Bruges, Budapest & Bratislava

Bruges

We farewelled John and Maureen in Lille on the Friday and travelled by train to the beautiful Belgian town of Bruges. We have been here several times previously and it is a walled town intersected by winding canals and well preserved buildings from the middle ages and beyond.

 Canal in Bruges

It is compact and interesting and at dinner one night we happened to be alongside a local couple. He was a HR Consultant and member of the Bruges Municipal Council; she was employed by the Chamber of Industry. They were lively and amusing company and their political views were not always in synch. He indicated to us (as total strangers) that he expected to be mayor of the town in 2018 – and one gets the impression that he tells everyone that in an effort to make it a foregone conclusion.

Bruges Town Hall

The weather was mild – much like an Indian summer with temperatures at 24C and the tourists were there in numbers we had not seen previously. We noticed a technical innovation being used by some tourists - they affix their iPhone to a one metre telescopic stick and take selfies of themselves in the foreground of photos of buildings, statues etc. On the Sunday morning we heard some loud speakers and discovered a fun run through the city was scheduled. 

Bruges Fun Run

As in many European cities there is a constant need to restore and renovate old buildings and several of the Bruges churches were closed for the purpose. In one Cathedral we noticed that a side chapel area had been set aside and dedicated as a form of monument to victims of abuse by Catholic clergy over the years.

One of the larger churches, the Church of Our Lady, was constructed from bricks rather than stone and its magnificent spire is apparently the second largest brick structure in the world. It had been constructed by Charles the Bold – whose grave is also inside the building. I am always amused by this naming convention – eg Ivan the Terrible, David the Daring, Charles the Bold. I guess it is more interesting than the simple roman numerical nomenclature like Charles IV – and perhaps gives an insight into the personality of the individual. Perhaps an Australian political allegory could be: Kevin the Cantankerous; Julia the Injudicious; Eddie the Fraudster and so on.

Magnificent Organ and Choir Loft Bruges

On Sunday we travelled to the nearby town of Damme for lunch with Karel and Babette Segers. Karel had been a HR colleague at Goodman based in Brussels. We had an enjoyable time in an outdoor eating area at a very attractive tea house (restaurant). We heard about some of the recent history and politics in Belgium. It is a relatively new (1830's) and quite small country bordered by The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. In the north, Flemish is the predominant language and culture while in the south French language and culture is in the ascendancy. The economic situation is much more positive in the north. This leads to some resentments and political issues but perhaps the differences in economic performance is in some part due to these cultural differences. The capital Brussels also serves as capital for the EU and its parliament.

In an effort to be even handed, the national government has decreed that for every km of highway or bridge constructed in the north, the same must occur in the south. This has allegedly led to the crazy outcome of highways to nowhere and bridges over nothing in the south.

Belgium was occupied in both World Wars and one of the unwelcome legacies is the 500 tonnes of unexploded ordinances that are still dug up each year. From time to time accidents occur in construction sites where these hidden ordinances explode when disturbed.

The centenary of WWI is also stimulating a lot of tourism. Apparently they had anticipated 500,000 visitors in Ypres for calendar 2014 and by October the actual number was already over a million.

Budapest

We flew to Budapest to join the river cruise and found the Hungarian capital to be elegant and attractive. Pest is the flat area on the east of the Danube and the more mountainous Buda region is on the western side of the river. It is rich in its cultural diversity and its history is laced with occupations and alliances over the centuries. Perhaps it reached its zenith in the late 1800’s when it celebrated its millennium – having been founded by seven Slavic tribes who settled there around 890AD. The Romans had also been there previously and had named it Aquicom – presumably because of the numerous hot springs - that still operate today.

In 1240 the Mongols had invaded Budapest but, upon the death of Genghis Khan in Mongolia, they withdrew. The city grew prosperous and was annexed by the Ottoman Empire in 1526. The king was killed in battle and the leadership retreated to Bratislava and the Hapsburgs emerged as the new royal family. Bratislava thus became the interim capital of Hungary.

