Anne Frank, D-Day, and everything else.

Well it has been an exciting week!
Last Sunday we landed in Belgium to spend three days in the Benelux region. I spent much of the first day wandering around the port city of Antwerp, visiting museums, enjoying a cultural festival that was being held, and testing various Belgian foods and drinks.
Naturally our first stop was in a chocolate kitchen recommended to us by a man traveling to Belgian from Amsterdam. Belgian chocolate was highly impressive, as I had expected it would be. It probably helped that I was very hungry when I go a chance to eat it though.

Later in the day I visited the train station of Antwerp, which is one of the most incredible buildings I have ever had the chance to stand inside. The building is very large, and the scale of it dwarfs anything you could put in the building. In fact, even trains rolling to the end of their tracks appear as if they are toys rolling into the station.

After waffles, fries, beer, and more chocolate I wrapped up the day by taking a walk across the river to watch the last few rays of sunshine fall on the MV Explorer, the ship I've come to call home over the past month.

The following day I hopped on a bus to Amsterdam, took a boat tour of the city, and visited the Anne Frank House. Being there in the house where Anne Frank and her family hid was incredibly moving. I haven't read Anne Frank's Diary since early in high school, and I don't remember much of the content of the diary. However, what I do remember is the innocent worldview that Anne Frank's writing conveyed. Knowing that Anne died in Auschwitz brings to light the stark contrast between the innocence of a child and the horrendous acts of the holocaust. It seems impossible that humans are capable of treating each other in such a way, yet I am constantly reminded of ongoing genocides in Africa and the Middle East. Unfortunately true evil is still present on our little blue dot, and I believe it always will be.

After visiting the Anne Frank House I toured the city with a few friends for several hours. We got lunch on our way to the southern end of the city; stopped at a cafe in the red light district for free wifi, and then caught our bus back to Antwerp. The following day I went into town to pick up a few souvenirs and eat breakfast before the ship left at noon.

The next day we arrived in Le Havre, France. I traveled to Gold, Sword, and Omaha beaches along the S. Normandy coast. Yes, there were five areas of beach attacked on D-Day, but I didn't make it to them. Many artifacts have been preserved from the D-Day landings given the fact that it happened more recently. The museum there at the western end of Gold sector is full of uniforms, weapons, and gear from soldiers who landed on the beaches on June 6, 1944.

The neatest site I visited was Ponte du Hoc, the location of a German outpost taken by Army Ranger who scaled 100-foot cliffs in order to accomplish their mission. The determination and bravery it must have taken to storm those beaches is something I think most people in the 21st century (myself among them) cannot even comprehend.

The last two days in Le Havre were more leisurely and not so somber. I rented bikes with several friends and toured the city, eventually making our way to a series of trails on cliffs above the port. From these cliffs we were able to see the entire harbor and across the water to the southern coast. Many concrete bunkers still remain on the cliffs above the city, spaced out every few hundred yards. As much as the city of Le Havre itself was rebuilt after the Germans destroyed it on their way out, much of the military infrastructure still remains in the area. Massive concrete slabs with rusted out gun mounts sit atop the ridge around the city as silent reminders of a past that did not include crepes and cider stands along the pebble beaches.

The last day in France was one of the best I've had on the trip so far. I joined a few friends on a bus to Étretat, a small coastal town about an hour north of Le Havre. A hike along the edge of the cliffs revealed view painted by Monet and Van Goh. Spectacular white cliffs accented by stone archways and pillars stepping towards the sea. After lunch I decided I needed to swim around the beautiful rocks. A few friends joined me as I swam out to a series of boulders just below the white cliffs. The water was cool and clear, and small schools of fish swam around me as I made my way further into the ocean. The entire scene was just picture-perfect. I swam in the sunlight with friends, while a few other stayed behind and drank cider and ate bread on the beach. Definitely one of the best days of the trip thus far.

Today we are en route to Ireland, where we will spend four days before setting sail for Portugal. I will try to get some pictures here as soon as I can, although it could be a few weeks. Until then!