Netherlands & Belgium 2022 - Day 10 / Ypres

Steps today : 21 525 / 13.95km

I was hesitant about Ypres when planning this vacation, it's an area rich in WW1 history, yet most of the things to see and do are outside the city and not easily reached by public transportation. In addition, it's a 2-hour train journey from Antwerp which is at the edge of our tolerance...  would it all be worth it?

YES IT WAS

We were having trouble finding the train times in my app and at the station, until we realized that 'Ypres' is the city's French name commonly known in English, but the official Flemish spelling is 'Ieper'.  That made things a lot easier to figure out.

Walk started with a nice nature walk along the ramparts.

We came across well persevered a pillbox from WW1

And the the Predikherentoren and Leeuwentoren which at first I also thought were from WW1, but no, they are the remenents of towers in the 14th century city walls.

Further along, we came across the Rampart Cemetery. It was very moving. I've seen images of WW1 cemeteries on TV, but to actually be standing in one felt really poignant.

After this we walked towards the main square and Frank spotted some brass keys on the sidewalk. I took a picture but only realized later after Googling that they are Commemorative Keys and each one had the name and date of death of a civilian victim of the war.  Had I known at the time, I would have gotten some close-ups.

We spent a little time in the main square... 

...then stopped for a drink, another boozy coffee for me. I baulked when I saw it - it that bottom part ALL BOOZE!?!?!

We visited the "In Flanders Fields Museum" which all websites I visited say it's a 100% total must-do and not to be skipped.  Perhaps all that bullying raised my expectations too high, yes it was interesting but it was not the most amazing museum I've ever visited. I didn't take any pictures. The location in the Cloth Hall was pretty enough!

At the end of the visit, we passed by the tourist office to see if there were any guided out of town excursions we could do. There were none.

Next, we explored St Martin's Cathedral

And then time for lunch

One of the activities I had considered for this day trip was to visit Sanctuary Woods Museum where there we could visit some WW1 trenches, but the weather seemed iffy and it was about 45 minutes away by bus. We didn't want to risk walking in the woods in the rain and then trekking back, so we dumped that plan and decided to visit some sights only 30 minutes away on foot.

We started with the Duhallow Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery. Just like the first one it felt very solemn and I don't deny feeling a little choked up wandering through the head stones, we even spotted some Canadians.

I love the moody sky in this one, it matched the moment. 

Next was the John McCrae Dressing Station, extra meaningful for Canadians, and I felt very privileged to be able to see it and be there in person.

After that, I wandered the head stones of the Essex Farm Cemetery where I saw so many graves of teenagers! The information boards showed the head stone of a 14 year old but I didn't find it.

The next site that blew me away was the Mennin Gate. It was amazing. Unbelievable. The names just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on... it was overwhelming. The pictures do not do it justice.

After all those sobering moments, it felt almost disrespectful to switch back into casual tourist mode, but of course we did. Back to the main square for a few more pictures and an afternoon tipple.

I was still stuffed from lunch, in fact I didn't even finish it, so I just had a drink but Frank had a snack knowing a 2 hour train ride was ahead. I said if I was hungry by the time we got back, I'd just grab a sandwich to go at the train station.

A cute neighbour!

The train ride back to Antwerp passes through Ghent, and yesterday when we were there I spotted an interesting house where the balcony was structured like a bird cage! I had my camera ready and snapped a picture this time.

Back in Antwerp, I looked for a place to buy a sandwich at the train station but didn't find anything that suited my fancy. Frank was full and tired, but being a sweetheart, he suggested we could grab a small bite somewhere between the station and the hotel - but not all the way in the old town.

Fine by me! This was our last night in Belgium so I was thrilled to have the chance for a proper good-bye meal. We found a super place, and best of all it wasn't Italian!!!! I had a simple, but beautiful, dish of sautéed mushrooms on toast with some wine, and Frank had some coffee and dessert. 

Today's maps:

Ypres

And with the excursion out to the cemeteries

 

Antwerp