Our last day together as a group started with a beautifully sunny, but cool day.

We toured the city on a giant bus seeing many sites. After a quick lunch of crepes and rare burgers, we went on a walking tour that included the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, the carousel, the Champ Élysées, Place de la Concord, Obselisk, and the Latin Quarter. Notre Dame Cathedral was witnessed from across the river. Tonight we went on river cruise of the Seine. What a fabulous way to finish this leg of our journey for some and to finish the entire trip of touring for some! Leah’s non-extension group leaves for home tomorrow with a wake up call of 430 am and they are scheduled to be in Regina at 531 pm Saturday afternoon. Pam’s extension group is off to London on the Eurostar with a wake up call at 540 am. Good night!

We have clocked a lot of steps today of 23000 or 17km.

Andrew: I really liked seeing the bunkers and trenches and being able to go in them.

Walker: The farmer in the Netherlands who made cheese and clogs and called Kathleen happy mommy lady.

Marshall: I liked touring around Amsterdam. I also enjoyed going to Juno Beach.

Dean: I enjoyed going to see and experience Juno Beach, as well as touring Amsterdam.

Preston: I’d say for me my favourite part of the trip was either Amsterdam or Vimy Ridge. In Amsterdam there are so many amazing views, and architecture, and such a change of culture for us. With Vimy it was surreal with the views and just realization of how without victories like Vimy wouldn’t have all this freedom and peace we have today.

Landon: All Of Amsterdam

Bradie: walking down the streets of Amsterdam singing “Old McDonald” with Jens

Mia:Spending my birthday in three different countries

Bryanna: my favourite memory was shopping in Amsterdam

Jordyn: My favourite moment was basically everything in Amsterdam, definitely my favourite place so far.

Kacy: collecting seashells on Juno beach

Torri: My favourite part so far was the visit we had to the Anne Frank House.

Taylor: My favourite part was getting my clogs in Amsterdam. I also liked looking at the beautiful landscapes and architecture within the country.

Robyn: 2 favorites, The Anne Frank House and Vimy Ridge.

Donna: I would have to say the Anne Frank House .. having read the book it was great to be able to go in the house. Having a story told from a young girl’s perspective, of what her and her family had to got through during this time brings tears to my eyes. I also have really enjoyed all of the architecture.. especially the cathedral, and seeing how it was almost demolished after the attack and how they have rebuilt it without any tools we have today. Truly amazing!! Fantastic trip so far

Pam Jr: My favourite part so far is the time we spent in and near Ypres, Belgium for the In Flanders Field Museum, the architecture of the town, the character, the Last Post ceremony they have every night there. A place I’d like to return to.

Felecia: a favourite memory for me was the Last Post Ceremony in the beautiful Ypres. It felt like all we had learned and all the emotions of the trip were incorporated in the ceremony – mourning the losses, always remembered, and hope for the future.

Kathy or Happy Mommy: If I have to choose one, I’d have to say all of Amsterdam and Vimy Ridge. I do however appreciate the fact that every cemetery or monument we went to had such respect for the Canadian soldiers even to this day.

Leah: Berlin! Our tours and discussions covered less than the last 100 years. This city has so many stories to tell!

Pam Sr: I love it all! I love traveling with family, friends and my students! I love seeing the look of understanding, feeling the joy of learning something new, and hearing the laughter of people having fun! The Anne Frank Museum, Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach were pretty awesome!

We are off to Juno Beach and Paris today!

First stop was Beny-sur-mer: (Benny by the sea) a Canadian Cemetery commemorating victims of Juno Beach. The Gardens are immaculate and there is always someone working on them.

Second stop of the morning was Juno Beach. We had another detailed history lesson of the offensive launched by the Allies and the trials they faced they stormed the beaches at Normandy along with the British and Americans. It reenforced the sacrifices given by so many for the freedom that we enjoy today. It also was highlighted by the number of young people in our group as many would have been the same age as the soldiers were then. This was a beautiful and moving spot.

As part of our fees to EF, a plaque was made available to us to show remembrance at Juno. Because we are technically two groups, we had two plaques made which will be left forever at Juno.

