Jennifer Lambert

A Sacred Balance

Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On InstagramVisit Us On Linkedin

In Borrowed Houses Book Review

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By Leave a Comment

I understand borrowed houses.

As a military wife, I’ve lived in my share of borrowed houses.

Every house is a new beginning.

We work hard to make the house a home.

We’ve thankfully never lived anywhere dangerous, and certainly nowhere during a war.

We have lived in some unique locales where we had to adapt to the culture, try to blend in for safety and comfort, and sometimes, we just long for the next move.

I’ve lived in houses with broken floor tiles, wonky kitchen cabinets, unreliable electricity that would pop the fuse if I ran the oven and a countertop appliance at the same time. We’ve lived in homes with large backyards and no yards at all.

We’ve never lived near family, so it’s important to try to make friends with everyone we meet.

We do have to bloom where we are planted.

I love how real Frances Fuller is in telling her story of this house.

Her faith is inspiring because she shares her thoughts and doubts. She shares her failings. She recalls arguments with her husband.

She exudes love and grace and mercy despite all the negativity surrounding her.

In spite of the war raging about her, there are heartwarming stories of people coming together to celebrate, live life together, share food, and love. So much love.

When she mentions her friends, I find myself wondering about them when I lie in bed late at night. Where are they now? Are they safe?

There are a few unanswered questions in the book, just like there isn’t always closure in life.

Frances Fuller has an incredible testimony and it is convicting to me that I have ever complained or will continue to complain…when I am so, so blessed with comfort and safety.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book In Borrowed Houses: A true story of love and faith amidst war in Lebanon by Frances Fuller.


Purchase now:

In Borrowed Houses: A true story of love and faith amidst war in Lebanon by Frances Fuller

Share
Pin
Share
0 Shares
You might also like:

Easy Ways to Increase Your Daily Vitamin C Intake

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By 1 Comment

Vitamin C is one of the most helpful of all vitamins. It can give your immune system the boost that it needs to help you get through cold and flu season without a single sniffle, make you recover faster from common illnesses and let your body recuperate from injuries quicker too. While you probably know that fresh fruit and some juices are high in this vitamin, you might not realize that other foods contain the vitamin too. There are some simple and easy ways to boost your daily Vitamin C intake without spending a lot of time or money.

Cool Treats

Kiwi is a fruit that is extremely high in Vitamin C and one that you’ll see appearing on grocery store shelves in the late spring. Instead of just cutting one in half and eating the inside with a spoon, use kiwis to beat the heat on a hot summer day. Peel the furry skin away from the fruit, toss the fruit in a blender with a small amount of water or your favorite fruit juice to create a thick liquid. Pour the liquid into an ice cube trap or a popsicle tray that you freeze for several hours or overnight. You can also pour the liquid into a ceramic dish and freeze. Scraping the top of the liquid every few hours turns this simple recipe into a granita.

Make Your Own Veggie Tray

Some of the veggies that contain a lot of natural Vitamin C include red and green peppers and broccoli. The next time you bring home groceries from the store, wash those vegetables in cool water and cut into thin strips or small pieces. Divide the veggies into small bags that you keep on the top shelf of your refrigerator or in another convenient spot. When you’re in the mood for a snack, you can grab one of those bags and enjoy all the benefits of Vitamin C. You can dip those veggies into peanut butter, hummus or your favorite dip.

Change the Way You Cookout

Hosting a backyard cookout is a great way to relax and have fun with friends, but if you’re like most people, you probably stick to the same foods and condiments. Don’t top your hot dogs with the same old ketchup and mustard. Try reaching for a jar of sauerkraut instead. Though it might seem hard to believe, sauerkraut is high in Vitamin C. You can use store bought or make your own. If you feel like trying something even more different, consider topping grilled burgers and dogs with kimchi, a spicy Asian condiments that is high in Vitamin C.

Grab and Go

One of the easiest ways to increase your daily intake of Vitamin C is with vitamin supplements. When you buy vitamins online, you can purchase supplements that contain all the vitamins and minerals that you need. Instead of changing your diet, you can down a vitamin on your way out the door in the morning, once you finish a workout or even before you head to bed. These supplements are available in smaller bottles that are perfect for keeping in your desk drawer at work or in your bag too.

