Day 4: Wednesday, 11 May 2011

We had breakfast early this morning since we need to catch a train to Maastricht, Holland at 9:24 AM. We are all rather excited about the prospect of today’s cemetery visit.

I noticed a man that was having breakfast in our section this morning. He was not clean shaven and was dressed casually in khakis, a blue t-shirt and sneakers, and there was something oddly familiar about him. I tried to work it out in my head, and then it suddenly hit me. He was Aaron Eckhart, an American actor. I’ve seen several of his films, and there he was having breakfast a few feet away from us and reading the Wall Street Journal with reading glasses. HA! It’s a small world.

Aunt Peggy wanted to know why I wouldn't go up to him and introduce myself, but that just isn’t my style. He’s here, perhaps on a holiday of his own. He’s staying in our hotel, and he has the right to his privacy just like we do. I’d just rather leave him in peace and let him enjoy Brussels without being another annoying fan.

We caught a taxi to the Brussels Midi station, and caught our train from there. The train ride was about an hour and a half with multiple stops along the way. Once we got to Maastricht, a kind lady helped us find the right bus line to Margraten, and soon we had roundtrip bus tickets and were on our way. The driver dropped us off at the cemetery gates.

We walked up the driveway to the cemetery, admiring the manicured lawns and the lovely rhododendrons. We took some pictures with the flowers before heading to the first building. It all quickly became emotional for all of us. It was the map room, where the path of both the allies and the Nazis was tracked all over Europe. And there was “Oppenheim” where Grandpa Waeiss crossed the Rhine River into Germany. It was something he wrote about in one of his last letters to Grandma back in Michigan. He and another man were the only survivors in their boat of that crossing. Their boat was hit by enemy fire and all but 2 men perished.

Mom was visibly shaken and moved, and she was crying. It was heart-wrenching, and it was making me cry, too, as I watched her struggle with her grief at the loss of a father she never really knew. I stayed with Mom and just let her take her time with it all.

Next we went to the visitors’ center to look up Grandpa’s plot in the book. While I was looking, I noticed a large orange rose floral spray there on the counter, and it had the name “Harold L. Weiss” on it (yes, they had his last name spelled wrong). A man in the office behind the desk came out and saw Dad and me looking at the flowers, and he asked if we were the Bradleys, and then he made a call. Soon a kind American named “Richard” arrived and was amazingly gentle and gracious.

Richard told us all about the cemetery, the history and the care that each grave receives. Families in Holland adopt a grave or graves, and they bring flowers on special occasions and give attention to each of the 8,301 fallen soldiers at Margraten. There is even a possibility that we can try to contact the family that has adopted Grandpa’s grave. I think that would be a nice gesture to connect with those that visit his grave more frequently than we can.

Richard walked us to the row where Grandpa was buried, and then he let Mom and Aunt Peggy find Grandpa’s headstone on their own. Then he had Mom rub sand into the grave marker so that Grandpa’s name would show up better. Mom then placed the floral spray on the ground in front, and we proceeded to take pictures – many of which Richard took for us. He stayed with us at the grave for a good 30 minutes, and then he left us for some private time on our own and simply asked us to check in with him at the desk before we left.  

We stayed at the grave side for quite a while. It was a sweet few moments. We were mostly silent. I took a video of the surroundings, and I asked everyone not to talk for a minute or two. I later watched the video and noted that everyone was quiet and didn’t say a word. BUT if you listen closely, you can softly hear a little barking noise every once in a while. Aunt Peggy’s camera barks rather than clicks when the shutter is pressed. HA!

We walked around some more and visited the small chapel behind the memorial fountain as well. We waited outside the cemetery gates for the return bus ride back to Maastricht. We took the train made to Brussels Midi station and then a cab back to the hotel to drop our stuff off and get ready for dinner.

We were all pretty tired after our long day, but we opted to walk walked down Avenue Louise one more time and visit a “Quick Burger” for dinner. We finished up our dining with some ice cream at Haagen-Daas for dessert, too.

We went back to the hotel and started packing up. We need to have our suitcases in the hall by 7:30 AM for the bus ride that will take us to Amsterdam where we connect with our cruise.

It had been quite an amazing day, full of emotions and yet delightful all the same.

Favorite Thing or Funny Moment

• Aunt Peggy: gravesite and surprise of flowers; “being with my beloved family”
• Mom: gravesite and surprise of flowers; train ride
• Dad: gravesite and surprise of flowers
• Me: gravesite; learning of the kindness of the people in the Netherlands and of their tender care of the graves (adopting fallen soldiers), etc.
• FEELING: Gratitude!!