We stopped for lunch at Arromanches which is right along the beach. Truly beautiful and without sounding crazy, it was as if you could see the events from years ago in the water and beaches.

We have a student who found a tombstone of a great-uncle. This truly made the experience more personal for all of us, but especially Dean.

We drove 3-4 hours to Paris. When we arrived we made a surprise stop at Versailles Palace! Our bus driver and tour director surprised us by letting us have a peek at it and get a few pictures. This was quite incredible and a great surprise as we were not scheduled to go there. The kids loved it!

We said goodbye to our wonderful bus driver today as he, Tomas Cook, was in his way back to the Netherlands. He did some amazing driving down little streets!

We had a delicious dinner of turkey cordon bleu with fries and salad. Hmm hmm hmm mmmm

We then walked to Sacred Ceour where we had the chance to climb a gazillion steps to see a beautiful church or do a little souvenir shopping. A little of all was done.

Our bus didn’t show up after our shopping so we jumped on the subway for a good time. It took a little longer, but it was an adventure!

Steps: just shy of 20000 today or over 14km!

We woke up in France this morning to another beautiful day!

I forgot to mention yesterday that our Saskatchewan kids are again so awesome! Our bus driver helped us when he didn’t have to by giving us a ride on the bus to get home our last night in Amsterdam. He was off duty but came back and picked us up when we were to use public transport. The kids made him a thank you card, drew a picture in it and googled thank you in Dutch. He was genuinely touched when the kids gave it to him and put it on display in the bus.

Vimy Ridge Memorial. This is an incredible site that marks where Canada fought together as a unit and pushed back the Germans. The French have given a parcel of this land to Canada as a thank you and that is why the Canadian flag flies proudly here.

We have enjoyed our counterparts on our tour from an English-speaking school from Quebec. We thought it was fitting to get a group shot of our entire group of 38 in front of the Vimy Ridge Memorial. We also took a YG Travellers pic as well in our rider great! Ridernation was represented at Vimy Ridge!

We had a fairly long bus day as we drove to Caen. We drove across a couple giant bridges that interesting.

We enjoyed a ham and potato dinner with chocolate cake for dessert. It was so delicious this was the only pic I could get. I may also be just a little tired and have forgot.

Another good day. Tomorrow we are at Juno Beach.

Happy 18th birthday to Mia, our Weyburn friend from WCS, who came with us on tour!

Today was filled with bus travel, cemeteries and showing respect.

• Welcome to Belgium. This little country is famous for inventing the saxophone, birth control, Smurf’s, tin-tin, mannequin piss statue,

• Best Belgium food: truffles

Started touring Canadian graveyards in Belgium.

Passendale (That’s how it was spelled on the sign in Belgium but we usually spell it Paschendale.). We stopped at the Canada Gate which is a memorial for Canadians lost.

• Next stop was Tyne Cot Cemetery. A commonwealth cemetery housing thousands of soldiers from across the commonwealth. We met up with a man who has done research on fallen soldiers. A Yellow Grass resident had studied her uncle’s journey and shared her info with this man. With her material, he was able to identify two more soldiers who previously were unidentified. He came and had his picture taken with us.

• St Julian Passendaele Memorial. The memorial about giving respect to soldiers who suffered from deadly gas. Heads bowed and eyes downcast were the sign of respect. We were there at the memorial on 104th anniversary of the gas being used for the first time in WW1.