Make Your Own Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Tomatoes contain a lot of Vitamin C, but when you choose canned or jarred tomatoes, you’ll get less of the vitamin. While sun-dried tomatoes are a better option, many companies pack those tomatoes in jars with oil that detract from the flavor of the vegetable and add to the calories that you consume. You can make your own sun-dried tomatoes at home. All you need is a few tomatoes that you slice thinly and a place to set those slices in or near direct sunlight. The sun will dry out the moisture in the tomatoes. You can do the same thing in a food dehydrator or in an oven set to the lowest temperature.

Whether you buy Vitamin C online or make some changes to your diet, you can get all the benefits of this great vitamin. Use simple recipes and ideas to increase your daily intake of Vitamin C and to eat a little healthier.

Share
Pin
Share
0 Shares
You might also like:

Kaneohe with Kids

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By Leave a Comment

We lived in Hawai’i for three glorious years. We loved learning about the culture and history. We enjoyed the food and traveling all over the islands!

Attractions in Kaneohe: The Windward Coast

  • Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden
  • Bellows Air Force Station
  • Sea Life Park
  • Hanauma Bay
  • Kualoa Ranch – Lots of movies and shows filmed there like Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, Lost, and Hawaii Five-O. There are ATV tours.
  • Kane’one Sandbar

Be sure to check out:
Hawaii Activities
Non-profit Sustainable Tours
Reef Safe Advocacy

Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden

This was one of our favorite places!

Ducks and flowers are exciting.

Waimānalo Beach at Bellows AF Station

117 recreational lodging rentals: cabins, condos, camp cabins, campsites, and RV sites. Rent equipment or take classes at Turtle Cove.

We loved just going to pretty tree-lined beach. The surf sometimes got a little rough and the lifeguard would warn us about the children getting knocked over by the waves.

Sea Life Park

This is the ocean park shown in the movie 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.

You can opt for encounters with dolphins, sharks, sea lions, rays, and more!

Admission
$39.99 (13 and older)
$24.99 (3-12 years)
FREE – Children under 2 

The Windward Coast near Kaneohe offers so much for families.

We loved living on Oahu for three years, exploring most of what the island had to offer. Some things we didn’t get to see or do since we had very little children. We’d love to go back!

We also traveled to Mau’i, Kaua’i, Ni’ihau, and The Big Island.



Booking.com

Hawaii Coffee Company


Linking up:

Share
Pin16
Share
16 Shares
You might also like:

Geology Lab for Kids Book Review

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By Leave a Comment

My middle daughter loves rocks. She’s said she wants to be a geologist for as long as I can remember

Geology Lab for Kids: 52 Projects to Explore Rocks, Gems, Geodes, Crystals, Fossils, and Other Wonders of the Earth’s Surface by Garret Romaine is an amazing book with fun projects to learn about geology!

Geology Lab for Kids is a great introduction to all things geology!

The book includes twelve units with an introduction, a section on Identifying Rocks and Minerals, and a Resource List. At the beginning of each unit, there are jokes, stories, and information about the topic. Each unit has between three and six labs to reinforce the learning topic.

About the Book

Geology Lab for Kids offers 52 simple, inexpensive, and fun experiments that explore the earth’s surface, structure, and processes. Learn about the wonders of geology: the formation of crystals and fossils, the layers of the earth’s crust, and the eruption of geysers and volcanoes. Readers will learn about how crystals form; how insects are trapped and preserved in amber; how water shapes mountains, valleys, and canyons; how a volcano forms and erupts; how a geyser uses heat beneath the earth’s surface; and more.

About the Author

Garret Romaine is an award-winning journalist and technical writer hailing from Portland, Oregon. His grandfather, Harold Banta, was an attorney in Baker, Oregon specializing in mining law, and his grandmother Floy ran a rock shop in Baker. As a boy, Garret visited many collecting areas, mines, and ghost towns in the Baker area, and was hooked for life on field work. He earned a geology degree from the University of Oregon, studying under stalwarts such as Dr. Ewart Baldwin, Dr. William Orr, and Dr. Allan Kays, and followed that up with a master’s degree in geography at the University of Washington and an MBA from Portland State.

Garret has written for multiple publications in the Portland area, and has managed technical writing teams for several technology companies. He has taught technical writing at Portland State since 1997, and serves on the board of directors for the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals and the North America Research Group, devoted to fossil hunting.

