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| George in Ypres |
On this day, we spent all our time in and around Ypres itself. We started off by visiting the museum and trenches at Hill 62. It was interesting to see the trenches as they might have been.
It was an interesting place. There were tonnes of World War 1 artefacts just lying around the place. In a way, it was a real shame to see so much history just rotting away.
We spent a long time in Ypres itself as well.
In the Cloth Hall, is a wonderful museum which is dedicated to World War 1. It was strange. In one particular location was an installation in which gas masks were hung on top of barbed wire holders within perspex tubes full of condensation. Lit up by green and red lights, they resembled poppies. It was really eerie when you looked closer and saw the glassy eyes of the gas masks staring out at you. Three war poems were displayed on the walls, one of which was 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by my favourite war poet Wilfred Owen. Recordings of the poems were being played. There was a real ghostly presence in that installation. We both felt it. The entire museum was fascinating and well worth a visit.
After the museum, we went around Ypres, looking at various sights.
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| The Menin Gate in Ypres |
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| On the town battlements |
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| The War Memorial |
At around seven thirty, Mike and I headed for the Menin Gate.
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| The buglers. |
The people of Ypres are so respectful of the sacrifices made during World War 1, that they decided to hold a ceremony of remembrance every night at 8pm. This has been done every night since 1920. Members of the Last Post association play the Last Post to massive crowds. It is incredibly moving. As this was my first experience of the ceremony, I found myself, quite literally moved to tears. The entire journey with all its experiences was an enormous learning curve for me.
There was a man on the other side of the gate, who sat in a wheelchair with a blanket over his knees. As soon as the ceremony began, he stood up. He remained standing throughout the ceremony. He looked so sad. I could only imagine what he had lived through.
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| The Menin Gate by night |
After the Menin Gate, we went for a wonderful steak and then to bed. It was our last night in the amazing Regina Hotel, so here is a little pictorial homage to it!
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| The Regina Hotel itself |
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| The view of our room from the corridor |
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| Mike and I in our mirrored wall |
Miles that day: 10
Total Miles: 1444
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