IN BRUGGE – 30th Oct to 5th Nov

Part One

How many ‘WOW,s’ can one say in a blog? I know I have run out of superlatives for this section of our trip. In addition to the fantastic architecture and beautiful cobbled streets; in spite of the cold and wet weather it has been a tremendous experience. It will probably take a while to explain why this leg has been so good for us but I’ll try although for many it may not hold the same level of interest.

Our purpose for visiting this part of the world was to use it as a ‘jump-point’ for visiting some of the World War One sites and the history of the country of Belgium. For many years the two world wars have held a special interest for me; no reason, just interest. I can’t claim great ancestral heroics or heritage. My history does not contain any heroics but, I am interested never-the-less. So; first I will give a general overview of our stay and then post a couple of other blogs containing many photos’ which should be self explanatory.

So – Our hotel! One of the nicest we have stayed in; old and heritage listed and perched right on the canal in Brugge central, a mere 5 minutes walk from the town center. 

Even the dining room is superb, and the included breakfast more than adequate. 

I guess we have gained a couple of kilos here just from the breakfast (damn pastries)!

We hired a car here to enable us to drive around and visit various WW1 sites. Guess what? Unlike Marseille the car was actually available and the rental company had not ‘closed its’ business operations’ here in Brugge!

On arrival we had most of the day as it was only a short hop from Amsterdam. We checked in and when advised that we were on the first floor Julie asked “Is there a lift?” The response was simply “Madam, this is a listed building!” Point taken. We dumped our gear in our room and then spent the afternoon and evening roaming around and of course managed to ‘get lost’ in all the winding, cobble stoned streets. There are the usual tourist attractions here, not least the horse drawn carriages. I now know how the term for horses hooves became known as ‘clip-clop’! 

                             The sound of the hooves really does go ‘Clip-Clop’.

On day 2 we collected our car and off we went; next stop Villers-Brettoneux in the Picardy area of France.

There we visited the war memorial and the school donated to the people of Villers-Brettoneux by the Victorians after the war.

This school today still remembers the efforts by the Anzacs in the war.

On our return we ate a quick snack before joining a booked tour to the Menin Gate memorial at Ypres (or Ieper or Wipers – you decide).

Each and every night at 20.00 hrs the Last Post is played to commemorate the fallen. This has occurred since 1928 and is intended to continue in perpetuity.

The guy who runs these tours is a guy called Nathan, owner/operator of Battlefield Day Tours. What this guy doesn’t know about the First World War just isn’t worth knowing. He is a self taught encyclopaedia of the wars and its’ history.

Day two, the weather was shocking. Cold and wet so we took some down time and relaxed in our hotel. The environment is so pleasant and relaxing it just didn’t seem worth going out in the European stormy weather.

PART TWO VERY SOON