Garret authored a regular column entitled “Mining the Internet” for the Gold Prospectors Association of America (GPAA). He has written features, product reviews, personal interviews, field reports, and research compilations for many locales across the west. He wrote Gem Trails of Washington, updated Gem Trails of Oregon, and wrote Rockhounding Idaho. He has also written a series of rock & gem identification books, plus handbooks for rockhounds and prospectors. He has written gold panning guides for the Pacific Northwest and California, and is working on Colorado next.

Our Review

We looked through the book and found a couple fun projects to try.

Most of the ingredients are household items. Color photos illustrate the project and the geology term it represents.

Tori had her heart set on making crystal geodes and we attempted that, after trying to remember three different times to buy superglue! It’s at least a two-day project, so we’ll see if crystals form in a couple days.

We made lava cakes for dessert.

Those were a big hit!

We learned about lava flow and brittle crust.

We love the simple but information labs to learn about geology. This will be a book in our science repertoire for years to come!

Share
Pin
Share
0 Shares
You might also like:

The Best and Worst of Hickam AFB

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By Leave a Comment

You either love Hawai’i or you don’t love Hawai’i.

I knew people who resented not having cooler weather or who didn’t like sand or beaches. What?!

We were surprised to get stationed there for three years.

Living in Hawai’i isn’t the same as a vacation there. But every single day, there’s a rainbow!

We lived on base. My son was born in Hawaii. We loved it and the kids still call it home. We long to go back!

I couldn’t limit my list to just 10 items!

Best of Hickam AFB

  1. Beaches

    All beaches are open to the public. We love the beach life!

  2. Festivals

    So many fun festivals, like the Merrie Monarch, SPAM, Makahiki, and The Lantern Festival. Hawaiians love to party!

  3. Weather

    It’s almost always gorgeous. Never cold and mostly sunny. Except December is a rainy month.

  4. Food

    If you love food, there is a plethora of it! It’s so, so good!

    Some of our favorites:

    Wailana Cafe for Macadamia Pancakes and the best coffee!
    Puka Dog
    Hale Koa Bar for the best mai tai!
    Ono Seafood
    Nico’s Pier 38
    Leonard’s Bakery
    Teddy’s Bigger Burgers
    Anna Miller
    Boston Pizza
    Zippy’s
    Wah Kung
    Nam Fong for the best Peking Duck!

  5. Culture

    Aloha culture is welcoming and joyous. We never felt discrimination for being white or haole. Aloha Fridays were the best – leave work early to get a start on the weekend!

  6. Activities

    Lots of fun, outdoorsy things to do: hiking, wildlife exploring, camping, beach activities, history, and culture.

Worst of Hickam AFB

  1. Traffic

    There are only 3 major highways on O’ahu. Traffic can be rough during rush hour times. We had to always plan accordingly or just suck it up.

  2. Centipedes

    These not so little critters get into everything. I once threw out a hamper when one crawled inside. I didn’t even play. They sting quite badly. Also, mosquitoes and other bugs are a nuisance since it’s always warm.

  3. Isolation

    People get island fever. The mainland is about 8 hours away by plane.

  4. No Autumn or Winter

    We didn’t mind this at all, but we knew some people who missed cooler weather. They complained that Christmas didn’t feel like Christmas. We made the most of it and had lots of fun with tacky decorations. December is the rainy season and our lanai turned green!

  5. Vog

    We always had the sniffles and were prone to respiratory infections due to the Vog. It’s the volcano fog floating over all the islands from The Big Island smoldering volcanoes. It was sometimes very hard to breathe and alerts would issued to stay indoors.

  6. Expensive

    There was no possibility of our living off-base. Housing is super expensive. Food in local grocery stores is super expensive. The commissary sometimes ran out of sugar and other staples during peak times, so we learned to stock up before the holidays instead of running out to a local store.

We lived on Hickam AFB on O’ahu for three years. It was a magical time and we have lots of great memories!
We traveled to Mau’i, Kaua’i, Ni’ihau, and The Big Island.

Be sure to check out:
Hawaii Activities
Non-profit Sustainable Tours
Reef Safe Advocacy

I love this helpful list of Facebook groups to join when PCSing to Hawaii!

Share
Pin24
Share
24 Shares
You might also like:

European Travel with Kids

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By 29 Comments

We’ve been blessed to live in Europe for the past three years.

We’ve taken advantage of the cheap travel opportunities to see much of Europe with our kids. We’ve seen most of my travel bucket list locations.

European travel is an adventure, even more so with kids!

