Waterloo Battlefield

I did a travel blog about waterloo, it’s linked to this. When I was writing the summary I started thinking it was more like a review. So I just copied and pasted the summary from my blog to here.

I’d had been to the waterloo battlefield before when I live in Germany. This time I went with the family. This trip we went on 7 May 06. We’ve been back since but I didn’t take my camera that time. The actual battle happened on 18 Jun e1815. I could go into the details of the battle but this isn’t a history lesson, it’s a travel blog. There are several things you can do and/or visit here but unfortunately there aren’t any remains of the battlefields left. The whole battle ground is now farm land, unlike some of the WW 1 and WW 2 battlegrounds in Belgium and Northern France. The best and most obvious thing is the Butte du Lion. A huge mound was constructed using ground taken from parts of the battlefield. Take the 226 steps up the statue of a lion and a map and view of the entire battlefield. Next to the Butte du Lion is the panorama. It displays paintings that show the battle. Across the street is a wax museum with several of the main characters form the battle. The wax figures are dressed with uniforms from each side. It’s ok but a little pricey I think. After those 3 things we took the train of tour tram thing around the battlefield. A nice little ride and the guides tell you where many things happened but once again, there isn’t much left and I have to use my imagination a little. On this trip we didn’t visit Napoleon’s final headquarters but I did go there the first trip. It’s a small little museum and worth the time and money to see in my opinion.

Over all it’s a nice time but if it’s battlefield remains, like bunkers and trenches, then I recommend Verdun, Ypres, Vimy Ridge, or The Somme or another WW 1 and WW 2 battlefield. But if you’re a history nut or looking for something else to do in Belgium then this is for you.