got down enough of your wedding cocktails (african sundowners) before and during my speech to do a decent job of it before getting a little choked up near the end (it appears I’m beginning to take after my papa in that regard). It was a perfect way to spend my last full day in the states.

The Wedding Party

But before I headed out the next afternoon, I got to eat breakfast and spend some time with my mom and dad for mothers’ day which was really nice. We had a few hours to talk and relax and just like that they had to begin their long drive back to Charleston and I was headed to the airport to get on a flight back to Bremen where in 24 hours I’d be meeting a few friends from University (Sam, Zack, Josh and Chloe) who had started their European vacation earlier in the week in Amsterdam. And while the thought of seeing them the next day definitely cheered me up and gave me something to look forward to I have to admit it was tough saying goodbye to my family and to Garrett and Laura, who are practically family to me now as well.

Not much has changed in 20 years

I’m definitely going to miss all of you and I can not wait until I see my parents at the end of September in Barcelona, and all of my friends again in December when I come back for Christmas.  There is more family I won’t get to see though up in Toronto, and I miss them just as much and hope to get up to the Great White North as soon as possible to give them a squeeze as well.  Until then, thanks for the incredible memories and no matter where I am in the world, I’ll always have y’all and Carolina in my mind. Auf Wiedersehen!

 

I’m still here I promise! After an absence of over two months I am back. I’ve done so much and had so much to write about over the past few months that instead of putting my head down and working on it, I just pushed it off, and with no “deadline” I was free to push it off indefinitely. But anyway, since there is so much to catch everyone up on, I am going to separate this out into a series of 3 posts over the next few weeks. The first post starting all the way back in the end of April and beginning of May when I took a road trip to Bruges, Belgium.

I started off the trip with a 6 hour drive after I got off of work, from Bremen to Bruges.  I was able to drive through northern Germany, the Netherlands and the endless farms in Belgium.  I arrived pretty late to my hostel which was a little outside of the city and decided not to do anything that first night. Instead, I did a little bit of research on what to actually do in Bruges as at that point I had no idea.  I had seen photos of the city and knew how beautiful it was but besides that I had no idea what there really was to do there.  After awhile, I gathered that most of the “to do” items in Bruges were located directly inside of the oldest part of the city, so that’s where I would spend my day.

The “Belfry” in Bruges, Belgium

The old town of Bruges is one of the best kept examples of medieval architecture in Europe. The Belfort was built in 1240 and the town square around it has changed very little over the past few centuries. The canals that cut through Bruges only highlight this as it looks like there hasn’t been a single brick or cobblestone moved in centuries.

As I exited the winding narrow streets of the old town and entered the massive market square I wasn’t sure what to do first. But, as it was nearing lunch time, and I had walked by about 10 small cafes that all smelled amazing and seeing the patrons drinking massive “goblets” of beer I knew what my first stop would be. I found a small restaurant overlooking the main square and got myself a Duvel (one of the more popular Belgian beers). I looked over the menu and decided that I needed to eat local, but I couldn’t decide between the fresh mussels or Flemish rabbit. Luckily, there was another meal waiting for me that night that I could get the mussels at, so I ordered the flemish rabbit stew. It was the first time in my life that I had eaten rabbit so I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I could think of was the scene in Lord of the Rings where Sam is making rabbit stew for Frodo and Smeagle, and Smeagle is cursing him for being the “stupid fat hobbitses” for ruining the rabbits he caught for them. But, of course my stew turned out to be incredible, as well as my beer and it took all of my will power not to order a second bowl of stew with my second beer.

Duvel in Bruges Market Square

After lunch, I didn’t have much of a plan so I started walking, the old town wasn’t very large so I figured I could cover most of it in one day. I walked along the canals, explored the ancient Belfry, ducked into the Belgian chocolate shops and saw everything Bruges had to offer.  The chocolate shops are literally around every corner.  When I first arrived I didn’t have much of a plan to buy too much chocolate but after the 100th shop you don’t really have a choice and I bought a few chocolate covered strawberries to munch on.

Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate

I was also able to go to the Basilica of the Holy Blood.  The Basilica was built in the 12th century and it is a catholic church that contains a handkerchief from Thierry of Alsace that he had brought back during the second crusade in 1147 that he claimed was covered in the Holy blood of Jesus Christ.

