Navigating The Spider’s Web (Belgium 1 of 2)

About three days prior to getting to the port city of Antwerp, Belgium, I was notified that a field program I had purchased (Battle of the Bulge) had been cancelled because not enough participants signed up for it. The history nerd in me was really looking forward to this program. Luckily the night before we arrived in Antwerp, I was hanging out in the Glazer Lounge (Faculty/Staff Lounge & Bar), when I overheard another staff member, Ashley, talking about how he would have loved to go on the program as well. I immediately jumped into the conversation and with a mere 8 hours from disembarkation, we were making plans for the next day.

In the morning, after the ship was cleared at 9am, Ashley and I headed out. Ashley serves as the Alumni Coordinator on the ship and has led an interesting life thus far. He is from Athens, Georgia, owns/runs his family’s catering business (which he has expanded to 3 companies), is very outgoing/engaging (which is great for Alumni relations), is an awesome story-teller, and seems to be always smiling and laughing. In addition, he has produced a movie and is now creating a pilot for television about the catering business. Our plan was to stop by the train station, rent a car, and start making our way to the opposite end of the country (Antwerp is in the Northwest and our destination of Bastogne is in the Southeast). It would take close to 2.5 hours, so we didn’t have time to lose.

Detour #1: Another group of staff members from SAS was heading to Hertz to rent a car and explained the Hertz near the train station charged an extra €50 and took 15 minutes to walk to. This group was heading to one just outside of the city center at a small cost of €3 for the short bus ride. Saving time and money…score! Ashley and I tagged along with this group, whom we soon realized didn’t know exactly where to go. I think we figured this out while we were passing through Antwerp’s Red Light District, where women were getting ready for their day by eating breakfast, putting on makeup, and getting dressed in the windows (which was a bit ironic). An hour or so later, our group of 6 got off the listed bus station and started searching for the Hertz, which turned out to be the one at the airport (did we really save time/money…it’s inconclusive, at best). In addition, Ashley and I hadn’t reserved a car prior to arriving, which caused a few issues as well. Luckily the employees at Hertz were great and helped us get a car; unfortunately, they had no more GPS units available. No worries…we can go old school (circa 1996)…we asked for a map and started making our way to Bastogne!

About an hour into our drive we stopped for lunch at a small town near Hasselt, where I enjoyed a grilled ham and cheese with Bolognese sauce poured over it (interesting combination, but quite tasty). We continued to Bastogne and arrived at about 3:00pm. This is really an area where you can spend a few days seeing all the WWII memorials, sights, and museums…we had 3 hours. 

History Nerd Time (feel free to skip to the next paragraph): On December 16, 1044, the Germans launched their last major offensive in Western Europe, which became the Battle of the Bulge. Bastogne was an area the Allies had to defend at all cost because all seven main roads in the Ardennes mountain range converged on the town of Bastogne. Thus, control of this crossroads was vital to the German attack. On Dec. 19, 1944 Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101^st Airborne Division arrived in Bastogne with his division. On Dec. 22^nd, the Germans encircled the American troops and sent General McAuliffe an ultimatum, asking for the honorable surrender of the US troops, otherwise the Germans would annihilate the U.S. force.  General McAuliffe’s response to the German Commander: “Nuts” (equivalent to any number of profanity, but General McAuliffe did not use profane language). The US troops were energized by the response and the 101^st (as well as other divisions) were able to hold off the Germans until the 4^th Armoured Division arrived on Dec. 26^th to provide reinforcements. The Battle of the Bulge ended on Jan. 25, 1944. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest of the battles that US forces experienced in WWII. The US Department of the Army lists 108,347 casualties (19,246 killed, 62,489 wounded, and 26,612 captured/missing). Soon after the Battle of the Bulge concluded, Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons and stated, “This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory.”

           

After navigating the small town, Ashley and I made it to the Bastogne War Museum. This is a memorial center, which will put the causes, events, and consequences of WWII in context through the prism of the Battle of the Bulge (via audioguides, hundreds of exhibited artifacts, and 3 “scenovisions”- real multisensory 3D scenes). This was exactly what we were looking for…UNFORTUNATLEY the Bastogne War Museum is set to open its doors on March 22, 2014. Hmmm…maybe this was the actual reason the SAS trip got cancelled. Regardless, this did not fit our time frame of 3 hours, so we headed next door to the Mardasson Memorial.

The Bastogne War Museum (opening in 2014)

The Mardasson Memorial is a mermorial to the 108,000+ US causalities of the Battle of the Bulge. Below the structure is a crypt with three altars (one for Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish services). There is also a Latin inscription on the memorial that states, “The Belgian people remember their American liberators – 4^th July 1946.” What made this whole visit and experience even more meaningful was the fact that Ashley’s grandfather had actually died in the Battle of the Bulge. In fact, Ashley’s father was only 6 days old when his grandfather was killed on Dec. 26, 1944. During our time in Bastogne, Ashley asked the locals where his grandfather might be buried. Most people said Americans were buried in Hamm, Luxemburg, which Ashley decided he would visit two days later (unfortunately, Ashley never found his grandfather’s tombstone…as there were a few other cemeteries where American soldiers from the Battle of the Bulge had been buried).

