Alex's friends from work have loaned me a bike, and so today we went off exploring. Or, specifically, we headed out to the American Cemetery, a ride of about 2 1/2 miles from town.
Riding on the left is not hard when there are plenty of bikes, and very few cars, as through the city centre. Watch out for all the pedestrians though.
Riding out on the bike path we both tend to drift back to riding on the right side. But with so few people out there, it did not matter often.
We stopped to take a photo of a thatched house, and Alex took a photo of me too.
So of course I took a photo of him.
The Cemetery is beautiful, a fitting monument to Americans, mostly in the Air Force, who died fighting World War II.
There is a small visitor center, with a few displays about the cemetery, and the Americans who served here.
This display is about the process of asking families if they wanted their loved ones to be buried permanently in the American Cemetery or have the bodies returned to the US. The same debate happened after World War I. Teddy Roosevelt argued for the importance of American cemeteries around the world as memorials to the brave service of Americans. The only one really lobbing for the return of the bodies was the American Funeral Directors Association. (Just a little self interest there!) They took out ads in American newspapers saying that it would dishonor those lives to leave them on foreign soil. After both World War I and World War II Americans repatriated 61% of the bodies, according to this display.
The wall commemorates those missing in action, presumed dead. Because of the nature of the work done by the Air Force, most who died were never recovered. They are named here on the wall.
Windows in the memorial chapel include State Seals.
We parked our bikes in the lot. Notice the CCTV security camera. Bike theft in Cambridge, like in any big biking area, is apparently an issue, we have been warned.
The bike trail was mostly well marked.
It was also a walking trail.
The view from the bridge as we crossed the Cam back into the City Centre. We had coffee to warm up and then read for a while, until the bookstore cafe closed. It was a lovely day.
What a great way to spend a saturday, some exercise, some history, some coffee and reading. Sounds perfect!!
We'll be having kaffee und kuchen in the garden - too bad we can't invite you. :)
Posted by: Christy Story | January 23, 2011 at 12:08 PM
sounds like it was indeed a lovely day!
Posted by: Heidi Chang | January 23, 2011 at 01:43 PM
Christy, kaffee und kuchen in the garden sounds great, especially if the garden is warm. We are enjoying looking at ours, but don't plan on sitting there anytime soon, high of about 38 F today!
Posted by: Heather Allen Pang | January 24, 2011 at 01:32 AM
I have made a copy of the photo of you and the bike and will put it where your schedule is now posted in the history department - if anyone asks where to find you.....
Posted by: Margaret Lane | January 25, 2011 at 02:08 PM
Thanks Margaret!
Posted by: Heather Allen Pang | January 25, 2011 at 02:31 PM