Waterloo, about a 2 1/2 hour
drive from where we live in Germany, is a 15 minute drive from downtown Brussels, the capital of Belgium. This is where Napoleon, the French self proclaimed emperor of the world had his last stand in 1815. Not a history buff, myself, I learned a lot staying overnight here.
The Duke of Wellington came from England and stationed himself in town across from this old church.
We visited a farm where Napoleon holed up for much of the fighting. He ate on fine silver and talked with generals and servants while his men fought and died. 
The French used canons that they pointed at the ground. They counted on the balls bouncing up at the enemy. When it rained the night before, the balls got stuck in the mud and didn't do their dirty work.
The war seemed for Napoleon and his men like going into a long dark tunnel at the end. Seeing the battle grounds, the wax museum, the Mount with the Lion all made this period of history make sense to me for the first time.
There were several major world players at the battle. One was the Prince of Orange, a young prince from the current Netherlands. His father, so proud of his efforts, had the battlefield dirt gathered into this mound and a lion mounted at the top to commemorate his son's success. A Prussian General (Germanic) blitzed the battlefield from the west and made a great difference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_WaterlooWe stayed at the 1815 Hotel less than a mile from the mount. It is under renovation, but it was worth it for the views, and the accessibility. See my review at Trip Advisor.com.