At the Mardasson Memorial - Bastogne, Belgium

Views from the top of the Mardasson Memorial (looking at the city of Bastogne)

Our next stop in Bastogne took us to the 101^st Airborne Museum, located in the former officer’s mess hall of the Belgian army. The museum was also the NCO house during the occupation of Bastogne and the Siege of Bastogne in the winter of 1944-45 during WWII. This museum was awesome and I would definitely recommend it to anyone passing near/through Bastogne. The museum had lots of information and artifacts from the Battle of the Bulge as well as photos/videos. Before we knew it, our watches said 6pm and the museum was closing. Ashley and I made our way back to the city center (with a Sherman US tank stood), stopped in the information booth for some souvenirs, then decided we’d grab dinner in Belgium’s capital, Brussels, on our way back to Antwerp.

101st Airborne Museum in Bastogne, Belgium

Ashley & I in front of a US Sherman Tank (used in WWII)

Detour #2: The drive back north was really nice as we were going through the rolling hills of Belgium. At one point, we were crossing a bridge high over the Meuse River, when we decided to visit a small town right on the river (way below in the valley). Not knowing the name of this town (or village) or which roads would actually take us hundreds of feet down, it took us a few attempts before we finally found a route to the river. We walked around the area, looked at some houseboats, took a few videos (which may appear in Ashley’s pilot episode), and just enjoyed the scenery. On our way out of the valley we stumbled across the decent sized city of Namur, but decided we’d rather do dinner in Brussels, so we continued north. Along the way, I was looking at a travel book for Belgium and we decided to try a restaurant that as “off the beaten path” called “In T’Spinnekopke,” which means “In the Spider’s Web.” The reviews were great…however, besides a street address; the book didn’t have the region/location on any of our maps. Good thing we have GPS…oh wait.

Our car/detour on our way to Brussels

We entered the booming capital of Brussels at approximately 8:45pm. Before we got lost in the heart of downtown Brussels, we decided to stop and ask for directions at a gas station. The employee as well as a random customer were extremely helpful and circled the intersection on our map where the restaurant was located. Perfect…all we need to do is just navigate through the city (easier said than done). Brussels is easily the largest city in Belgium with a population of 1.2 million in the city and 1.8 million in the metropolitan area. Other things Brussels may lead the nation in is construction areas and one-way streets. It was fitting Ashley and I were heading for dinner in the “Spider’s Web” because apparently that’s what Belgium’s city planner wanted people to experience. The road map of the city is similar to a spider web in that streets are not perpendicular to one another (no grid system here), but rather go off in any (and every) direction possible. After getting lost and turned around several times, we had successfully given ourselves a self-guided night tour of Brussels (passing the Triumphal Arch, Brussels Park, St. Catherines Cathedral, Leopold Park, and more). After stopping multiple times and asking for directions, Ashley and I finally made it to a few blocks from the Plaza du Jardin aux Fleurs…the intersection circled hours before. We parked the car, walked down a dark alley that fortunately opened up to a small plaza where we spotted the sign for In T’Spinnekopke. It was now 10:10pm and we were ecstatic when we found out they were still serving food this late on a Thursday night!

All the trouble it took to get to this restaurant was well worth it in the end. The restaurant occupies a stagecoach inn from 1762 and is one of Brussel’s most traditional café/restaurants. Fifteen minutes after we were seated, we were alone in the restaurant. The staff was excellent and explained everything about the menu and what they recommended. Along with my Cup of Christ Chalice (from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) I ordered Beef Carbonnade (a Belgian beef stew), while Ashley went with a chicken dish (can’t remember the name). Both meals were delicious and different members of the staff kept coming out and chatting with us about anything and everything. At the end of our meal (now close to midnight), we got pictures with the wait staff, Ashley gave his business card to members of the staff, and even invited the chef to Athens, Georgia to travel/cook for a month in his catering kitchen (apparently, Ashley is looking to do this a few times throughout this voyage, so if my paragraph didn’t properly illustrate how good this meal was…this obviously speaks to the quality of the food).

Drinks after getting to In T'Spinnekopke...we chose wisely!

(resemblance to the Cup of Christ in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

Ashley and I arrived back to the ship in Antwerp just after 2:00am. It was a long day, but one which was successful and extremely satisfying!

"Emotion clouds the rational, and many perspectives guide the full reality. To view current events as a historian is to account for all perspectives, even those of your enemy. It is to know the past and to use such relevant history as a template for expectations. It is, most of all, to force reason ahead of instinct, to refuse to demonize that which you hate, and to, most of all, accept your own fallibility."