• Essex Farm Cemetery at Flanders Fields. This is where John McCrea wrote the poem “In Flander’s Field” when he was working as a field doctor. He wondered at the senseless of it all. The cemetery crosses are scattered. Maybe a sign of the senselessness of war. The students were told by our tour director to reflect on what they had observed during the day. Taylor came back to the bus and shared a poem she had written while reflecting. It brought tears and applause when she read it to the bus on the microphone.
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• Ypres (sounds like eeper). We entered the city that saw a lot of fighting and also the rise of the Canadian spirit. We visited the In Flanders Field Museum which is very detailed about war experiences.
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• We went for a delicious lasagna supper at “The Trumpet”. I think it is the best meal I have had on an EF tour.
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• We were in attendance at the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate at 8pm which occurs EVERY night as the Ypres community shows their respect for what soldiers did many many years ago. They will not be forgotten.
• We jumped back on the bus and headed to Vimy, France for our only night there. Belgium was a whirlwind. We had just enough spare time to buy a few chocolates, waffles and truffles. Delicious!
• This may have been the best day so far, but maybe I’m biased as I’ve said this everyday!
• We have had our share of laughs on the trip. The wooden clogs may have caused one of our girls to take up dancing!
• short walking day of only 9 km.
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This morning we awoke to another beautiful weather day! The sun is shining and we have happy and rested travellers.

We visited a cheese and wooden shoe farm this morning. Roel was an entertaining man who showed us how he makes it all. Dana may not get Kathy back as Roel enjoyed Kathy as his assistant. He kept calling her “happy mommy woman” to the crowd’s amusement. The demonstrations were pretty interesting. There are a few wooden shoes and Gouda cheese wheels coming home to Canada.

We then visited a windmill farm which was very similar to Disney World at Christmas – total tourist trap with many, many people.

We had lunch at a little seaside village where about a gazillion other people happened to visit at the same time as us. Some of the boys found some fries to try yuppie sauce with. The sauce is made of mayo and curry. They seemed to enjoy it!

Canals are hand-dug ditches. When water isn’t salt-water, it is called sweet water.

We had a tour guide for the city of Amsterdam. She brought us a Dutch treat “street waffle” which were little wafer cookies. Pretty tasty! There may be a few samples coming home.

• May 4 Remembrance Service

• May 5 Liberation Day

The Anne Frank Museum was significant and meaningful for all. Everyone was extra attentive and listened to every component in the audio section. Touring the rooms where the family hid for the soul reason that they Jewish makes one develop new hate for Adolf Hilter.

Amsterdam home owners used to pay taxes on the width of their house. Note the picture of Landon and Marshall. That house didn’t have high taxes as the boys could each touch the far edge of the house on both sides and stand in the middle.

Supper or dinner had us having chicken kabobs with peanut sauce. Quite delicious!

The entire group has been incredibly busy being toured and educated so the free time in Amsterdam tonight was quite enjoyable. They all had stories to share! We had 3 basic rules that the kids had to follow. You can ask them what they were! 🤪

Tomorrow is another busy travel day as we leave the Netherlands and head towards Belgium on our way to Paris. All kids have been asked and they say they are having a good time.

Today, the Fitbit counted 11km of walking.

Happy Easter!

• We had an early morning to get to the train station on time. The moms may be getting tired or just super comfortable with each other as the giggles and laughter are getting more and more frequent. Our conversations are getting more and more varied.

• We arrived in the Netherlands via train. It was a chaotic experience as we had a very small window of time to disembark. The kids did great in what could have been a stressful situation.

• The name Netherlands translates to low wet land.
• As we travel along, we saw swan, herons, and deer. Ok, the deer weren’t that spectacular, but the swans swimming along the water and the herons standing so proud were pretty awesome to see.
• We learned that on May 4 in the evening and May 5 all day there is a huge celebration of the Liberation of the Netherlands after WW2 for all countries who sacrificed their young for the cause. The liberation was led by Canadians. The entire country comes to a halt for 2 minutes, even the entire city of Amsterdam. Each year a different city is chosen to host the celebration. It makes one pretty proud to be a Canadian.
• We visited the Groesbeek Museum and the Canadian War Memorial Cemetery. Seeing our young people walk peacefully through the rows of crosses paying their respects to Canadian soldiers brought positive vibes for the future
• The tulips are blooming and my fingers are crossed that we will see the fields of them. They were blooming beautifully in the cemetery and in the ditches along the road.
• These trips are so incredible. In only a few short days, one has to be affected by the history being learned. Treating people differently because of religion or personal choices and not working towards the common good of society, can have horrific outcomes. Seeing the cemetery today of crosses upon crosses and the images of people jumping out of buildings to get out of East Berlin, makes you wonder why some don’t appreciate and respect the freedoms we have in Canada. My biggest problem today was not being able to find my hairband. We are examining history over here and realizing how trivial our “problems” are and can be.
• Weather today has been absolutely beautiful. Pretty perfect to truly appreciate the goodness of our Canadian lives
• We finished the day with a delicious supper at a buffet where everyone could order what they wanted. We also completed our first day in the Netherlands by having pictures taken by a giant windmill.

