Today is a day that we have been looking forward to since booking this trip. Bill has a deep interest in WWI and WWII history and I wanted to go simply to express my gratitude in my own way for what so many soldiers did for us so that we are able to live a life of freedom.
We briefly visited the Tyne Cot Cemetery where over 11,000 of the fallen had been buried. It was a solemn and emotional visit and we certainly could have stayed for a few hours to walk through the graves in respect of the fallen.
When standing at Tyne Cot, looking into the short distance to Ypres, it was hard to imagine the loss of life over such a short distance. It was so surreal.
Our next stop was at the Menin Gate. A beautiful memorial on the edge of Ypres that bears the names of each of the soldiers in the British Commonwealth who lost their lives in WWI. It was here that Bill found a name we were familiar with, although it wasn't one that we knew of.
 |
| Soldiers often passed through this gate as they headed to the battlefields. |
 |
| At the top of the stairs of the Menin Gate, you can find a cast bronze replica of the gate. |
 |
| A peek of the street view from the top of the stairs at the Menin Gate. |
 |
| Every night at 8 p.m., the Last Post is played at the Menin Gate. |
At the Flanders Fields Museum, we viewed various artefacts from WWI.
 |
| This is a cross-section of a 235 year old oak tree (1760-1994) that had suffered from the impact of grenade and bullet fragments from 1917-1918. Each of the stains marks an injury. Remarkably, the tree continued to grow, covering the marks and scars with new wood. |
 |
| Poppy art that can be purchased in the museum book store. |
While waiting to meet up with our guide outside the museum, we had enough time for a little shopping and a bite to eat. We crossed the street to a little ice cream shop (by this time, we have realized that nothing will compare to the gelato in Italy) where they had an interesting flavour called cuberdon. This was a vanilla ice cream with pieces of the well-known cuberdon raspberry flavoured candy. A few doors down from there was a Peter De Groote chocolate shop. It was not difficult to drop a few dollars in there!
 |
| Although it is a poor picture (taken from the window of the bus) this is the Canada Bridge in Bruges. This is the bridge that the Canadian soldiers from the Manitoba Dragoons crossed when Bruges was liberated in WWII. Also known as the Bison Bridge or Buffalo Bridge (in recognition of Manitoba), it quietly reminds locals of their liberation. |
 |
| The canals in Bruges. |
 |
| This is the tallest church in Bruges. The tower of Church of Our Lady stands 122 m tall. |
 |
| Burg square |
Finally, we stopped for any necessary last minute shopping. Some of our group dropped in at the local brewery.
 |
| Horse head fountain makes a perfect watering trough for the many horses pulling carriages throughout the town. |
Belgium is one of the countries we are looking forward to visiting again, hopefully in the near future. The people were friendly and easy-going. There are many more war memorials and sites we want to visit at a slower pace than what our tour offered. Paaschendale, Essex Farm Cemetery, and further exploration of Ypres and Bruges are at the top of our list.
