I'm had a nkmeraden

From the old German war song,

I had a comrade, or the good comrade,

played during Germany's National Day of Morning ceremonies. The

The Hey folks, welcome to the Battles of the First World War podcast.

This is a first.

In 10 years of podcasting, I have never had the time to write or record anything while on one of my trips

to the old front line in France and Belgium. But in a sign that I'm slowly slowing down,

I'm making time for this. Also, as I've said before, I greatly enjoy writing. When I have something in my head already written out, it stays there until I can get it out.

So, this little episode idea came to me just two days after I arrived in France.

And as of this writing, I am still here.

This is being recorded through my laptop in an Airbnb in Saint-Cantin so I can do little about the sound quality this time. Please

bear with me. To begin, it takes time and multiple visits to really get to know a place.

We spoke of this during the tour this summer. Visiting a museum or a historical place for the first time gives you an introduction to it.

It's your visits after that that really start to show you what the place holds and what it is about.

This was definitely something I experienced here in France this year.

I got to know places really well and I learned so much more that I had no idea I was missing.

On my first Sunday in France, I slept in late.

This year I felt that jet lag.

Usually, I land in Europe in the morning and then power through the whole day until I collapse in the evening.

The next morning, I'm rested and on French time.

This year didn't work out like that, so on that first Sunday, I slept until mid-morning,

...