France

Called into see Jimmy and Majanda as we prepared to travel south with Sonia and Peter.

I had watched the dawn service at Villers Bretonneux on the April 25th this year and heard about a new museum that was being opened to honour the contribution Australian soldiers led by John Monash had made as they helped liberate Amiens and Villers Bretonneux from the last ditch effort made by the Germans in the Ludendorff offensive.
Australians and the achievements they made in turning the tide of the war under the strategic guidance of Monash continue to be remembered, The Australian Flag is prominent, the school in Villers Bretonneux built with money raised by Victorian children in the wake of WW1 still bears prominent Australian symbols.

We had travelled to cemetery in Villers Bretonneux 5 years ago and it had been quite overcast but as we arrived here this time the sun was shining and where there had been open fields behind there was now built the museum quite discreetly. The museum was extremely well done like all modern museums we have visited and we downloaded an app on our phones to follow along with the story. Whilst it only takes a small space it is very comprehensive. there were plenty of Australian visitors, some wearing wattle or poppies, really the only thing missing was the scent of eucalyptus, though we did wonder a bit about the "heroics" of the Australians in the presentation and felt that it may be a bit one-sided. They did make a significant impact and tactics that Monash implemented were definitely innovative and continued to be used in WW2.

Amiens is a lovely city and we enjoyed a visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral (yes there are quite a few of them) in the evening when they have an amazing light show displayed on the facade.

Also came across a bike race through the streets, well supported and very impressive

Next day Heidelberg.