Tag Archives: France
Fighting For Colmar – III
One aspect of the military cemetery in the hills above Colmar and Sigolsheim that I hadn’t considered before was just who fought in the Second World War battles to liberate France. I guess that is a bit of Canadian blindness on my part. Canadian war cemeteries, or at least the ones I have visited, have […]
Another Anniversary
Every so often my wife and I walk over the hills to the Black Forest town of Staufen. There’s a cafe there she likes, and the five kilometre walk is a healthy one. Whenever we walk down the main street I see signs commemorating the date Allied forces bombed Staufen during World War II and […]
Fighting For Colmar – II
The national cemetery in the hills above Sigolsheim, France, contains the remains of several thousand soldiers who died in the Battle of Colmar which ended on February 9, 1945. The tombstones are a sobering sight. I have been to Canadian war memorials in Belgium and France, so standing on this hill is not the first […]
Fighting For Colmar – I
Ever hear of the Battle of Colmar? Neither had I, and when I was younger I used to read a lot of Second World War histories. One of the great things about not having an agenda when you travel is that you are open to unexpected discoveries. You don’t have to get back on the […]
No Nukes
Life gets busy. I’m sure you understand that. Some days I am not quite sure which end is up. Which can be problematic if you need to walk anywhere. My life is at times filled with notes and ideas for this space that get filed away and not acted upon, for whatever reason. I’m […]
Terror Too Close To Home
When they are far away, they are just news items we may or may not pay attention to. It is different when they happen in your neighbourhood. Throughout the day Wednesday, people in Canada were forwarding me news stories about the terror attack at the Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. It is only an hour’s […]
A Forgotten War?
I remember it as a one liner in history class, probably early in high school. France and Germany fought a war, 1870-71. I don’t remember who won (Germany I presume – that was the Bismarck era) or what the cause was. I think at the end Alsace became German, or returned to being German. As […]
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