Our traveling priorities are museums, culture, history, and food!

Travel makes you modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” Gustave Flaubert

Necessities

Travel passports for everyone, including babies.

Since we’re Americans, living in Germany, we are issued passports with a SOFA stamp for free, but we only have those to prove we live in Germany, for traveling back and forth to the USA. We also had to purchase travel passports to move freely around Europe.

Tourist passports are necessary for everyone to cross a border, even if they are open, not posted, or you’re traveling by car or train.

Pin and chip cards haven’t caught on in America so much yet. Europe still prefers cash. We ordered a pin and chip credit card from USAA for travel ease. Our bank now offers the pin and chip check cards. We notify them when we travel outside of Germany, but they’re still often declined when we travel. It’s embarrassing.

Power adapters for the camera battery and devices.

Activities for downtime. We like travel pencils and journals or coloring pages or info sheets about where we’re traveling. These are great for rainy mornings, long waits in restaurants, airport delays, airplane rides, and boring trains.

Air Travel

Carry-ons for airplane travel are cheaper than paying for checked luggage, but not necessarily easier. We picked up six small rolling suitcases for about €30 each that abide by RyanAir guidelines. We have been able to use these for three years just fine. It’s amazing how much we can pack in them!

Toiletries must be packed in see-through quart-size zip bags, one per passenger. This includes all liquids, gels, powders, creams, lotions, etc. All containers must be under 3 oz or ml. We all got to be quite handy with packing these baggies with all our necessities and whipping them out for security checks.

We use RyanAir almost exclusively for our European air travel.

WizzAir is another cheap airline, but your free carryon can only be a backpack. We didn’t attempt this.

EasyJet is another discount airline we haven’t used, but we’ve heard great things.

We like Skyscanner to compare rates.

It’s good to be flexible. We are flexible on dates and times. Early morning flights can be stressful, so we stay in a hotel right beside the airport the night before. Some airports are cheaper than others. It’s good to check surrounding airports for better deals. We pay for parking online for a discount and to ensure a spot in the lot.

We don’t have to wait until school breaks or holidays since we homeschool. My husband saves up a lot of leave so we can travel frequently.

I planned trips to coincide with our homeschool studies.

We went to Rome and Greece when we studied Ancient Times.
We went to Ireland and Paris for Medieval Studies.
Several Italy trips covered the Renaissance.
We went to Worms for a Reformation Unit Study.
We went to Dachau the American Cemetery in Luxembourg when we learned about WWII.
Prague is a bustling international tourist attraction since the fall of Communism.
London was learning across the ages.

Road Trips

Road trips are…interesting.

Gasoline is expensive. They measure in liters, so it seems even more expensive to Americans. Many stations require prepay. Some are cash only.

Some cities require special stickers for your vehicle, which can be purchased either at the border – or at your inspection, so be aware!

The rest stops in Europe are superb, with actual restaurants serving a variety of local cuisine. It’s much nicer than the fast food of the USA.

There are lots of toll roads, so you need to keep change on hand. Some took pin and chip cards, but it’s good to have plenty of Euro just in case.

Road trips are nice since we carried whatever toiletries we needed and cooking items for apartments saved us money from eating out.

Train Travel

We only used trains for 3 trips.

It was much cheaper, quicker, and easier for us to travel by train to Paris. We didn’t want to deal with driving a minivan in Paris or paying for parking.

Kids and youth are cheaper than adult tickets. Sometimes first class is the same price or even cheaper than coach!

Tickets must be validated before boarding. The validation centers are usually inconvenient little orange boxes at the far end of the station.

Each time we traveled by train, we were confused as to where our assigned seats were. We’d get on the wrong car because the labels are confusing. We had to get an attendant to move people from our paid assigned seats. It was ridiculous and embarrassing.

My husband wanted to reenact his trip to Heidelberg by train that he took years ago. That was a miserable day for all of us. It was super hot out. We didn’t have enough water or snacks and we were tired and irritable.

Toilets

Finding toilet facilities can be stressful.

We like apps like Toilet Finder or Toilet Finder, but you have to download all of it before you go if you don’t have cell service or Wi-Fi. Lots of cities and restaurants have free Wi-Fi, so that’s really nice.

Many public restrooms require payment of up to €1,50 for each use. It’s good to be aware of this and have plenty of change.

Our Priorities while Traveling:

We love museums!

