Today we traveled by bus to Antwerp, Belgium. We walked around the historic old town and ate Belgian waffles, fries and chocolates, all of which it is known for. It was all good. The thing that makes their fries so good are the large variety of sauces for dipping.
The name Antwerp comes from a legend that says a big bad guy controlled the river (or some water way) and charged people to cross it. If you refused to pay he would cut off your hand. A young boy cut off the bad guys hand and saved the day. There is a big statue in the main square of the boy throwing a big hand into the river. A little strange, but who am I to judge. Antwerp means something like "throwing a hand."
Then back into the Netherlands to visit an American military cemetery at Margraten. Some 8000 Americans are buried there. There is a huge wall with another 1200 or so names of those missing in action. The sight is near an area of major WWII battles. We were told that each grave has been adopted by a local family and they bring flowers and otherwise honor their dead American soldier. Today happened to be the Netherlands Remembrance Day, similar to our Memorial Day. Candice and I saw a family carefully placing flowers at one of the markers. We walked over and asked if they spoke English. They did. These people embarrass me because they speak several languages, including English. I asked if they knew the person by whose grave they were placing flowers. They assured me they did. They said they had adopted him. They knew his name, that he had been a pilot and had actually met some of his family. The mother took out her wallet and showed us a picture of "Richard." These people recognize and appreciate the sacrifice of the American soldiers in liberating their country from the nazis.
We both became quite emotional as we thanked them for their efforts on behalf of an American soldier and his grave. Quite a touching experience.
Tonight we stay in Heerlen, The Netherlands.
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