Boulevard in Budapest

The ensuing centuries saw the Austro-Hungarian Empire expand and flourish with borders as far west as France and Belgium and in the east to the Ukraine and embracing the Dalmatian peninsular, and what is now the Czech republic, Hungary and Romania. The Emperor’s winter Palace in Vienna and the Summer Palace in Schonbrunn remain opulent reminders of the reach and magnificence of this empire.

The 20^th century saw WWI and nearly 70% of the empire was ceded to the victors in one way or the other; WWII saw further difficulties with the Soviets remaining in occupation following the end of the war in 1945 until the collapse of the USSR in 1989. There was a famous but unsuccessful rebellion against the Soviets in 1956 after which many refugees settled in Australia. I can remember that following the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, many of the team members successfully sought asylum in Australia. The national day commemorating the 1956 uprising was celebrated the day after we left town.

Today Hungary is in the EU and while not overly prosperous, there is evidence of modern infrastructure and investment and an upbeat mood in the city at least.

The architecture of the public buildings is stunning and reflects the former glories of the Empire rather than present day reality. The parliament building on the Danube is enormous and imposing but inconsistent with a country with a population of 10 million.

 Parliament Building Budapest

There are several bridges over the Danube linking the two parts of the city. They were all destroyed by the retreating German armies in WWII but rebuilt subsequently in their original style and design from centuries earlier. It was ironic that the Germans did this in December 1944 because it was a very harsh winter and the pursuing Russians simply drove their tanks and troops across the frozen Danube River without the need of bridges!

 Grand Market Budapest

Magnificent boulevards rival those in other European capitals and the city is promoting tourism effectively. Adjacent to the Danube are a number of universities and the Grand Market which is a venue for unlimited fresh food, smallgoods, fruit and vegetables.

Typical market Store inside Grand Market

River Cruising

Rivers in Europe have been indispensable for commerce over the centuries and they support a terrific tourist industry via river cruising.

The ships are generally modern, long and low with a shallow draft – so that they can slip under the many bridges encountered on the journey. Our ship was 110m long and 11m wide with three decks. In the lounge area the window sill is adjacent to the surface of the water and most of the cabins have a small balcony. Unlike an ocean cruise there is no rocking or turbulence. The ship glides quietly through the water and leaves little wake. The experience is more akin to flying than boating – such is the smooth nature of travel. We were travelling against the current of the fast flowing Danube but there was no turbulence at any stage. We have an excellent view of the river banks and the local scenery. Much of the travel occurs at night as the ship berths for the day as the passengers explore the ports we visit.

From time to time the ship goes through locks where we were raised sometimes 30m to the next stage of the river. These lock have been built over the centuries primarily as flood mitigation and there are many towns along the banks of the river that would need protection from occasional floods.

The service is excellent and meals and wines are first rate. On the Amaprima for this cruise we were the only Australians and most of the 164 passengers were American or Canadian. Also on board were 40 crew including technical, housekeeping and catering personnel-who were primarily from Romania or Hungary.

Bratislava

Our first port of call was Bratislava – the capital of Slovakia which has a population of 5 million. Slovakia is a new country that was peacefully ‘disconnected’ from what we knew as Czechoslovakia. In 1990 it was broken into the Czech Republic (capital Prague) and Slovakia (capital Bratislava). Czechoslovakia was under Soviet rule following WWII and I can remember an uprising in 1968 when they tried unsuccessfully to force the Soviets out.

 Concert Hall Bratislava 

The main industry is auto manufacturing which in turn is due to the low wages paid in the country. It is located only 60 km from Vienna. Last century, Viennese would travel by tram to Bratislava for dinner and a show and return afterwards

Bratislava is a small town which has a rich history but has not fared well over the last century. It had a relatively large Jewish population of about 100,000 pre-war – which was over 25% of the population at the time. More than 90% of the Jewish population was transported to Auschwitz and today there is no Jewish quarter as such – all that remains are a few memorials and a number of disused synagogues.

The Hapsburgs based themselves here while the Turks occupied Hungary and some beautiful palaces and churches reflect those more splendid times. The city is nevertheless interesting and has some quirky street sculpture including this bronze work showing someone climbing out of a manhole. Apparently, his head has been removed by careless drivers on several occasions so the Council has erected a more permanent ‘Men at Work’ sign to reduce this risk in future!

