Wednesday October 31, Bruges

A very moving Plaque to the Kiwi soldiers.

We woke to a clear sky and the sun shone all day. It has been a day of huge contrasts from visiting war cemeteries this morning to the bustling wonderful city of Bruges this afternoon.

First stop this morning was at the Mercedes Benz workshop in Ypres to get some oil and found a place nearby that refilled our German gas bottle. Keeping up with propane gas in different countries has been quite an issue, they all have their own bottles. At the moment we have one French bottle and one German bottle and that was almost empty.

Set off to the Tyne Cot cemetery in Passchendal, not far from Ypres. Jilly managed to have an off day and we ended up driving down an extremely narrow road to get there, sending a few cars coming the other way into the grass, but arrived safely. Tyne Cot is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the world, and there is a special memorial for New Zealand soldiers. I have grown up hearing about the names of Passchendal and Flanders Field, but it wasn’t until today when we stood on the ridge that the enormity of it all hit home. We could hear the haunting names and ages of those who were lost played through a sound system as we walked across the field to the visitors centre. And then we saw a raw steel plaque commemorating the sacrifice made by New Zealand soldiers on the Western Front, with a dynamic silhouette of soldiers forming the Silver Fern. The words on it, Nga Tapuwae translate to Footsteps. That really brought moisture to the eyes, to see this so far from home really hit the heart strings.

We were surprised to see so many people walking around the cemetery, including a busload of English students who had laid a wreath. Just like in Etaples, we were so impressed by how well these cemeteries are maintained, especially the gardens that are in front of all the headstones. We have read and heard about the numbers who lost their lives in the war, but it is not until you see all the headstones and names engraved on memorial walls that you really realise how many there were. We will never forget them.

The entrance to the NZ memorial.

Then it was onto Bruges, about an hour north of Ypres. I had found a very good spot to camp in the city, with just a km walk into the centre. Jilly was right on target and had us there very easily. There is not much room between campervans, but we only need to sleep here so it is no problem.

Bruges has really impressed us, and would rate it as one of the best towns we have visited. Surprised with how many people are visiting at what is really out of holiday season. The streets were crowded and the many boats who do tours of the city around the canals were packed, as well as the horse drawn carriages. The cobbled streets are quite narrow and dodging cars, bikes and horses was a bit of a mission at times. Just like in Holland, it seems all the locals ride a bike to get around the town. The buildings dating from the 1600’s are really impressive, this town wasn’t bombed during the war and the history shows. We meandered through the streets, popping into different buildings and finally reached the town square surrounded by some really impressive architecture. Stopped at a café for a wine and enjoyed watching the people - I know we should have had Belgian beer, but it was too cold!

It was getting dark by the time we got back to the van, had a bit of a relax before walking back to the canal where we had seen a river barge restaurant. Had a really nice meal and I enjoyed a rabbit and prune casserole, the first time I have eaten rabbit and hope it won’t be the last. Really good. Ian gave the thumbs up to his casserole of pork cheeks. Its been a very busy but good day.

Wonderful buildings in the town square.

Fancy a chocolate!!

...and xmas has arrived in the chocolate world!