The MESA was a test to see what marching for four days felt like.
De Vierdaagse was a whole different ball game.
We got on the bus for Nijmegen with just about all of our normal military kit, shy of our weapons and utility belts. The bus ride took about 7 hours and the party got started as soon as we got on the highway. At 10am we all had cracked open a beer and were having a good time.
We arrived Saturday evening at around 1800 at the International Military Camp of Heumensoord, on the outskirts of Nijmegen. We then began the process of unloading and sorting out all of everyone's gear and kit, and getting ourselves settled in to what would be our home for the next week. The accommodation is very spartan, but considering Heumensoord plays host to around 4000 military personnel every year, it almost has to be. Heumensoord is a tent city. These tents are about 150m long by 50m wide. There are divider walls than then make a bunch of rooms. Each room is filled with a bunch of bunk beds. It took a bit of getting used to, especially getting all of our "stuff" situated. Once all was said and done, and more or less settled in, we changed into our dress uniforms and went to explore Nijmegen. Of the Marschgruppe Aare, there were 18 of us, myself included. We also had one guy who was our designated road side support.
On Sunday, we attended the annual de Vierdaagse Church service at Stevenskerk, roamed around Nijmegen and took in the sights. Nijmegen completely transforms itself for one week in July for de Vierdaagse. The entire city becomes one big street fair, with music, food stands, vendors and spectators. Monday was spent in preparation for starting off on Tuesday morning. the main attraction within Camp Heumensoord is the beer tent. This is where we military folk unwind after a long day of marching. There is a constant supply of beer and food (for a certain price of course) but both are cheap and in abundance. We went to bed early on Monday night to be ready for an early start on Tuesday.
Tuesday began much earlier than anyone would have liked. In Heumensoord they have a special Vierdaagse wake up song, that is played at around 0400 into our area of accommodation. We were scheduled to begin the day's journey at 0500. The first day i had the honor and burden of carrying our group's "Feldzeichen" (Field Colors, a fancy, official military Swiss flag). I made the mistake of not emptying my backpack of all other items whilst entrusted with our Field Colors. I suffered through the extra weight 3/4 of the way through, until the group leader insisted I swap my backpack with the guy next to me. It took us around 8 hours to get the first stage done. The beer back in camp was one of the best I ever had. After some dinner and a good night's sleep, I was ready to get back to it.
Wednesday morning: Before we leave camp, we hear the day's announcements and salute a tribune of higher ups as we leave. On Wednesday morning, I was surprised to hear my name in the announcements. The fact of the matter is, generally, the older generation takes the younger to de Vierdaagse, and then so gets them involved. In my case however, its the other way around, because I dragged my 60 year old father along to de Vierdaagse. I originally meant the invite as a joke, but he took me seriously, and then put the training in to come along!
One thing that is worth mention on the Vierdaagse is that the terrain is all paved, and flat as a pancake, which can get rather tiresome for the legs as it uses only the same muscle groups all the time.
Thursday is a special day for the Swiss delegation (there were about 200 Swiss there this year, including all support staff) as the route we march goes past the Canadian cemetery in Groesbeek. The goal was to arrive at the cemetery by 1045, so that the whole Swiss delegation can partake in the Swiss Field Mass for the fallen. We all then took a rose and laid it down upon one of the headstones there. That was a very emotional moment for me. I was reminded of my friend and brother I lost during boot camp. The march up to the Canadian cemetery was also quite quick. We walked significantly faster than we had previously, but the cemetery is about 7/9 of the way through the route, so after the ceremony, we took our time getting back to Heumensoord and had a more relaxed pace.
Friday morning was somber. It was hard to believe when we read the bulletins posted all across camp and in our tent. The downing of flight MH17 was a national tragedy for the Netherlands. Out of respect and mourning, no songs were sung and no flags were flown. Friday also happened to be the hottest day of the summer. Due to the heat the Vierdaagse organizational committee therefore allowed a change in the rules, so that we were not require to take with us the mandatory weight of 10 kilograms. I took my 3 liter Camelbak and my small Med-kit with me and in the days heat I was glad I didn't have a single ounce more. The official end of the 4th day is Charlemagne field where we were awarded the Vierdaagsekruis. The worst part of the day was the ceremonial march into down town Nijmegen from Charlemange field. Its around 6 kilometers along the Via Gladiola in which the entirety of the Swiss Delegation marches in time to the music of the accompanying musicians (this year it was the Zürcher Kantonspolizei Muzikkorps). The Swiss Guard were dressed in their ceremonial blue and orange parade uniforms. The pavements was incredibly hot in the late afternoon. The sense of relief and success once we arrived back in Heumensoord was enormous. The rest of the evening was spent in recovering, packing up and partying!
In the normal Vierdaagse fashion we got up at around 0430 in to board the bus back to Switzerland. The drive back was quiet. Most people slept. The entire departure process was very surreal in that it happened so quickly and suddenly we were home and all the comradery, dust, beer and friends were gone. All in all I enjoyed the Vierdaagse more than I expected and am very much looking forward to the next edition in 2015!
P.S. The Title is the Dutch Translation of "The things they carried" (Tim O'Brien) which is one of my favorite books and gives interesting first hand account of the day to day life of a platoon of American soldiers in Vietnam.
No comments:
Post a Comment