Visiting my heart

This week students in our town returned to school, so it's perhaps appropriate that I return to my blog with a "what I did on my summer vacation" essay. This summer was the busiest of my life with content for several posts, which I plan to write about chronologically.

Summer 2012 started with a visit in June to my three daughters who live in the American Pacific Northwest - in other words, a visit to my heart. My daughters were great about making time for me, as were a number of friends who made time to hang out, catch up, and hike together (I was in training mode for a walking event later in the summer, more about that later). 

The visit was sparked by the graduation of the youngest from high school and (concurrently) community college. She's a middle child, following two high-achieving older sisters, which is a lot of pressure. But she has figured out a way to make her own path, while continuing to fulfill family expectations. We are proud of her for (1) completing high school mostly on her own; (2) finishing an Associate (two year) college degree at the same time; and (3) finishing high school as a valedictorian. 

With surrogate mom of the year

Equally important, I hadn't seen any of them since Christmas, and six months was starting to feel like a long time. We celebrated being together by hiking in the Chuckanut Mountains, walking Alki Beach, and sampling beer in Vancouver, BC (as well as here, here, here and here). 

Enjoying a brew or two

Although we still call them "the girls", our daughters are now young adults with their own priorities, relationships and busy lives. The trip was a good opportunity to practice our new relationship roles; they as independent young women and I as ... I'm not sure what, but it involves a lot of listening and a certain amount of tongue-biting. Still and all, it feels great to see them opening up their wings and soaring into adulthood. Ahhhhhh ....

photo by Oast House Archive

Spring is in the air!

The freezing temperatures we were enjoying a few weeks ago seem to be a thing of the past, and it's starting to feel like spring is just around the corner. Without even looking at the weather forecast we decided to pull the tandem out for our first ride of the year. We've been doing some geocaching, so I chose a few caches in the countryside to give our ride a little purpose.

Love our tandem!

We rode through the towns of Tegelen, Maasbrae, Baarlo and Blerick. The first three of these are all in the Middle Limburg farm country, and we were excited to see the fields being prepared for Limburg's famous white aspargus. It is often served with Hollandaise sauce*, ham, boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs, or transformed into a creamy and delicious spring seasonal soup. The asparagus, which has a milder taste than the green variety, is white because it is grown under black plastic sheets, without benefit of sunlight so no green chlorophyll.

Photo:  az1172 

Another frequent sight in Limburg are field crosses. All of our caches today were located near crosses. They are all similar in size, but different in design. Limburg is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic provinces in Netherlands. The other Catholic province is Noord Brabant, all other provinces being considered Protestant, although most Dutch people do not hold to any faith.

Crosses are also located at road crossings

The Dutch word for spring is Lente, because spring is associated with the liturgical season of Lent. Today's ride reminded us that spring is in the air and Easter is on the way. So we were happy to find this fun place to buy eggs (that other, more pagan symbol of the season).

Egg vending machine near Maasbrae

*Although Hollandaise sauce is one of the five main sauces of French cuisine, some accounts attribute its creation to Dutch Limburgers, who served it to French Huguenots, who took it to France.

Hooray for Hollywood

I must admit I'm not a big fan of American movies and television. But living in Europe has taught me gratitude for the American entertainment industry. Partly because of the apparently universal appeal of blockbuster action films and reality television, people all over the world are entirely familiar with my language. And that's good, because being American, I am a monoglot. Meaning, if you speak English, we can talk. And if not, not.*

Thanks to the ability and willingness of others to speak my language, I've been able to chat about shoes with an Austrian couple in a monastery beer garden in Salzburg

Bräustübl Tavern in Mülln

and talk about tandem bicycling touring along the Rhine river with a friendly German couple

I was even able to give these folks directions!

and get tips for where to stay in the Moselle river valley from a Belgian beer brewer in one of Limburg's best pubs.

Our semi-local pub, the Hertog Jan brewery tasting room in Arcen

So thank you Warner Brothers, United Artists, and all the other media companies who have enriched my life. Even though I don't want what you're selling, I sure am enjoying the byproduct.

*I'm working on this, but at my age, it's uphill all the way.

Operation Market Garden

Along the Liberation Route

My wanderings the last month or so have led me to ponder the lessons of history. In the last four weeks I've seen the concentration camp at Dachau, the Nazi party rally grounds at Nuremburg, and several Dutch memorials.

Fall weather and a return to a somewhat normal routine allowed me to resume my traverse of the Pieterpad. So I spent a lovely fall day walking from Groesbeek to Millingen aan de Rijn, towns so small I'm surprised they have Wikipedia entries. Readers who happen to be World War II buffs (if there are any) might recognize their names from the airborne expedition known as Operation Market Garden. Yes, Virginia, this post is (mostly) about a military operation.

In a nutshell: Operation Market Garden was an effort by the Allies in September 1944 to use airborne troops to seize a series of bridges across the rivers Meuse and Rhine, to enable a rapid Allied armored advance into the German heartland. Spoiler alert! The plan didn't work; the airborne troops suffered heavy losses, some were evacuated, and the remainder were taken prisoner. Arnhem, the plan's final bridge, wasn't liberated until April 1945.

Recalling these facts is one thing; stumbling across a sign marking the "Airbornepad" [a walking path which according to its website follows "the footsteps of the liberators"] during the anniversary week of Operation Market Garden is something else. As it happens, I also drove to Arnhem this week, and as I crossed the John Frost Bridge, I remembered its predecessor's role in history. Places so often evoke feelings ... which brings me to this post's destination.

The very necessary Pieterpad route book (which is unfortunately only available in Dutch) mentioned a Canadian Cemetery not too far off the path, near Groesbeek. Walking a 500 kilometer path mostly alone does allow a certain amount of contemplation. This day, I chose to go a little farther in order to contemplate war, sacrifice, and the meaning of history. Let me take you there ...

Just inside this entrance is a memorial stating THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE. It's true:

Most of these fallen warriors were in their twenties. All were too young.

Each headstone tells a different story; the common theme is that of life cut short.

Each grave has its own garden, carefully tended by a local, grateful Nederlander

Will we ever learn?

For those of you who aren't WWII buffs, the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far does a great job of telling the story of Operation Market Garden from every side - British, American, German, Polish and Dutch. Back in 1977 war was definitely not "in". The DVD is available at my hometown library, and might be at yours too.

My apologies to readers who were hoping to see pictures of delectable European produce. For you, I present this shot, taken at a self-serve pumpkin stand just outside the Canadian Cemetery (seen in the background):

Honden