Chapter 32

Training the Continent.......Part Three - Belgium 

Our train trip from Wurzburg involved two changes, one in Frankfurt and the other in Brussels.  From A to B about five hours with our destination Ghent, Belgium.  Small enough to be cosy, big enough to keep us occupied, plus close enough to places we wanted to explore.
We decided on an apartment this time instead of a hotel, as we were based here for five days.
Ghent is the cultural capital of Flanders and quite eclectic.  Not a big town, the population is only a quarter of a million, but with 297 bars at the last count! 
The town centre has a large part that is car free, which makes strolling around the cobbled streets across rivers and canals a joy, and because the bombs of two world wars didn't cause too much damage, the historical heritage has remained largely intact.

Ghent

Ghent

Ghent

Ghent

"Castle of the Counts", in the heart of the city, was built in 1180 as a residence for the Count of Flanders by Philip of Alsace, and visited by Philip of Canterbury and his wife.  Endless staircases leading up the towers, cold dungeons and huge halls - very impressive. Torture chamber gave us some good ideas!

Castle in Ghent

As everyone knows, there are delicacies you must try while in Belgium - waffles, crepes, beer (10% alcohol) and last but not least, the chocolate. Well, tick, tick, tick and tick. Did that, and all delicious. We are not getting on the scales for two weeks! 

Chocolate Santa

We took a day trip to Antwerp, just under an hour away, where we arrived at Centraal Station.  Dubbed the "Railway Cathedral", it is a landmark of the city.  Built C1900, the interior is lavishly decorated and the platforms are covered by a huge glass and iron vaulted ceiling.  Very impressive.

Inside Antwerp Centraal Station

Looking at Antwerp station

We have been so fortunate with the weather and this day was beautiful and sunny, so wandering through the city was relaxed and interesting as we visited Grote markt - the central square, which in fact is actually triangular shaped, with the huge 16C city hall  on one side.  The Cathedral of Our Lady built in 1400, which is a masterpiece of stone lacework and dominates the skyline.  t'Steen, the 800 year old castle, (or what remains of it), the oldest building in Antwerp.  Groenplatz or green place - one of the most popular squares, with a statue of Rubens - Antwerp's most famous citizen, in the centre.  More Christmas markets around each corner!  
No chestnuts for Pip though.

Antwerp

Antwerp

Next day trip was to Ypres, about an hour and a half away from base.  Local Flemish spelling is "ieper" pronounced "ee-per".
We decided to take a personal tour of Flanders Fields, the generic name for the WW1 battlefields, which include Ypres, Passchendaele and the Somme, to understand better the monumental events of that period of history.  We met Jack, our guide, in the central square of Ypres, and because it was December, there were only three of us on the tour, Pip, myself and a lovely young guy called Tomas.  Jack was a passionate WW1 historian, so he peeled back the layers, to show and talk us through the sites where eight decades ago a generation fell and the world changed forever. 

Canadian memorial garden

Hill 60 trenches - deemed authentic by Jack the driver

We drove through innocent farmland which all those years ago was a desolate wasteland of shell holes, (4.8 million were dropped), bomb shelters and trenches.  It was so flat that Jack had to point out when we were going up any hill at all, and that the Germans managed to secure any land which had any height advantage.
A war poem, "In Flanders Fields", written by John McCrae, a Canadian physician, is one of the most quoted poems from the war.
We visited many cemeteries, all a bit different, but all immaculate.   We asked Jack whether WW1 German cemeteries received minimal visitors (as did the WW2 cemeteries).  He said that this was still the case, although more and more German visitors were starting to come.  Significantly, the German cemeteries are not government-funded and are relatively austere compared with those of the allies which are immaculate. 

British cemetery

British cemetery

British cemetery... German bunker in the foreground

German cemetery

Inscriptions at German cemetery

One headstone read -
"On fame's eternal camping ground, their silent tents are spread"
Again, I thought of my gorgeous nephews, and how different their lives are.  Some of the graves were of 15 year-olds. Unthinkable.  We also learnt how important the Australians were in this region, and it made us very proud!

Cathedral at Ypres

Inside Ypres cathedral

The tour ended at 5pm, but we stayed on in the town to attend a special tribute - the last post - a moving ceremony held every night since 1928, at 8pm at the Menin Gate, a Memorial to the Missing.  Traffic is halted and the crowds gather inside to listen and reflect on the 54,000 still unidentified missing soldiers with no known grave.  It was very moving.

Under the Menin Gate

Last post, then Reveille

The last day trip from Ghent by train was to Brugge, about 40 minutes.  We visited here 37 years ago, but don't remember much about it, so it was good to return.  It was sunny again, but so, so cold!  It's the coldest I have been in ages!  Even the thermals couldn't keep up! 
We decided on a horse and trap ride around the town.  Nice relaxed way to soak up the environment - with a much appreciated fur blanket over us!  The horse was called Tanos, and he did a great job clip clopping over the cobbles.

Beautiful place, but quite busy with tourists.  Again, the City Hall an amazing piece of architecture, as were the canals and cute streets.

Inside City Hall at Brugge

Brugge town square

There were some "interesting" statues in Brugge as well!  Pip was trying to think where he could put one in our garden at home.

Annie lazing by the pool at the end of the day's walking.  Told you it was cold!

Our next and last stop in Belgium, before we headed back to London, was Brussels.  At the station before we boarded the train, we were fascinated by all the bikes. The bike park was nearly as large as the car park!  Now I understand where the term "Park and Ride" comes from!  Very icy seats. 

Some of the bikes parked at station

We chose a central hotel in Brussels, as we only had one full day, with two half days either side to wander and explore.  Coincidentally, all of our accommodation on this European jaunt (Luxembourg, Berlin, Prague, Nuremberg  Ghent and Brussels) has been on the 5th floor.  Brussels is the capital of Belgium, and home to many European and International Institutions (European Commission, European Parliament, NATO etc). There are long boulevards and beautiful parks and a royal grandeur in public buildings.  It is officially a bilingual (French and Flemish) city, so Pip clicked the brain back into French mode! 
In keeping with the French theme we dined at a restaurant called L'Estrille du Vieux Bruxelles.  Excellent fare, quite reasonably priced and tucked down a side path so not a real tourist puller.  We walked home via the central square and watched the Light Show on the buildings.

Light show at Brussels main square

The grand 30 hectare Cinquantenaire Park, and the adjacent horseshoe shaped exhibition complex with the triumphal arch as its centrepiece  was where we stopped to visit Autoworld.  A car museum with a collection of 350 old-timers both European and American from the late 19C to the 1970's.  My Dad was top of mind the whole time I wandered and paused over these immaculate machines. He would have loved to have seen this place! 

Arch of Independence next to Autoworld and Military Museum

Our last day on the continent was relaxed and easy. Time for a last minute soak of Brussels and then off to board the Eurostar back to London.
We have had a "brill" time!  Temperatures while we have been away have been very cold, but we have not raised an umbrella in three weeks!

Till the next blog
Love Annie
Xxx