 Street sculpture Bratislava

The Western Front - October 2014

Sydney to Paris

We left on Thursday morning on China Southern Airlines. Their hub is Guangzhou (previously Canton) hence the name for the Canton route to Europe. Guangzhou is near Hong Kong and we had a long break before our second sector on into Paris. Our flight from Sydney was a daytime flight and I met a guy on board who was travelling back home to Guangzhou after a holiday in Sydney.

He was Chinese and the regional executive for a US cosmetic company making nail extensions and eyelashes. He said they were a high end producer so the eyelashes were all made by hand. His company has three factories in Indonesia making eyelashes for the world market. Each factory employs 6000 employees!  Apparently China labour costs are more expensive than what they need to pay in Indonesia.

Paris

Our friends, John and Maureen Sidoti, kindly hosted us on our first day at their delightful flat in Rambuteau in the Third Arrondisement (the Marais district) of Paris. Maureen is a history scholar and had undertaken the planning for our trip together to the north west of France. On the Saturday the four of us travelled by train to Amiens, a city about one and a half hours from Paris.

Amiens is crowned by a twelfth century gothic cathedral which is the largest in France. Its towering vaulted ceiling and flying buttresses were stunning and must have been even more so in the 1200’s and 1300’s when it would have dominated the landscape for miles around.

We stayed in a nearby little hotel called The Priory which would have been a convent over the centuries. Its tiny winding timber staircase was nearly vertical and you could feel how the handrail had been worn over the centuries by others gripping it as they negotiated the steep stairs.

We picked up our rental car here but as is so often the case in France- things can go wrong! Firstly the rental company had moved premises in the months between me making the booking and arriving to pick up the car; the municipality had not given them permission to erect signage at the new premises so it was quite a challenge to find the new address; then we discovered that the anticipated GPS was not available and there were none available in a 60km radius! We managed our travels without the GPS – but returning the car to Lille Station a week later was not easy!

Amiens

The city is on open flat lands north west of Paris - some of which had previously been marshland. The stately Somme River and tributary canals wind through the town and it has several extensive pedestrian streets and public gardens. There is evidence of damage sustained during the wars although it was behind allied lines for most of WWI. It is a university town and much of the construction is with bricks rather than stone – probably because it is near a ready supply of clay. But the architecture is warm and attractive with intricate patterns on facades. 

Tree dressed in knitted sock during Blanc Nuits Festival Amiens

On the weekend we were visiting there was an arts festival known as White Nights (Blanc Nuits) and everyone got into the swing of it. One notable ‘act’ was a brass/jazz band of about 40 members wearing orange tee shirts marching to various points and playing as they moved around. All ages, terrific ethnic mix, and obvious enthusiasm. They had about six tubas, several euphoniums, clarinets, all the brass and several percussion pieces.

Statue in Somme River Amiens

Dinner that night was in a smart local restaurant – however we were bemused when a young couple came in seeking a table for two – accompanied by a massive St Bernard dog. It would have weighed 70-80 kg! It dutifully settled down on the floor alongside the diners for the duration-but thankfully not near us!

Brass jazz band in full swing - Amiens

World War One

My prior understanding of the First World War was very general. I knew there was a ‘western front’ but, for what I will describe of our travels in this region, it is necessary to know some of the details of wartime history. In the early months of WWI in 1914, the German armies moved east to Russia and west into (neutral) Belgium, and into France.  Their rapid progress was ultimately halted along a long arc of about 1000km stretching from Belgium near the English Channel across much of France down to the Swiss border.

That arc formed the line we now know as the Western Front. It became static as neither side could push through to break that line. The line was continually fortified and defended by both sides and it became a terrible stalemate for nearly three years.

Both sides attempted at various times to mount campaigns to break through this heavily fortified line and these were known as the battles of the Western Front- much of the action was in the region known as the Somme River valley. With much of Britain’s manpower engaged in its navy, it supplemented its land forces from all over the Empire. This is how Australia came to be involved in the various theatres of WWI in France and Belgium. They were also active in the east against Turkey.