We tend to focus our trips around art, history, culture, and food.

We don’t do amusement parks or frivolous entertainment.

Traveling is educational. We don’t need busy work or worksheets. I sometimes print or buy trip journals for the kids, but they are never mandatory. We planned trips around our studies in history, literature, and other subjects – to reinforce what we read about or watched.

I aim for exposure. We don’t have the funds or time to immerse ourselves for long periods of time. Yes, we’re just tourists and not really travelers. We were so blessed to be able to introduce our kids to other countries and I pray that my kids return to favorite locales when they grow up and take their own families!

Our Favorite European Trips:


Do you have travel tips to share? Where’s your favorite destination?



Booking.com

 
Share
Pin43
Share
43 Shares
You might also like:

Ohio Notebooking Pages

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By 20 Comments

So, it’s official.

We’re moving to Ohio this summer.

We threw out our printables, but I still like them occasionally, like loooong plane and car rides.

I found some fun Ohio state notebooking pages to learn about our new home. We’ve lived in Germany for three glorious years, so it will probably be a bit of a culture shock going back to the States!

We haven’t gone to church in a while, so we’re excited to find a new church home. Thank you for praying for us!

Read about the PCS grief process for our military family.

We have so many fun things planned for our new home!

5 things we’ve missed about the United States:

  1. Chick-Fil-A (and it’s just as good as we remember!)
  2. Air conditioning (but it’s really cold to us now!)
  3. Potatoes (the ones in mainland Europe are sweeter.)
  4. Window Screens (yay for keeping out bugs!)
  5. Pay at the pump gasoline!

5 things we’ve noticed now that we’re back in our passport country:

  1. American flags. Everywhere. It’s like we don’t want to forget where we are.
  2. The roads are dirty, full of pot holes, and not clearly marked. Drivers aren’t as courteous or knowledgeable. We miss the Autobahn!
  3. It’s very loud and bright, everywhere, all the time. So many ads and commercials.
  4. So many mediocre things seem so expensive.
  5. There are few good beers here. What’s with all the IPA and fruity beer?

The Ohio flag is pretty cool:

Ohio’s state flag was adopted in 1902. The Ohio burgee, as the swallowtail design is properly called, was designed by John Eisemann. The large blue triangle represents Ohio’s hills and valleys, and the stripes represent roads and waterways.

We’re settling in to Ohio really well. It’s so pretty here! Now, we just need to go pick up our minivan from the port and I’ll be all set.

Ohio Notebooking Pages:

Do you have any Ohio info or pages to add to my list?

USA State Study Notebooking Pages

Do you have any tips about living in Ohio?

Share
Pin26
Share
26 Shares
You might also like:

Wissembourg Day Trip

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By Leave a Comment

Wissembourg, France, is a great day trip from Kaiserslautern.

It’s only about 1-2 hours away, depending on traffic and weather.

Wissembourg was a battle site during the Franco-Prussian war. France lost, allowing the Prussians entrance into the country.

We went on a sunny and warm day in April and it was gorgeous with flowers and trees in bloom!

Wisteria is one of my favorite scents!

There’s a large free parking lot in the city center.

And there are free restrooms!

The 13th century medieval ramparts encircle the city center and are a lovely park-like walk or a picnic on a bench in the sunshine.

The kids liked running in the old moat.

I loved the other side of the village with the canal and ramparts.

St. Peter and St. Paul’s cathedral is lovely and dates back to the 1200s!

The abbey tower dates to 1025!

We walked through town and enjoyed the fountain and flowers.

We made reservations online at Restaurant du Cygne after browsing online for somewhere with good French food.

They have prix fixe menu and lovely plats. The wait staff is extremely sweet and helpful – in at least three languages!

I chose a 4-course prix fixe with accompanying wines – asparagus salad, dorade with bell peppers, quail, and strawberries with ice cream.

Tori chose the dorade. Katie got a steak.

Alex got the chicken kids’ meal! Look at it!

Everything was superb.

The whole reason for going to Wissembourg was to get chocolates at Patisserie Rebert. We were not disappointed. My favorites are the saffron-infused truffles.

Rebert is located on a lively corner, easily recognizable by the bright red awning and crowds.

We each got a lovely pastry and we picked out a box of chocolates. The cakes were fresh and delicious a few hours later at home!

We stopped at a little grocer for some fresh peas and white asparagus on the way back to the car.

It was a fun day!

