This is the first entry in my Afghanistan blog, but I have yet to get to Afghanistan. After a couple of weeks of farewells from family and friends I boarded the Airbus for the flight to Baden-Baden Germany. We had been told that we would spend one night there before heading on to Dubai and then Kandahar. As it turned out, none of that happened. One thing you learn after 30 years in the military is patience. Our stay in Baden-Baden was extended by a day. The extra day allowed a few of us to take a side trip to Strasbourg in France. I have never been there and the charms of Baden-Baden soon pale if you are not very rich and keen on either spas or casin
os. So a train trip to France was organized and three of our group set off. Strasbourg is a beautiful city that hasn’t quite sorted out if it’s German or French. There is a lot of German architecture and good beer (it is the home of Kronenbourg – one of the two biggest brewery businesses in France) yet everyone speaks French. We walked around town for several hours and toured the cathedral. We also had a taste of street democracy as we stumbled upon a protest against the pension reforms proposed by President Sarkozy. Our suspicions were raised by the groups of policemen in riot gear we began to see massing in the side streets. While in the town museum we heard the crowd march by on its way to one of the main squares in Strasbourg – Place Kleber. It was a very peaceful crowd with none of the violence you may have seen on the TV news – a tribute, I believe to the orderly Germanic nature of the average Strasbougeoisie. After the demonstration we headed for the train station where the impact of the other part of the day’s protest was felt. The national rail system in France was on strike. The SNCF was running a t about 50% capacity and we joined the throngs of commuters waiting to see if their trains would run. It turns out our train, booked on a German line, would depart on schedule so we had time to watch the spectacle of the French police blowing up an abandoned bag in the train station. It all happened very non-chalantly as the police moved people back about 2 minutes before the detonation. A smallish boom then rang out and five minutes later all were on their way. Two things struck me: the first was that if the same event had happened at Union Station in Toronto the entire city would have shut down. The second was that it was odd that my first IED was in France! (Although the package turned out to be a bunch of clothes and some baguettes).
We departed Baden-Baden in the morning and received news that the recent diplomatic kerfuffle between the UAE and Canada would impact our itinerary. It appears that our scheduled stop at Camp Mirage in the UAE would be cancelled and we would be disembarking in Cyprus. Originally we were supposed to stop there and drop a few passengers. Now the plan was for us all to stay in Cyprus until a flight could be arranged directly into Kandahar. Another thing you learn in military is flexibility. So we were booked into a hotel in Paphos for two nights and possibly more. This hotel is normally used as the decompression site for our soldiers returning from Afghanistan. They get counselling and get to talk about their experiences with their peers before returning home. It has shown to help reduce the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder. We, on the way in, had merely to wait. The Hotel Azia is a very
nice spot. Very popular with British and Scandinavian tourists it was relatively empty when we arrived. I searched my memory for any words of Greek that I might know to speak to the waiter at our restaurant. Turns out the only one I could recall was “expelliamus” which I proceeded to use to greet our server loudly. After several attempts at communication one of the British tourists seated nearby reminded me that “expelliamus” is actually from the Harry Potter books. After a great meal of swordfish and Cypriot beer we toddled off to bed.
The next day, as we waited for news from Canada, Kandahar, or the airport, we got a chance to relax at this very nice resort hotel. A morning run along the waterfront was followed by a lazy afternoon reading by the pool. I am halfway through the “Girls with the…” trilogy. Late this afternoon we learned that we will fly out tomorrow as the C-17 is on its way to Cyprus.
If all this sounds a little less like “Dave goes to War” and more like “Dave is on another holiday in Europe” it feels that way for me too. I can’t imagine the Canadian troops on their way to the Second World War stopping off for two days on the beach. The break was appreciated, however, as that last few days before departure are stressful. It also is a good way to get over jet-lag: to get over an 8.5 hour time difference, just take 5 days to get there!
