By Dylan C.
This Summer, 11 members and four leaders from the 193 Edgemont Venturer Scout Company went on an overseas trip to Europe.
Our trip began with our group staying in a scout hut in the Netherlands. While staying in the hut we had the chance to explore the cities of Amsterdam and Haarlem and we even went to the beach!.
After being at the hut for a couple of nights, our group then went to a nature reserve to camp at the Haarlem Jamborette. This jamborette had about 3500 participants from 40 different countries. The jamborette was 12 days long and every single one of those days was amazing.
At the camp, we had different activities to go to each day including sailing, stand-up paddle boarding, zip lining, arts, crafts and even a theme park. My favorite days were the ones where we got to go into nearby towns to explore them. We traveled into the city of Leiden for an urban hike and to the town of Utrecht to first visit a railway museum then to tour the town.
Another memorable part of the trip was a tour of honour we were part of. Along with other Canadians who were at the camp, we left the jamboree by bus for a day to visit various historic sites from World War I. Our first stop was Vimy Ridge located in northern France. Vimy Ridge 
marks the spot of the first time that Canadians fought unified and independently to capture Vimy Ridge. From there our group then visited various memorials in Belgium including the Tyne Cot Cemetery where the battle of Passchendaele occurred and the medical barracks where John McRae served and wrote In Flanders Fields. Our group then traveled to Ypres, Belgium, where we stayed overnight. In Ypres we participated in the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate. The following day we went back to the jamboree for more of the exciting activities.
Finally, we would like to thank the Edgemont Community Association for supporting this trip. It will be one we will never forget!