Basilique du Saint-Sang or Basilica of the Holy Blood

I was also able to go and see Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges sculpture, which is his ONLY work to leave Italy during his lifetime.  Since then, it has had a pretty interesting history.  It has been forcefully removed from Bruges on two accounts.  The first time, by French revolutionaries in 1794 and moved to Paris with a few other works of art, and the second time by Nazi’s in 1944 on their retreat back into Germany.  The sculpture was first returned to Bruges in 1815 after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, and the after its second kidnapping it was discovered in a salt mine in Altaussee, Austria, and it’s recovery was a key feature in the motion picture “Monuments Men.”

Photography of the work wasn’t allowed, but here is a picture from google… Sorry haha

But back to Bruges again, the city was truly fascinating and at times you could lose the crowds in the back alleys of this town and it felt as though you were stepping back in time, no cars, no streetlights, old painted wooden shop signs and the cobblestone streets all made it feel as though it were the mid 1000’s, in the golden age of Bruges, just a tiny bit cleaner and healthier.

But after a few hours of wandering and exploring and trying to make room in my stomach for my afternoon snack I knew that it was finally time for my waffle. I had been waiting on this ever since I decided to travel to Belgium and the time had finally come. I walked up to the first waffle shop I could smell and as I was about to get in line… about 20 kids from a field trip got in front of me… Oh how I watched in pain as all of the strawberries and fresh toppings slowly disappeared in front of my eyes onto their ungrateful waffles. But with about 1 child left in front of me the most amazing thing in the world happened. A Belgian girl came out from the back of the shop with a bushel of fresh strawberries and a bowl of fresh whipped cream and began slicing the strawberries right in front of me. All of the kids I guess were a blessing in disguise as they ate all of the ingredients that had been sitting out and got the waffles that had been made previously. Everything on my “just-made” waffle was fresh and new and boy was the wait worth it. I practically speed walked to a bench in the main square and scarfed down my waffle in about 10 seconds… But not before an old eastern Asian lady walked right up in front of me to take my photo. I probably had chocolate sauce all over my face but I didn’t regret a second of it.

Could arguably be the best part of the day…

After this, I returned to my hostel for a quick break before heading back to the square for dinner and another great Belgian beer. I had the mussels that had been on my mind ever since lunch and while they were fantastic and delicious, they didn’t leave the lasting impression on me as the rabbit did. Following dinner I went for another walk as the weather was beautiful and the town was almost entirely empty of tourists. The views were incredible and I could have stayed there for hours, but I had plans bright and early in the morning and needed to call it a night.

Bruges at night..

The next morning a woke up at 7 and began my drive south into France. I realised in Bruges that I was actually only a short drive away from some of the worst fighting of the Great War (World War 1), and I was only about an hour and a half away from Vimy Ridge. As a history major in university studying World War 1, we focused on other battles, such as the Marne, and the Somme. But as a Canadian doing my own research, I read all about Vimy Ridge, and how influential the battle was on the Canadian identity not to mention how technologically advanced the battle was at the time as well. In fact, Vimy Ridge was the first time in history, that a former colony had defeated one of the great European powers on European soil in battle, ever. And it was done by the Canadians in April 1917. Exactly 100 years ago.

Vimy Ridge Battlefield and Memorial

The battle itself showed the true character of the Canadian military. For the first time, all four Canadian divisions were assembled on one battlefield, fighting as one. The plan of attack was to utilise a tactic that was still in it’s infancy and one that had not seen high levels of success yet. The idea was that artillery would fire for 30 minutes, then adjust their aim forward 100 yards, fire for 30 minutes, adjust aim forward 100 yards and so on and so forth, slowly creeping onward.  All the while, the Canadian troops would be advancing as close as possible to the landing shells, using them as cover.

With modern military technology and computers this sounds somewhat simple, but without gps, or wireless communication this all came down to human judgement and timing. The troops in charge of the artillery had to keep an eye on the clock and their aim or risk firing on their own troops and the infantry advancing knew that if they allowed the artillery to get too far ahead of them that they would be sitting ducks for the German machine guns, yet if they advanced too rapidly they would fall victim to their own artillery leading the attack. Once the attack began there was no stopping it, no pausing or readjusting it all depended on meticulous timing, precision and preparation from all 4 divisions. The time was now and when the first troops went up and over the side of the wall they knew they would either end the battle in command of the German stronghold on Vimy Ridge or laying face down in no mans’ land.