With any luck and the good offices of the Canadian Air Force, my next entry will be from Afghanistan. Yassas!
os. So a train trip to France was organized and three of our group set off. Strasbourg is a beautiful city that hasn’t quite sorted out if it’s German or French. There is a lot of German architecture and good beer (it is the home of Kronenbourg – one of the two biggest brewery businesses in France) yet everyone speaks French. We walked around town for several hours and toured the cathedral. We also had a taste of street democracy as we stumbled upon a protest against the pension reforms proposed by President Sarkozy. Our suspicions were raised by the groups of policemen in riot gear we began to see massing in the side streets. While in the town museum we heard the crowd march by on its way to one of the main squares in Strasbourg – Place Kleber. It was a very peaceful crowd with none of the violence you may have seen on the TV news – a tribute, I believe to the orderly Germanic nature of the average Strasbougeoisie. After the demonstration we headed for the train station where the impact of the other part of the day’s protest was felt. The national rail system in France was on strike. The SNCF was running a t about 50% capacity and we joined the throngs of commuters waiting to see if their trains would run. It turns out our train, booked on a German line, would depart on schedule so we had time to watch the spectacle of the French police blowing up an abandoned bag in the train station. It all happened very non-chalantly as the police moved people back about 2 minutes before the detonation. A smallish boom then rang out and five minutes later all were on their way. Two things struck me: the first was that if the same event had happened at Union Station in Toronto the entire city would have shut down. The second was that it was odd that my first IED was in France! (Although the package turned out to be a bunch of clothes and some baguettes).We departed Baden-Baden in the morning and received news that the recent diplomatic kerfuffle between the UAE and Canada would impact our itinerary. It appears that our scheduled stop at Camp Mirage in the UAE would be cancelled and we would be disembarking in Cyprus. Originally we were supposed to stop there and drop a few passengers. Now the plan was for us all to stay in Cyprus until a flight could be arranged directly into Kandahar. Another thing you learn in military is flexibility. So we were booked into a hotel in Paphos for two nights and possibly more. This hotel is normally used as the decompression site for our soldiers returning from Afghanistan. They get counselling and get to talk about their experiences with their peers before returning home. It has shown to help reduce the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder. We, on the way in, had merely to wait. The Hotel Azia is a very
nice spot. Very popular with British and Scandinavian tourists it was relatively empty when we arrived. I searched my memory for any words of Greek that I might know to speak to the waiter at our restaurant. Turns out the only one I could recall was “expelliamus” which I proceeded to use to greet our server loudly. After several attempts at communication one of the British tourists seated nearby reminded me that “expelliamus” is actually from the Harry Potter books. After a great meal of swordfish and Cypriot beer we toddled off to bed.The next day, as we waited for news from Canada, Kandahar, or the airport, we got a chance to relax at this very nice resort hotel. A morning run along the waterfront was followed by a lazy afternoon reading by the pool. I am halfway through the “Girls with the…” trilogy. Late this afternoon we learned that we will fly out tomorrow as the C-17 is on its way to Cyprus.
If all this sounds a little less like “Dave goes to War” and more like “Dave is on another holiday in Europe” it feels that way for me too. I can’t imagine the Canadian troops on their way to the Second World War stopping off for two days on the beach. The break was appreciated, however, as that last few days before departure are stressful. It also is a good way to get over jet-lag: to get over an 8.5 hour time difference, just take 5 days to get there!
With any luck and the good offices of the Canadian Air Force, my next entry will be from Afghanistan. Yassas!
2 comments:
Where ever I go in France I attract spontaneous outbursts of citizen democracy. At least there were no piles of cow manure in Strasbourg.
Hi sir! (Colonel Petterson) I hope you have enjoyed your mission in Kandahar Afghanistan with all Afghan Military and Civil Saff (Interpreters) during your Deployment at OCC-R(south) with us.
SARDAR SANGAR one of the OCC-R Interpreter from september 2010 till to February 2011.
Be happy where ever you are!
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