Belgium

Mith

Active member
I was just going through some photos from a holiday in Belgium, we went over for the weekend last Easter.
Anyway, we went to Ypres, and in the surrounding area there are alot of war memorials from the first world war. Pretty striking stuff when you think about it.

First pic is of the largest we went to, headstones as far as you could see.
Second is a picture of one of the many walls of the Menen gate, every wall is covered in the names of soldiers who died in the war.

We did also take the time to sample many of the beers that are on offer, I can assure you they are excellent, and very strong!
 

Attachments

  • Picture 173 (Small).jpg
    Picture 173 (Small).jpg
    60.9 KB · Views: 352
  • Picture 215 (Small).jpg
    Picture 215 (Small).jpg
    37.2 KB · Views: 289

Grrrr

Member
I have been there too a while ago now :D

Amazing place, everyone should see it. I think I'm going to be lucky enough to go and see it again next year :D

Just looking at your pictures of Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery (the first one) brings back memories. I can remember walking around there and finding my great grandfathers name on the wall at the back.

The Mennin Gate is fantastic too. Did you get to hear the Last Post played? I think it has been played there every night since WW1 except for during WW2.

Did you also see Sanctury Wood or the Thiepval Memorial? They are both amazing too.

Sanctuary Wood still has real trenches that have been preserved. You can walk around and go in the tunnels.

Thiepval memorial has 75,000 (I think) names of soldiers who died in just the battle of the Somme. It is massive and every square inch of it is covered with names.

thiepval03.JPG


Lastly, did you go to Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres. It is also amazing. Definitely worth a visit.
 

Mith

Active member
Yes, we heard the last post just before dinner one evening (btw, if you go back, there is an excellent steak house on the ypres side of the menin gate about half way down the road to the square, and within an easy walk of the Old Bill pub, which is also excellent :D)

We went to sanctuary wood, and went for a wander around in the tunnels. That sure makes you think what it must have been like. They sure don't give much protection!

The whole place is interesting. We got wildly lost a few times (should have taken a map) and saw quite a bit of Belgian countryside. We were pretty lucky with the weather too, as the pictures show, if anything it was too hot....
It was also nice to go somewhere different. One of the cafe's we went too, you open the doors to the gents and there was just a courtyard..... thats the toilet! That was quite an experience! The public loos were a bit too public for me too!

I'd definitely recommend anyone who hasn't been to go at some time in their lives.

Picture of the cathedral in the square at Ypres
 

Attachments

  • Picture 210 (Small).jpg
    Picture 210 (Small).jpg
    48.5 KB · Views: 307

Grrrr

Member
Yep, it is a great place to go.

There are lots of tractors too :D

We were told by a tour guide that the farmers aren't scared of anything. Every year when they go out to plough up their fields they expect to find live shells and ammunition left over from the war.

The ploughs will pull these up. The farmer then gets out of his cab and picks the shell up and puts it in the cab with him. Next time he goes along the road side he puts it in a pile with all the others he has found.

Once a week a guy drives a long in a van and collects them all ready for detonation.

As you drive along you see loads of these piles.

But the guide also said that the farmers aren't always so lucky. There have been more than a few farmers killed over the years when shells have gone off when they have ploughed them up :ohmy:

On a similar note the guide also said that the bomb squad in Belgium have enough stock that they still need to detonate that even if they find no more shells from today on they still have enough work for the next 60 years working full time ;)
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
GREAT pictures Mith. I would like to see more if you have them. :thumb:

I enabled thumbs again. I didn't think we had enough pictures that anyone would care. It didn't even last one day. :hide: (yesterday was not my day ... but today wasn't either)
 

Mith

Active member
Jake, yup, I saw the piles of shells by the fields. When we were there around easter time the whole place smelled of manure, spreading time.....

Doc, I'll upload more tomorrow.
Looks like the pictures are set to showing links now?
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Looks like the pictures are set to showing links now?

That is because they were uploaded when the thumbs were not on. So no thumbnail was created. I'm looking for a way to fix it.
 

shinnlinger

Member
MIth and Grrr,

My German father in law just visited with a case of Belgium beer and I was impressed! I hear Belgium may split along french and english speaking lines...any word of that?

Was Thiepval memorial built by the English or the Belgians?
 

Mith

Active member
Haven't heard anything about a split?
Most of the people I talked to were quite happy talking in French, German, Flemish or English. Some of the people wouldn't speak French though, so maybe there is some sort of disagreement there.
 
Top