View of the Memorial with the still scarred terrain.

As fate would have it, the plan worked brilliantly, and over the course of 4 days the Canadians had not only pushed the Germans from the Ridge but also the surrounding high grounds, as well as capturing invaluable German artillery pieces and freeing the few French towns that were just beyond the ridge. The battle still stands as a great feat of arms, technology and teamwork and became incredibly important in the development of Canada’s national identity. No longer were the soldiers looked on as part of the British military, like the Australians, South Africans and Indians. They were now Canadians, and they could hold their own on the global stage.

Vimy Ridge was the first major victory for the Canadian Corps as a group, that helped them gain more experience, and momentum leading them on for the next year, climaxing in a stretch from August 1918 to November 1918 known as “Canada’s 100 Days.”  During this stretch the Canadian Corps, which consisted of 4 divisions of a total of roughly 100,000 men claimed victories in the Battle of Amiens, 2nd Battle of the Somme, Battle of the Scarpe, Battle of the Canal du Nord, Battle of Cambrai, Battle of the Selle, Battle of Valenciennes, and Mons before the Armistice of November 11th was signed.  In total the 4 Canadian “heavy divisions” engaged and defeated 47 German divisions.  After which Canadian troops garnered the reputation for being one of the toughest, most well-trained fighting forces in the world.

Artillery craters still dominate the landscape

But all of this did not come without a cost, and the Vimy memorial reminds us of that. On the backside of the limestone monument there are 11,285 names and ranks of the Canadians that died or went missing in France during the Great War and whose graves are unknown.  All now, under the watchful eye of the personification of Canada, mourning her dead.

“Canada” mourning her dead

At first when I arrived, and saw this monument, the names of the dead and missing, the pockmarked fields and warning signs, and the final resting places of so many Canadians, so far from their homes. I was saddened by the fact that the park was so empty. More people need to see this place and learn what happened here. But the reality of the situation is that, a lot of people will never get a chance to come here. It’s not easy to access and for the average Canadian, the trip to France and Vimy Ridge is not possible. So for the 11,285 names etched on the monument, most will never know their names or their stories, and their sacrifices will fade into history and all that will be left is a name and rank engraved into the limestone.

A few hours later as I got in my car, preparing myself for the long drive back to Bremen, I had time to think about what I had just witnessed. A small part of me wished that these troops could be moved back to Canada so that their sacrifice could be appreciated properly but that is just not possible. And while the park was well kept and diligently taken care of, I felt like the entire area existed in it’s own bubble and as soon as I were to leave that, the world would go on not knowing what happened here or who made it all possible.

But as I entered the first town just east of the Ridge, I realised I could not have been more wrong. The small town would have been one of, if not the first town that Canadian troops freed from the Germans during the battle. And as I drove up I saw something I did not expect.. a Canadian flag.

Then, as I came around a corner, I saw another one, and then another, and then another. On flag poles, on decks and hanging from windows, almost every home had a Canadian flag displayed somewhere or somehow. It became very clear to me that the monument and park didn’t just exist in it’s own little bubble, here was a town, that after 100 years, still hadn’t forgotten the sacrifice of the Canadian troops and it was obvious what that meant to them.

I stopped and got out of my car at one point and turned, wondering if I could see the ridge from here. Not only, was it plainly visible from the town, but the monument could be seen prominently on the ridge, clearly visible for miles across the flat landscape. It was nice to know that, even if history will forget their names, their actions won’t be forgotten anytime soon in this small region of France.

“Lest we forget“

I’m gonna leave this section and you here for now with the poem “In Flanders Fields” by Canadian soldier, John McCrae, although the poem was written during the 2nd Battle of Ypres in Belgium, I saw it quoted in and around the Vimy Ridge memorial on postcards and photographs.  Expect the next part of my travels to be posted soon, auf Wiedersehen.

 

“In Flanders Fields” 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.