George's trip to Europe 2008 - Part 2

The map showing our route for Day 2

On the second day of our journey, Mike an I hauled ourselves out of George, having slept in a petrol station in Herford overnight.  After making ourselves presentable, we drove the remaining few miles to reach Becklingen War Cemetery in Soltau, Germany. 

George outside the entrance to Becklingen War Cemetery

The cemetery was beautiful and well maintained, thanks to the great work done by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  I found my Great Uncle Ken's grave very quickly.  It was wonderful.  I placed a poem and photograph on his grave.  The epitaph on his grave read as follows:  

"Though absent, you are ever near, still loved, still missed and ever dear."

If you wish to find the grave of a relative killed in active service, all the information you need is available on www.cwgc.org do have a look!

 From Soltau, we headed to Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp.  It is not far away from Becklingen War Cemetery.  It is one of the strangest places I have ever been.  It was eerily silent.  It was almost as if the events which took place there have altered the atmosphere.  An exhibition in the visitor's centre showed the diary entries and letters of Polish children during the sacking of Warsaw.  It was horrendous.  I realised then quite why it was so important that our nation stood against Nazi Germany.

After Bergen Belsen, we headed to Soest - a small town near to Dortmund, where Mike lived as a child.  It was a quaint town, filled with typically German architecture.

Two beautiful buildings in Soest

We also found two of George's German cousins.

The first was a lovely example of a Mk 2 Golf ...

George with his German cousin

 The other was both horrible and unexpected ...

Someone in Germany had clearly spent time in sunny Essex before going home and doing this dreadful cruelty to their Golf.  Gary boys, it seems, are no longer just an Essex thing!



So that was the end of Day Two and George had still not been remotely naughty!  Perhaps he liked being back in the land of his birth!  

Miles that day: 259

Total miles: 778