Mommy Fleur: Europe 2012 Trip: Waterloo, Belgium

We went pala to Belgium and I totally forgot to tell you about it!

Papa, Noel, Alvin and I went to Belgium towards the end of our Europe 2012 trip. Papa wanted to take us to see where the Battle of Waterloo took place.

We made a roadtrip from Amsterdam to Belgium. I so love the scenery. I wish I could see this everyday. This is our way to Waterloo, Belgium.

The Battle of Waterloo from Wikipedia:

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. An Imperial French army under the command of Emperor Napoleon was defeated by the armies of the Seventh Coalition, comprising an Anglo-allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington combined with a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von Blücher. It was the culminating battle of the Waterloo Campaign and Napoleon's last. The defeat at Waterloo ended his rule as Emperor of the French, marking the end of his Hundred Days return from exile.

Upon Napoleon's return to power in 1815, many states that had opposed him formed the Seventh Coalition and began to mobilise armies. Two large forces under Wellington and Blücher assembled close to the north-eastern border of France. Napoleon chose to attack in the hope of destroying them before they could join in a coordinated invasion of France with other members of the coalition. The decisive engagement of this three-day Waterloo Campaign (16–19 June 1815) occurred at the Battle of Waterloo. According to Wellington, the battle was "the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life".

Napoleon delayed giving battle until noon on 18 June to allow the ground to dry. Wellington's army, positioned across the Brussels road on the Mont-Saint-Jean escarpment, withstood repeated attacks by the French, until, in the evening, the Prussians arrived in force and broke through Napoleon's right flank. At that moment, Wellington's Anglo-allied army counter-attacked and drove the French army in disorder from the field. Pursuing coalition forces entered France and restored King Louis XVIII to the French throne. Napoleon abdicated, surrendered to the British, and was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.

In short mga bakla, this is where Napoleon was finally defeated.

The Waterloo Belgium attraction is so cool. We arrived at the Battlefield Visitors Center and purchased our tickets. We wanted sana to go to the Battlefield Tour too kaso lang it was raining that day. The grounds were muddy so they weren't taking any tourist to the battlefield place.

We took na lang the Lion Mound (Butte du Lion), the Two Films about the Battle of Waterloo, Panorama and Wax Museum.

First up was the Two Films which explained the history of the Battle of Waterloo.

After the film, we proceeded to the Butte du Lion or the Lion's Mound.

The Lion's Mound from Wikipedia:

The Lion's Mound (or "Lion's Hillock", "Butte du Lion" in French, "Leeuw van Waterloo" in Dutch) is a large conical artificial hill raised on the battlefield of Waterloo to commemorate the location where William II of the Netherlands (the Prince of Orange) was knocked from his horse by a musket ball to the shoulder during the battle. It was ordered constructed in 1820 by his father, King William I of The Netherlands, and completed in 1826. The prince fought at the preluding Battle of Quatre Bras (16 June, 1815) and the Battle of Waterloo (18 June, 1815).

Papa told us that we have to climb to the top to see where the Waterloo Battlefield where Napoleon fought. 226 steps yan mga ateng.

I'm not sure type ko magclimb ng ganyan ka taas.....

But Papa was so game and enthusiastic, along with his colorful umbrella, so gorabelles na din akish =)

One step at a time...

I'm smiling there pero I was super tired na! It was super cold pa!

Funny because they were all waiting for me to arrive at the top. The other tourists were waiting for me to finish so that we can all go down. Imagine all of them looking at me and cheering for me. And then when I was almost at the top, I looked at them and said:

ME: Wait!

Silence.

ME: I forgot my umbrella downstairs. I have to get it!

I was joking of course! At least I made them all laugh! Sulit ang antay nila sa akin =D

Papa was right. Even with the little fog, the view was breathtaking. Ang galing nila ano? They were able to preserve the battlefield. Ayan yung diagram. It shows where the different armies were located during that battle.

It was so cold sa taas!!!

Again from Wikipedia:

The hill is surmounted by a statue of a lion mounted upon a stone-block pedestal. The model lion was sculpted by Jean-François Van Geel (1756–1830), and bears close resemblance to the 16th century Medici lions. The lion is the heraldic beast on the personal coat of arms of the monarch of The Netherlands, and symbolizes courage; its right front paw is upon a sphere, signifying global victory. The statue weighs 28 tonnes (31 tons), has a height of 4.45 m (14.6 ft) and a length of 4.5 m (14.8 ft). It was cast at the iron foundry of William Cockerill in Liège, whence it was brought by canal barge from Liège to Brussels, and thence by heavy horse-drays to its final site at Mont-St. Jean, a low ridge south of Waterloo.

There is a legend to the effect that the lion was cast from brass melted down from cannons abandoned by the French on the battlefield. The statue was, in fact, cast of iron in nine pieces, which were assembled at the monument site.