Wonderful morning weather wise. Around 20 degrees.

Tour of Berlin Wall. It is truly a historical site that makes one think of why people just can’t get along. A lot of energy and resources were put into keeping ideas apart harming families in the process.

German swearing is very common. It is interesting to listen to our guide drop language cues that we would admonish in Canada. Sorry parents if your kids come home with potty mouths. Blame it on our German tour director and guides. Oops.

Sachsenhausen concentration camp. It was a moving experience that truly makes one appreciate our wonderful life in Canada, even if Justin is the PM for a few more months. A movie suggestion that made for us was “The Counterfeiter”. It is based on what happened in the concentration camp with Jewish bankers and the black market. It is supposed to be very good.

A man in tight leather German Loederhosen(sp?) on a Segway pulling a suitcase was quite a sight for our Canadian people. It brought many laughs for us. Even our guide laughed with us.

Lunch at Checkpoint Charlie. Some found pretzels, some found sandwiches, some found McDonalds. 😊. Checkpoint Charlie was once considered the most dangerous point in the world as Soviet and Americans were on opposite sides from each other. They once believed that World War 3 would start here, if it was to start anywhere.

As we traveled to the concentration from and back to Berlin, we were on the autobahn. On our big motor coach, we were forced to buckle up at the driver’s request. Safety first 😊

We had supper at an Italian restaurant of potatoes/rice and chicken stroganoff. Good fuel for the day.

Tonight we did a Cold War Panel Discussion at the remnants of the wall. Our tour director, Jens, is incredibly knowledgeable in German history. He has the kids “eating out of his hand” with his personality, energy, and wealth of information. 😊

Today was a heavy walking day clocking in at over 15000 steps or 11km.

Everyone is doing well and having a good time. We have a very early wake up tomorrow at 530 to get to train station to go to the Netherlands. Goodbye Germany!

• Met up as our big group in Frankfurt. It was so good to have our happy family back together. 🤪
• Met Jens (sounds like yans) our tour director. He is going to be so good at helping guide our adventure.
• Emergency number 112. Not 911 like at home. This was safety feature we needed to know according to EF.

From the airport, we drove to the hotel and were allowed to freshen up before going on a walking tour and off to supper. It was delicious with a German meatball, potato salad and some sausage.

We are doing great, but really looking to a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow, I will be creative! 😊

Departure day!

Our group is flying out in two groups. The travellers doing the extension win the prize of leaving at 5 am and getting to tour Calgary before jetting off to Germany! The non-extension group gets to sleep in and leave at a leisurely 10 am on a flight to Toronto and then Germany. We will meet up in Frankfurt and then make a short jump to Berlin together to begin the actual touring! We will usually update this blog at the end of each day if wifi and weariness allow. This is our biggest group yet of 20! Please feel free to leave comments so we know someone is reading the blog! Later folks!

Update: Pam’s group has boarded their flight to Frankfurt. We had an entertaining day in Calgary going on a scenic bus tour to see the Olympic Park, Saddledome, McMahon Stadium, Stampede grounds and a walk along the river. We only got in trouble once by being to inquisitive at Olympic Park. Security told us we had ignored the NO TRESPASSING, which only Jordyn had noticed. We may need to listen to her more often.

As I sit in my seat on this long flight, I love listening to the jabber coming our kids – the girls are giggling and trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep while the boys are getting their seats and electronics just right.

We have heard from Leah’s group. Looks like they may have been playing football in the airport and building pyramids. Sounds like all is good!

When I write again, it will be Day 2 of our journey! Later.

😊