As noted in an earlier post, we learned Wednesday that our train to Amsterdam was cancelled due to a train strike in the Netherlands. We booked a bus (Flixbus, very impressive) with reserved seats for 1:00 PM today. The adventure began when we tried to get a taxi to our apartment on Grand Place which is on a street for pedestrians only. We picked a likely intersection and used the "Green Taxi" app (Taxi Vert) to get a ride. The first driver called us after we noticed he was seeming to get further away from us but he did not speak any English. We gathered that our location was not accessible. He cancelled without further comment. A second driver (a true gentleman) worked with us for about 20 minutes to get a mutually convenient rendezvous. Got ... read more

We headed 15 km south of Brussels on Wednesday to the Waterloo Battlefield. June and I had listened to Bernard Cornwall's excellent audiobook on the battle so had some background before we got there. As you can see, the battlefield is working farmland today but keep in mind that on June 18th 1815, there were about 185,000 soldiers in the frame (or nearby). Of those, over 50,000 were wounded or killed. This was truly a fight to the death with consequences that influenced the next century of European history. The chateau Hougoumont which never fell that day played an important role in events. In the middle of the main British position, the King of Belgium built a monument to his wounded son (whose irresponsible behavior almost cost Wellington his victory). The edifice is called the Lion's ... read more

We left LA on Thursday, September 1st and arrived in London Friday about 10 am. It was the usual dehumanizing, maddening journey in a cramped plane with the lights out for unending hours through the night. Then, the Tube to a Holiday Inn near St. Pancras station for some catchup sleep, a meal and an overnight stay. Boarded the Eurostar Saturday for a three hour journey to Brussels. Rented a car and drove to Bruges for a 3-day stay in a lovely apartment just off the Markt Square. On Sunday, I got King Leopold's Revenge and there were no pharmacies open to deal with the problem. Nevertheless, after a late start, we drove to Dunkirk to see the "Mole" and the beach where the troops were rescued during that awful week in 1940. We drove further ... read more