At the micro level on the Western Front there was a strip of no man’s land between the enemy trenches laced with dense barbed wire fortifications and sometimes mines to interrupt or deter attacks. Chlorine or mustard gas was also used from time to time.

The defining change in this war was the introduction for the first time of long range field guns, shelling and machine guns. These technical ‘advances’ rendered much of previous military strategy and tactics irrelevant. Some of the military leaders at the beginning of the war had even believed their horse borne cavalry would carry the day!

Armies in their trenches would be subjected to incessant shelling by powerful field guns behind the enemy lines which could not even be seen; if a physical raid was mounted machine guns would pound the advancing forces at close range. It was remarkable that despite this, some attackers made it to enemy trenches to engage in hand to hand combat.

The trenches were usually designed in a zig zag design so that if the attacking forces did make it into a trench they would not have line of sight to shoot many of the inhabitants of the trenches.

Original trenches - unfilled and showing zigzag pattern

This carnage went on for several years until finally the Germans supply lines dried up and America joined the war enabling the Allies to finally push the Germans back in a series of battles. The armistice was declared in November 1918. Despite all the destruction of buildings and infrastructure in the occupied territories of Western Europe, Germany was not invaded at all - as the surrender came before that was necessary. 

However, Germans did suffer severe starvation in its cities as all resources were directed to their armies. The reparations they incurred from the Versailles Peace settlement were crippling – and in many ways sowed the seeds for what led to WWII.

Military Cemeteries

As the shells rained down, and attacks were made across the lines, the casualties from this modern weaponry were devastating. It was not always possible to retrieve bodies except during local truces and usually the enemy would bury the bodies of deceased attackers in mass graves near where they had fallen. This was a hygiene issue as much as anything as the line and trenches were static.

After the war, a Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established to properly honour the fallen. As we drove around we frequently noticed roadside signs in white on olive background identifying Commonwealth War graves.

Pheasant's Wood Cemetery near Fromelles

In the years following the war, the corpses were progressively retrieved and identified where possible and laid in individual plots with a headstone. These headstones are identical in form and include inscriptions which in some cases include references from parents on the other side of the world.

In the area where we drove, these little cemeteries were dotted around everywhere - as were occasional concrete bunkers surviving those horrific years in the trenches.

In addition to the cemeteries there are also special monuments to the nations that came to the aid of France in WWI. The Australian memorial is at a major cemetery in Villers-Bretonneux. The local village was very appreciative of the Australian forces based on the front in that region.

Shelling basically destroyed most of the town and the local school was rebuilt with funds donated from Victoria. There is now a little museum at the school which records much of what life was like for the soldiers on the front at the time. Across the playground in English is a large sign reproduced below:

 School yard in Villers-Bretonneux

On Anzac Day, official ceremonies involving Australia are held at the memorial site. Similar large memorials to the British and other forces are also in the region.

Gate to Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux

Arras

Arras had the dubious distinction of being situated almost upon the Western Front. No man’s land ran through parts of the town and all but 1200 of its citizens had fled as hostilities erupted. There is still evidence of the wartime destruction but most of the city has been rebuilt.

It is in limestone /chalk country and there is a maze of mediaeval tunnels in and around the town that resulted from the limestone being quarried for building over the centuries.

In order to try and break through the seemingly impregnable lines, the Allies decided to tunnel into these underground quarries and join them up. New Zealander soldiers (who had probably been miners in civilian life) set about this project and over several months completed their task. We were able to tour these tunnels which were more than 20 m below the surface.

Tour of Limestone Caves under Arras - these held 24,000 troops for a week

Then an army of 24,000 mainly British and Australian soldiers was moved underground and lived in these tunnels for a week pending a surprise attack just behind German lines. The attack occurred on Easter Monday in April 1917.

Imagine the allied soldiers pouring out of these tunnels but into the ranks of surprised but nevertheless effective German machine gunners. The crude statistics are that 60% of these soldiers were killed in the first two days of that battle.

In the ensuing two months in this precinct 240,000 allied soldiers were killed or wounded.

Ypres

We then headed up into Belgium to the town of Ypres which was again where the Australians were deployed in WWI.