You might also like:

Share
Pin17
Share
17 Shares
You might also like:

The Best and Worst of KMC, Germany

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By Leave a Comment

The Best and Worst of Kaiserslautern Military Community, Germany

Every base has its pros and cons. While most jump at the chance to live in Germany, here’s what great and what’s not so great about the KMC.

The Best of KMC, Germany

Travel Opps

Churches, castles, wineries, and breweries – OH MY!

We loved exploring Europe for the culture, art, and food! See some of our trips here.

Cheap Flights

RyanAir often has $10 sales on flights in Europe. There are a few other discount airlines too. Take advantage and see everything you can!

Beer and Wine

Even if you don’t drink, the grapes on the hillsides are lovely to see. The festivals are fun. If you do drink, it’s cheaper and better than anywhere.

The Worst of KMC, Germany

Language Barrier

I learned German in college. Textbook German. No one could understand me in the KMC, so I pretty much gave up. Most people know at least some English. Some are really nice and try to work with you. Do try to learn some helpful phrases. There are classes on and off base if you really want to immerse yourself.

Shopping

  • Sundays. Most European stores are closed on Sundays, except for special Sunday Shopping Days, about once a quarter.
  • Commissary. This is the only store you can shop at for American food.
  • KMCC. This is kinda the equivalent of a mall, with the BX and lots of little shops and food court. I think prices are high and quality is low. Selection is also limited.

Housing

  • Screens. There are no screens on windows. So, bugs. you can buy and install screens, but it’s a hassle.
  • Storage. Most European houses have little in the way of storage. FMO provides shranks, but we miss basements, real closets, cellars, and attics to put away items we don’t use very often, like holiday decorations.
  • No Air Conditioning or Central Heating. It can get pretty hot in summer. You need lots of fans and shut all the Rolladens during the day. Stone and brick houses stay cool, and it was hard to stay warm in winter. Buy lots of rugs and wear house slippers.
  • Dust. Everywhere. I can sweep, mop, and dust every day and it still accumulates because the windows are always open.
  • Should you live on or off base? We’ve heard horror stories about German landlords and there are lots of issues to think about if you want to live off-base. For sure, it’s easier and more familiar on base. Do your research and make an informed decision. Be proactive and communicate with your landlord, take lots of pictures, record everything, and refer to the housing office for advocacy.

Do you have anything to add to the list?

You might also like:

Share
Pin8
Share
8 Shares
You might also like:

Flanders WWI Sites

This blog may contain affiliate links: disclosure.
Please see my suggested resources.

By 18 Comments

We visited Flanders Fields.

It’s something I’ve always wanted to see.

We took a little trip to Bruges, Belgium…and saw the Flanders Fields WWI sites on the way back home to Germany.

It was emotional to see all the monuments and memorials to the Commonwealth soldiers.

The “Brooding Soldier” statue by Frederick Chapman Clemesha in the St. Julien Memorial was poignant and much taller than I expected.

We enjoyed the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917.

Open from Monday to Sunday, from 9:00 to 18:00. Last admission at 16:30. A museum visit lasts approximately two hours.

Adults: €6,5 or €10,5 with audioguide
Students: €4 or €7 with audioguide
Under 7 FREE

I read that it was a fun and interactive museum, but we were really blown away by how well put-together it is. We didn’t bother to get audio-guides. The plaques on each display were in English and we read every single one.

The kids loved the interactive exhibits, trying on body armor and helmets, gas masks, and cloaks.

The kids were excited to see a stuffed messenger pigeon like Cher Ami.

Cher Ami was a registered Blue Check Hen carrier pigeon, one of 600 birds owned and flown by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France during World War I. Download the Cher Ami real story here.

The exhibits were really amazing.

We really experienced history in the replicated dugout and trenches.

There was a gorgeous park with lots of walking trails. We had a picnic lunch by the pond.

The Menin Gate was breathtaking.

I really wanted to see the Essex Farm Cemetery and Memorials.

John McCrae wrote the poem In Flanders Fields.

It was memorable to see all these World War I sites and I’m so glad the kids and I got to experience this history.

Also, here’s my World War I Unit Study.

On this day, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiegne, France.

Learn about WWI, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, and American Veterans Day

Books:

Movies:

Activities and Printables:

Learn the difference: American Memorial Day

Lest we forget.

Share
Pin55
Share
55 Shares
You might also like: