Belgium
and the trip home
We arrived in Antwerp, the last stop on our river
cruise, early on the morning of 6 November.
Antwerp is located on the River Schelde and has been a strategic port as
far back as the 2nd century BC.
It was also a trading station within the powerful medieval Hanseatic
League.
In addition to being one of the busiest ports in
this area, it is also at the center of the diamond trade industry. 80% of the world’s rough diamonds and 50% of
its cut diamonds are traded here annually.
More than 12,000 expert cutters and polishers work in the Diamond
Quarter.
This will be the last full day of our cruise. We started in the morning with a walking tour
of the Old Town. One of the first things
Britta pointed out to us was a brass plate of a scallop shell in the
cobblestone street. She explained that
this was a marker for the many people who take the Camino de Santiago
pilgrimage each year. Also known as the
“The Way of Saint James,” it is a series of routes (or ways) that pilgrims
follow, usually from their homes, to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the
Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern
Spain. Tradition says that the remains
of the saint are buried there. Many
pilgrims follow these routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their
spiritual growth. There are many routes
located throughout Europe and North Africa.
The brass shell plaques are used as markers to guide the way. The
scallop
shell, often found on the shores
in Galicia, was used as it has long been the symbol of the Camino de
Santiago. During the Middle Ages the routes were highly travelled. Today it is also popular with hiking and cycling enthusiasts and organized
tour groups.
As we walked toward the center of the Old Town,
Britta took us through little alleyways with beautiful old homes and restaurants. She pointed out an old door lock that used a
skeleton key to open. What was unique
about this lock is that the opening in the lock (where the key would go) was in
the middle bottom of what can best be described as a curvy “U.” It was designed this way so that the house’s
occupant could easily slide the key down one side of the “U” and it would go
into the lock. A neat invention,
especially if you were too drunk or it was too dark to see the key hole!
When we arrived in the center square of Old Town it
was surrounded by old guild homes (which were now stores and shops). The dominant structure in the square was the
Cathedral of Our Lady, a towering church with a very high spire. The Cathedral is the largest Gothic structure
in Belgium with the tallest spire (404 feet).
Today it houses a number of paintings by the Belgium painter Peter Paul
Rubens, who was raised and died in Antwerp.
In front of the
Cathedral is a marble statue of a boy and his dog who froze to death based on the 1872 novel A Dog of
Flanders by British author Marie
Louise de la Ramée.
In the center of the square is a large fountain with
the statue of Brabo, the local, mythical hero of Antwerp. Legend has it that a giant controlled the
water way in Antwerp and demanded a high toll from those who wished to enter
the city. Those failing to meet his
demands had their hands cut off. Brabo
heroically fought the giant and cut his hands off and threw the giant into the
River Scheldt.
Before leaving the square, Britta pointed out the
best chocolate store (and got us each a sample) and the best place to have
Belgium fries (a little food shop in the main square called Frituur No.
1). Belgian fries are a little different
from our fries. First they are fried in
lard and second they are fried twice. In
the morning they fry up a big bunch and then when customers order them, they
fry them again. They are served with a
variety of sauces, with mayonnaise at the top of the list.
We then walked to a nearby square that had a
beautiful old church – St.
Charles Borromeo’s Church, considered by many to be the most
impressive Baroque church in the region of Belgium and the Netherlands. We were lucky to have one of the volunteers at this church
give us a short talk on the history of the church.
Built by the Jesuit order between 1615 and 1621, it
is the church with the most Rubens influence in Antwerp. His contributions included decorations on the
façade, ceiling, and the top of the steeple.
There were also 39 ceiling paintings by Rubens. Unfortunately all the paintings were lost in
a fire in 1718. It was rebuilt and today
the main altar's apse, Mary's
chapel, bears testimony to the church’s former glory with its many sculptures
and the elaborate wooden carvings. Today the church has one original painting
by Rubens, “The Return of the Holy Family,” on display in the Chapel of St.
Joseph. The Lady Chapel on the right
side of the church (dedicated to the Virgin Mary), is beautifully decorated
with marble, paintings and sculptures. Above the altar is a copy of Rubens “The
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” The ceiling relief in stucco was also
designed by Rubens. A unique feature of this church is
the original, functioning mechanism above the main altar that is used to switch
paintings – there are four paintings that can be switched throughout the year.
Our
walking tour was over, so Bill and I decided to sample the famous Belgium
Fries. We walked back to the main
square, stopping briefly to make a little purchase at the chocolate store, and
then found the Frituur No 1. We ordered
the small portion (we had been forewarned that the portions were huge). Huge is an understatement – we got a large
dinner plate heaped with fries. We also
ordered the sauce that Britta had recommended – mayo with curry. The reviews of these fries are accurate –
they are absolutely delicious. We then
headed back to the ship for what else – lunch of course! And to pack and get ready for the Farewell
Dinner. Near the ship was the entrance
to the pedestrian tunnel that runs under the River Scheldt. We decided to detour from our return to walk
a little way under the river. It is a
very popular walkway, especially with runners at night. There were people walking with their dogs,
running, and, of course, the always present bike riders.
When
we arrived back at the ship, we saw a Canadian Royal Navy frigate had docked
right in front of us. We were told that
they were here to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian
victory at Passchendaele during WWI. After
lunch we did most of our packing. We
must be out of our cabins by 8 AM tomorrow morning and we wanted to leave early
to get a head start on our trip to Brussels.
This evening we had the Captain’s Farewell Dinner, and Bill and I were
invited to sit at his table. In fact, I
got to sit next to him. Each of the
three trip leaders had nominated a couple from their group to be at the table,
and Britta had picked us. It was a fun
evening. The Captain is from Prague and
was leaving to go home the next day to see his wife and 2 small boys. He will have about 3 weeks off and then
return to the ship as it continues its Christmas Market river cruises.
After
dinner, we said goodbye to the others in our group. Several had the misfortune of leaving the
ship at 3 AM to catch their early morning flights to the US. Several, like us, were spending a few more
days in Belgium. And one couple was on
their way to Rome where they were taking a 2-week Mediterranean cruise followed
by a 2-week repositioning cruise back to Florida.
The next
morning we headed to the train station for the short ride to Brussels. By now the suitcases had gotten a lot
heavier. We were fine until we got to
the Brussels train station. The tram
line that we had to take was two levels below us (thank goodness for
elevators). But dragging the suitcases
on to the crowded tram was no picnic.
Once we got to our stop, we looked around trying to find some street
names or reference points. We saw a
McDonald’s right next to the tram stop so Bill went in to ask where the hotel
was. If we had just looked up from the
McDonald’s sign we would have seen the big “Marriott” sign! Once we were checked in and had our room, we
left for our walking tour of Brussels.
Distances
always seem longer on a map. It was a
pleasant surprise to find that we were only one short block from the Grote
Markt (Grand Market). And the day had
turned sunny, but cool. Our first stop
was at the Saint-Nicolas Church, one of the oldest churches in Brussels. Although the church dates back over 1,000
years, little of that church remains.
The original 11th century Romanesque façade has been covered
by a 14th century Gothic style.
In 1695 it was totally destroyed during the French bombing of
Brussels. We took a quick look inside –
it has a beautiful stained glass window.
We then walked to the Grote Markt.
What a wonderful surprise. This
has to be the most beautiful of all the old town market squares that we visited
on this trip. The gilded gold on all the
building was almost blinding. I can see
why it is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. Most of this square was destroyed by invading
French troops in 1695, but the Belgium guildsmen had it restored in four years.
Of all the buildings, the most spectacular was the Gothic-style Town Hall. The
oldest part of the Town Hall is the east wing which was constructed between1402
to 1420. Subsequent wings were added in 1444 and 1452. The dominant feature of the building is the
310’ tall tower feature, the spire of which is topped by the archangel Saint
Michael. If you look carefully, you will
see that the tower, the front archway, and the façade of the main building are
off-center relative to one another.
Legend has it that when the architect discovered the error he was so
distraught that he climbed the tower and leapt to his death. Most of the other buildings in the square
served as houses for the many guilds in Brussels. One prominent building “Roi de’Espagne (King
of Spain) was the home of the baker’s guild.
On the roof are six statues each representing one of the six items needed
to make bread – strength, wheat, wind, fire, water, and foresight. On the dome is a gilded weather vane statue
of Fame blowing a horn.
From there
we walked through some narrow streets lined with seafood restaurants. As it was lunch time, each restaurant had
their hawkers out trying to get us to eat with them. However, we were on a
mission to find the little statue of Jeanneke Pis (or Little Girl Peeing). Located down a small alley, it was designed to
serve as a counter to the famous Manneken Pis.
While Manneken Pis dates back to 1619, it took several hundred years for
the female version to appear. We finally found it, but it was nothing
spectacular. I can see why she has not
been embraced as warmly as her male counterpart.
We continued our walk to the Saint Michael and Sint
Gudula Cathedral. The large outside
staircase leads to three gates by which visitors can enter. Inside the church are twelve pillars and
detailed stained-glass windows. The
baroque pulpit depicts Adam and Eve being chased out of paradise.
Our next stop was the Royal Park, also known as
Brussels Park, and the largest public park in the City. It was filled with people (and bikes) enjoying
the nice sunny afternoon. In 1830, the
Royal Park was the site of a significant event that led to Belgian
independence. The revolutionary army
clashed with the Dutch army in the park to send the message that the Belgians
wanted to break their union with Holland and the Dutch king. The revolutionists succeeded and on September
27, 1830 the new state of Belgium was created.
At the far end of the park is the Royal Palace, where the King of
Belgium conducts his duties as Head of State.
It is not, however, the royal residence.
That is located on the outskirts of Brussels in the Royal Castle of
Laeken.
After exiting the Royal Park by the Royal Palace, we
continued our walk to the Godfrey of Bouillon Statue. It was erected in 1843 and depicts Godfrey of
Bouillon on a horse. Godfrey was one of
the leaders of the First Crusade back in 1096.
The goal of that Crusade was to liberate Jerusalem and aid the Byzantine
Empire from attacks by the Muslim forces.
Godfrey died in Jerusalem in 1100.
From there we walked down to the Palace of Charles
de Lorraine which today is a museum of five halls, each dedicated to a
particular aspect of Charles de Lorraines’s life – science, leisure, traveling,
freemasonry and music. Unfortunately,
the museum was under renovation and not open to the public.
By now our feet were getting sore, but we still had
a few more landmarks of Brussels to see.
We walked through some streets in a shopping area until we came to the
Manneken Pis or “Little Man Peeing.” It
is one of the more popular statues in Brussels, both for its humor and the
various legends that circulate about its origin. Cast from bronze, this small statue depicts a
naked boy urinating into the basin of the fountain. It was completed in 1619. There are quite a
few legends at the origins of the original design. One story says it commemorates a young boy
who urinated on a burning fuse that kept an explosive charge from detonating
and destroying the city’s fortification walls.
Another story tells of a rich merchant whose son disappeared. After an extensive search of the city, the
lost boy was found happily urinating in a garden. The statue was a token of appreciation from
the boy’s father to the townspeople for their willingness to help find his
son. Another story tells of a young boy
who woke to a fire. He urinated on the
fire, which put it out and spared the king’s castle from burning down. Today, visitors enjoy seeing the rotating
costumes that adorn the little man.
There are over 500 costumes in all, and his outfit is changed a few
times a week. When we got there, there
was a group of about 20 very loud, rowdy (and possibly drunk) young men singing
and dancing in front of the statue.
The street where the statue is located is filled
with Belgian waffle shops. Since we
hadn’t had lunch, we stopped at one for a special treat. There were about 15 different toppings you
could select from – I chose the whipped cream with chocolate and caramel, while
Bill chose the whipped cream with cherries and chocolate. Not a very healthy lunch, but certainly a
most satisfying one.
Our last stop was the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate,
located just off the Grand Place. They
have a tiny museum that traces the history of chocolate from its origins in
Central and South America. Afterwards
there was a demonstration of candy making.
It was obvious that the first language of the candy maker was Spanish
and his second language was French – English was a poor third. There was one other family at the
demonstration and they spoke French. So
the demonstration was manly in French, with a little Spanish thrown in, and
every so often he would recap in English.
Fortunately, it was easy to follow along as he demonstrated how they
make pralines. Bill had always wondered
how they got the filling inside the outside coating of chocolate and now he
knows. They coat the sides of the candy mold
with chocolate, pouring off any excess chocolate. When that has hardened, they add the
chocolate (or other flavor) filling.
They then hit the bottom of the mold on the wooden table to remove any
bubbles from the filling. The last step
is to put chocolate over the top of the mold and then scrap away the excess
chocolate from the mold. When it has
hardened, they just remove the candy and ‘voila” you have a chocolate praline.
Finally, after walking about 5 miles we were back at
the hotel. As we were very tired, we
opted to just go to the Executive Lounge in the hotel for their hot appetizers
and wine. Then it was an early night.
The next morning was cold and raw. Rain would start later. We took the hop-on, hop-off bus to visit the
Atomium and Mini Europe exhibitions.
These are located on the outskirts of Brussels. Along the way we got a view of the Royal
Castle and grounds of Laeken. While
parts of the grounds are open to visitors, the castle is not.
The Atomium was constructed for the 1958 World
Exhibition and was modeled on the atomic structure of an iron crystal but on a
scale of 1: 165 billion. This extraordinary building contains tube walkways and
spheres that house exhibits of how the building was constructed. The top level offers a walk-around panoramic
view of Brussels. We took an elevated to
the top – the view was impressive, but it would have been nicer had the drizzle
and clouds given way to the sun. Once
down on the ground floor, I walked up to the next level to view one of the
spheres. Bill decided the open stairway
was not for him. The sphere I went to
had architectural drawings and plans for the construction of the Atomium. Once down on the ground level, we walked
outside and made our way to Mini Europe, located about 500 feet from the
Atomium.
This attraction is devoted to Europe and its famous
iconic landmarks. Mini Europe is
constructed on a scale of 1:25 and includes 350 models of famous European sites
from about 80 European cities. Each structure has been precisely reproduced by
skilled craftsmen. The most iconic features of each European country have been
created like the gondolas of Venice and the red buses of London. You can see
Big Ben in London, a bullfighting arena in Seville and the Town Hall in
Brussels. Even though it was beginning to rain lightly, we spent about 2 hours
wandering around the exhibit, enjoying the miniature replicas of many of the
highlights we have seen in our wanderings around Europe.
By now it was lunch time and Bill wanted to eat at a
seafood restaurant. Our concierge at the
hotel had recommended that we eat in the old fish market section located along
the old quais (wharfs) of the city. This
area used to be the location of the ancient port of Brussels. It was only about a 3-4 block walk from the
hotel. Along the way we passed Sainte
Catherine Church, although not as old as most of the other churches (it was
built in 1874), it is a beautiful piece of architecture. It was built on the foundation of a 14th
century church, the ancient baroque belfry of that church still stands to the
right of the current church. Behind the
church is the Tour Noire (Black Tower), all that is left of Brussel’s 13th
century city walls. It does not stand
out as it is today surrounded by a modern hotel.
Just across the street from the church was the old
fish market. Today workers were
assembling wooden vendor stalls on what was the canal in preparation for
Brussel’s Christmas Market. We chose a
restaurant, the Rugbyman, and went in to enjoy a wonderful lunch of fried
shrimp, grilled lobster, and chocolate mousse.
It was a set price for 3 courses at 29 euros each. And the wine was only 4 euros. What a bargain! And so delicious!! Dinner tonight again will just be appetizers and
wine from the Executive Lounge.
We left Brussels the next morning for our last stop
– Bruges. This time we were smart. We realized that we were not in expensive
Switzerland, so we took a cab to the train station. At the Bruges train station, we met one of
the couples who had been on the river cruise with us. They were leaving to go home, but had stayed
in the same hotel we were staying in.
They advised taking a taxi as the hotel was about a mile from the train
station. Good call! At the hotel, we ran into a Grand Circle trip
director who was getting ready for his group’s pre-tour to Bruge. He invited us to join his group the next day
for their walking tour, but we had to decline as we had a trip to Flanders
Fields scheduled.
Once we had our room, we set out for our walking
tour of Bruges. Although there was a lot
of construction around our hotel, it was easy to get to the Grote Markt (Grand
Market) of town. Along the way we
stopped at St. Salvator’s Cathedral, the main church of the city and the oldest
parish church in Bruges. It was not
originally built as a Cathedral, but when St. Donatian’s Cathedral was
destroyed by the French (there go those nasty French again) at the end of the
18th century, St. Salvator obtained the status of cathedral.
From the church we entered the main square of the
city. On our left was the Belfry of
Bruges. The building upon which the
Belfry is located is called the Halle.
It was built in 1248 and once functioned as the city’s main market
place. The Belfry is the largest bell
tower in Belgium at 83 meters high. You
can access the top via 366 steps, but our knees vetoed that idea. But we were able to hear the beautiful chimes
of its 47 bells, which ring out every 15 minutes of the day. In the middle of
the square is a statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, 2 popular heroes
in Bruges. In 1302 they played a major
role in the Flemish resistance against the French King. The resulting Battle of the Spurs saw the
Flemish militia defeat the French.
From the Grote Markt it was just a block to the
Burg, Bruges’ second largest square. The
main feature in this square is the 13th century Town Hall
(Stadhuis). It is the oldest and one of
the largest town halls in Europe. In the
original structure, there were 48 niches for statues on its façade. The original statues were destroyed by
citizens loyal to the French in the 1790s.
The statues, which have all been replaced, are of the Counts of Flanders
and biblical figures. The gothic façade has the emblems of the cities and
villages that formed part of the administrative area of Bruges engraved around
the six original gothic windows.
Facing the Town Hall and to its right in the corner
is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. It contains a valuable relic brought from
Constantinople during the Crusades. In
1149 Dietrich of Alsace brought back a piece of cloth (now embedded in a vial)
used by Joseph of Arimathea to wipe the blood of Christ after the
Crucifixion. Every May, this sacred
relic is carried through the streets of Bruges in the Procession of the Holy
Blood. And every day from 11:30 until
12:00 noon, the vial is brought out and shown to the faithful. As it was 11:30, we joined that group waiting
to see the vial, made our small donation to the church, and said a prayer over
the vial.
From the Burg we made
our way to the Jerusalem Church. This
little church has a fascinating history that you can read about in the little
museum attached to the church. The design of
the church is based on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. It was built by a rich merchant and remains a
privately owned place of worship maintained by his descendants.
In 1428 by Anselmus Adornes and his spouse, Margaretha vander Banck
constructed the Jerusalem Church.
Adornes belonged to the wealthy Adorni family of merchants who came from
Genoa and settled in Bruges. The
original structure of the church has remained intact from the 15th
century, unlike many other churches in Europe. The ornate mausoleums of the
founders are located in the middle of the church. On the top of the mausoleum,
Anselmus Adornes is portrayed as a knight in armor. The Jerusalem Church has a
simple façade with a pointed arch above the entrance. The unique part of the structure is the
octagonal tower flanked by four polygonal turrets above the choir. A wooden globe is placed on top of the tower
symbolizing the world. There is an upper
choir above a small nave. Under this
choir is a crypt where an imitation of the grave of Christ is located.
After visiting the church (I promise this is the last church) we walked
up toward the windmills. We had wanted
to visit the Lace Center, but it did not open until 2 PM. At the end of the street facing the windmills
and canal, we decided to stop at a little family-run restaurant for lunch. One of the best decisions we had made. We ordered a plate of tapas (fried calamari,
spring rolls, meatballs) and a dish of roasted boar stew in a red wine sauce to
share. What a meal – very filling,
delicious, and not at all expensive. By the time we were finished it was 2 PM
so I went back to the Lace Center (Bill went to the Folk Museum, but wasn’t
real impressed by it). The Lace Center
was fascinating. They had a little
museum that gave the history of lace making in Belgium and then you could go upstairs
to a large room and watch the Belgium women making the Belgium lace. They used a bobbin method. On a large lap board, they would pin down
their pattern. Then they would pin the
end of the thread on the bobbin (there used about 20 bobbins) to the starting
point. Then taking four bobbins at a
time, they would cross each one over another and repeat three times. Those four bobbins were then set aside and
four new bobbins were used. A very
complex, time consuming, and eye straining operation! There was one elderly woman in the corner who
had been doing this for 67 years and her hands flew over the bobbins at great
speed. It looked like she hardly touched
the bobbins as she crossed them with one another. I can see why this lace is so expensive. The woman we were talking to was a relative
newcomer (had only been doing it for 2 years) and she said it took her 2 weeks
of work to complete one simple project (and that is working 2-3 hours a day).