Menin Gate Memorial - Ypres Belgium

This town was virtually flattened during the fighting and has been rebuilt since. The locals insisted that the major medieval buildings like the Cloth Hall and Cathedral would be rebuilt as they were. A very impressive historical Museum – In Flanders Field now occupies the Cloth Hall.

Menin Gate

As part of the rebuilding of the town, a memorial gate was built into the town’s perimeter ramparts. This is the scene each night of a ceremony recognising the sacrifice of the allied soldiers who operated in this precinct. Members of the local fire brigade play the last post at 8:00pm in a ceremony that is well attended by visitors and locals alike. The grandfather of our hotel landlord was a stonemason who worked on its construction during the 1920’s and proudly showed us photographs of his work.

A Family Connection

The bodies of many soldiers from both sides were never recovered. This could be due to many reasons including the shelling, the lack of opportunity to retrieve them or simply that they disappeared. 

At Menin Gate there is a memorial role for all those who were declared ‘missing’ but whose body was never identified or found. It consists of an honour roll chiselled into the walls of the memorial.

My father, Norbert, had an uncle-an older brother of his mother. Norbert Joseph BYRNES was born in 1878 and enlisted in October 1916. There was no conscription in Australia so his enlistment was voluntary. He would have known from news reports how arduous conditions were on the western front.  He would have been under none of the optimistic delusion that the early volunteers displayed as they set off on troop ships from Australia two years earlier. The losses had been so great by 1916 that the recruitment drive in Australia was very active. He was 38 when he left Brisbane and was dead in Belgium in July 1917. He was single and in civilian life was a labourer.

Inscription of the name of my great uncle, Norbert Byrnes, at Menin Gate

Although I never knew him - or my grandmother for that matter, it meant something to have a link with this generation of young men who sacrificed so much. My father would have been 4 when he enlisted and 5 when his uncle was killed.

Sharon's grandfather sustained injuries in WWI as did my mother's Uncle Syl - there were very few Australian families not directly affected by casualties.

The Louvre at Lens

The northern part of France had been a major mining and industrial sector – but, as in many other countries, it has become a rust belt as lower cost alternative suppliers cause mine and factory closures.

One initiative to stimulate the local economy has been to build a beautiful new gallery at the industrial city of Lens (funded by the EU). Its exhibits come from The Louvre in Paris and it has an unusual display regime in that it takes a chronological view.

Thus from 3,500 BC when writing began we see artefacts from that period and then on through the Greek, Phoenician, Roman periods on through each era up until modern times. The exhibits are from the various cultures at the relevant period and it is a very compelling way of curating some magnificent sculpture, painting and writing from the vast collection of The Louvre.

Only a small percentage of the Louvre collection is ever on display so this initiative presents a new outlet to display its treasures.

Admission to the Gallery is free – however you have to collect the free admission ticket from a counter staffed by three people; you then walk 15 m to the entrance where your free ticket is scanned and then taken from you by another employee and binned. It is not entirely clear what this process achieves.

Pheasant's Wood Cemetery

While we saw many military cemeteries the Pheasants Wood cemetery is of particular interest. More information is at: http://www.army.gov.au/Our-work/Unrecovered-War-Casualties-Army/Fromelles

In summary, a mass grave was discovered in 2008 and a process of identification and reburial has occurred at a new cemetery near the village of Fromelles. The bodies were mainly Australian servicemen who participated at the battle of Fromelles on 19 and 20 July 1916 which was Australia’s first major engagement on the western front.

The battle occurred in daylight and the allies were outnumbered 2:1 by Germans in heavily fortified emplacements. The objective was to create a diversion and occupy German reinforcements who were needed at a major battle 80 km away. It failed to achieve that goal because the Germans found the attack plans on the body of an allied officer killed early in the action. So the Germans continued with their planned troop movements anyway and 5,533 Australians were killed in those two days of pointless fighting.

We inspected the cemetery and again there were many unknown soldiers buried there. But via DNA testing many had been identified nearly 100 years after their death.

We noticed two headstones alongside each other named brothers who were killed on the same day in the Fromelles disaster. The setting is serene and beautiful countryside and no visitor can fail to be moved as they read the inscriptions and the description of this particular attack.