By now it was getting colder with a light rain falling and we still had
about 1 ½ miles left. We walked along
the canal front passed 2 of the old city gates (Kruisepoort and Gentpoort)
until we reached the entrance of the Beguinage. The Beguinage
is a group of small houses surrounding a garden that were once the dwellings of
women called Beguines. Today it is the
home of Benedictine nuns. The Beguinage
was established by Margaretha of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders in
1245. Beguines were a group of lay women
who lived a strict religious life without taking vows, unlike nuns. They were often the widows of crusaders who
did not return from war. They earned a
living by making lace, teaching young children or nursing the sick. The last
beguine lived here in 1926 and it was converted into a monastery for
Benedictine nuns in 1928.
From here it
was time to warm up a little and we went to the Brawerij Halve Maan (Half Moon
Brewery for a beer. I think I have drunk
more beer on this trip then I have my entire life. This brewery has been in
operation since 1856 and is one of the last family-owned working breweries in
Bruges.
After quenching
our thirst, we headed for home. At the
Church of Our Lady (no we did not go in this one), we walked up a short path to
the St. Bonifacious Bridge. From this
site you got a beautiful view of this old part of town. Then it was back passed the Church of Our
Lady and St. Salvator’s Cathedral and we were back at our hotel – cold, a
little wet, and very, very tired.
The next day we had a tour of Flanders Fields. It was raining when our tour bus picked us up
at the hotel, but the weather cleared for most of our day-long visit. This trip was not exactly what we had been
expecting. In the States when you visit
a battlefield, it is a very localized, contained area. And the battle was usually fought over
months, not years. Flanders, by contrast, is a vast area consisting of a lot of
farm land and many small towns and saw battles during the entire years of WWI. Flanders saw some of the greatest loss of
life on the Western Front of WWI. For
most of the war, the front line ran continuously from south of Zeebrugge on the
Belgian coast, across Flanders Fields into the center of Northern France before
moving eastwards. This line is today
known as the Western Front. The name Flanders Fields is particularly associated
with battles that took place in the Ypres Salient, including the Second Battle of
Ypres and the Battle of Passchendaele. Tens of thousands died in the battles of
Ypres, a small city in Flanders. After
the war, the poppies that sprang up on the battlefields were immortalized in
the Canadian poem “In Flanders Fields,” written by John McCrae. The
Battle of Passchendaele was the greatest Canadian victory in WWI and today (Nov
10, 2017) is the 100th anniversary of the victory.
As we drove along the roads our guide pointed
out the many trenches and ridge lines of the many battles in Flanders. The area is still strewn with old mortars,
bombs, and grenades. It is not unusual
to see a bomb disposal vehicle driving the roads in search of these old war
weapons, in fact one passed us on our trip.
Our tour guide stopped the van in front of a small pile of such weapons
so we could have a look. (He also gave a
small deactivated grenade to one of the English passengers on our tour who
collects old war relics. I am not sure
how that man was going to get the grenade home in his luggage, but that’s his
problem). There are many small
cemeteries doting the countryside. We
stopped at the Welsh memorial, Canadian memorial, and a small German
cemetery. The Canadian memorial was
especially sad as many of her soldiers had been killed when the Germans
released mustard gas into the air. But
in an ironic twist of fate, the wind changed direction and blew the gas back
over the German soldiers. Our visit to
the large Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery was delayed about an hour. There was a Canadian memorial ceremony taking
place and the cemetery was closed to visitors.
This is the ceremony that crewmen from the Canadian frigate were
participating in. We were finally able
to visit the cemetery about an hour later.
It was a very solemn occasion. It
is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world with 12,000 graves. Many of the tombstones had no names – just “unknown
soldier” – but they all had flowers, flags or wreaths on the graves.
Before we visited the Tyne Cot Commonwealth
Cemetery, we went to the Passchendaele Museum were we saw a short film on the
Battle of Passchendaele and were able to visit some of the trenches and underground
“dugout” living areas.
We stopped at Ypres (pronounced “Wipers”) for
lunch and then a visit to “In Flanders Fields Museum,” probably the best WWI
museum. I wish we could have had more
time to spend there. Leaving Ypres, we
stopped at the Menin Gate, the most famous Commonwealth war memorial in Flanders. The stone panels are engraved with the names
of 54,896 soldiers who went missing in the Ypres Salient and have no known grave. Again there was a large contingent of
Canadian military who were laying wreaths at the Gate.
Driving back to Bruges, we stopped at Hill 60,
known for the underground war that was fought here during WWI. The current landscape is the result of the
explosion of a deep mine on 7 June 1917.
We also stopped at a private residence that had many WWI trenches and
bomb craters on their land. We were able
to walk around and through the many trenches.
We then stopped at the small American memorial
to the soldiers who helped defend Flanders in the latter part of WWI. Our last stop was to the Irish Memorial,
where one plaque pretty well summed up the battles for Flanders Fields:
AS IT
WAS, THE YPRES BATTLEFIELD
JUST
REPRESENTED ONE GIGANTIC
SLOUGH OF
DESPOND INTO WHICH
FLOUDERED
BATTELIONS,
BRIGADES,
AND DIVISIONS OF
INFANTRY
WITHOUT END
TO BE SHOT
TO PIECES
OR
DROWNED UNTIL AT LAST AND
WITH
IMMEASURABLE SLAUGHTER
WE HAD
GAINED A FEW MILES
OF
LIQUID
MUD
Charles Miller
2nd Inniskilling Fusiliers
Tonight we ate
in our room with wine we had bought on our tour of the Alsace when we were in
Strasbourg, cheese we had bought in Nijmegen,
Netherlands, garlic bread left over from our lunch the day before, and
chocolate from Switzerland and Belgium.
A fitting reminder of all the wondrous sights we had seen on this trip. Tomorrow we start our long journey home.
Our train trip from Bruges to the Brussels
Airport was very interesting. After we
manhandled our bags up the three steps to the train cars landing, I went to sit
down in a seat while Bill sat on the steps leading to the upper deck with the
suitcases. Just behind me on the other
side of the car were two rather ratty-looking young men. Just after we left
Bruges, the conductor came by asking for our tickets. It seems the two young
men did not have any tickets, so the conductor took them to the landing where
Bill was and told them to wait there.
The conductor then found 4 more in another car and had them wait on the
landing. Bill said one man had a
sweatshirt, hoodie and parka and was using a smart phone (probably stolen)
while two of the men only had shoes on their left feet while the right feet
only had socks. When we reached the next
stop, the security police were waiting to take custody of the men. One young man tried to escape by running
through my car to the exit on the other end.
But by then, passengers had already queued up at the exit and he could
not get through and was captured by the police.
Who says train rides are boring.
The rest of our return trip was
uneventful. We had a short flight to
Heathrow Airport where we spent the night at the Renaissance Airport Hotel. The
next morning we were back at the airport for our final flight back to
Denver. The flight was okay, but the
seats are not the most comfortable business class seats. Lunch was enjoyable, but the English tea
served about 1 ½ hours from landing left a lot to be desired. The sandwiches were not good at all, but the
scone was excellent. Upon landing we
were picked up by our good friends, Patrice and Larry Stevens, and proceeded to
celebrate our safe arrival by having dinner at Ted’s Montana Grill. A perfect ending to a perfect trip.
Thoughts on the trip ---
This was a most enjoyable trip. The weather for the most part was good, and
we were lucky there. Our trip leader
told us that the trip before us had quite a bit of rain. The scenery in all the countries that we
visited was spectacular. Most of the
cities and towns we visited were beautiful with magnificent old building
thousands of years old. People in Europe
laugh at us when we talk about our 200-300 year old buildings. That they are still so well preserved is
amazing. In most cities and towns we
found it very easy to walk (although you do have to be careful of the
cobblestones). The local transportation
systems in the larger cities is excellent – inexpensive and easy to use.
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