This will be another two day post as we spent half of Wednesday traveling and getting acquainted with a new city. We said our goodbyes to Paris, fittingly, in the rain. We made our way to the city of Bruges, Belgium via an 1.5 hour train ride to Brussels, Belgium and then a one hour train ride to Bruges. We immediately sensed a change in atmosphere and culture; the people were less hurried, more willing to speak English and answer our questions, and seemed more outwardly cheerful. We've noticed that prices of food and beverages (mainly beer for Jeremy) are cheaper than in Paris, and we've noticed that they are very proud of their city. Bruges may have given us the best first impression of any city that we've traveled to. The people, of course, influence this reaction; however, the city looks like it was built by Walt Disney. It reminds me of a tiny Christmas village that you might see built in a living room over the holidays. It is absolutely gorgeous!
We will be staying in a cute little Bed and Breakfast while we are in Bruges. This is the first time that either of us has stayed in a B&B, and so far, we are impressed. Jeremy used the company at www.airbnb.com to book all of our lodging this trip. It offers lodging from B&Bs to rented apartments, and we would highly recommend them for any budget!
It was too early to check into the B&B when we arrived, so we grabbed some lunch at the pub across the street. We sat out on the deck and enjoyed the weather! (Gasp!) It was sunny, 70 degrees, and we actually had to take our jackets off. After lunch, we got settled in our room and then walked the fifteen minutes to the city center. We followed part of Rick Steve's guided walk to become better acquainted to the new city and then tried a Belgian specialty--French fries! Ours were loaded with mayonnaise and sweet chili sauce, but there were about eight different sauces to choose from. I am not usually very fond of mayo, and we don't even keep it in the fridge at home, but theirs was delicious. They double fry the potatoes to get them extra crispy before loading them up with sauce. I think our hearts (and thighs) were thanking us for sharing the mound of food!
We set off to find one of three different pubs that had been recommended to us, but it is much more difficult to get your bearings in a European city when the streets wind, you've got canals surrounding you, and it's dark. We got lost just once but ended up walking for three hours. By the time, we found the pubs, they were all closed. We aren't sure why, but this seems to be a place where businesses close relatively early. We saw beautiful streets around every corner we turned, and can't wait to explore some more!
We awoke this morning with anticipation for breakfast. We've been fending for ourselves most mornings for breakfast, so it was a nice treat to have someone else cook for us. As an added bonus, the owner of the B&B is a baker, so he brings fresh baked goods home after his shift at 7am. We filled up on freshly squeezed orange juice, pastries, and some meat and cheese before heading off for our Flanders Fields tour.
As I've mentioned before, we both have an interest in war history; however, I don't know more than the basics about WWI, so I was very eager to learn more. Our day was filled driving around in a bus with our amazing, knowledge-filled tour guide, Phil, and about 30 other people from England, Australia, and Canada. We made about 10-12 stops at various battle fields, cemeteries, and war memorials with commentary during most of the 8 hour day.
It is impossible to share all of the information that we heard today, so I will just pick a few things that we found interesting. The tour focused on the battles fought in Belgium and their relation to the war. The Germans planned on taking Belgium in five days, but they did not anticipate the courage of the Flemish. Although the Germans eventually took most of the country, it took much longer than planned and they never fully captured the region. The strategic significance of Flanders Fields to the Germans was to secure canals and waterways that would have meant easy supply lines. This would have allowed them to encircle France from all fronts and easily surge ahead in the war. Although both sides new the implications of this land, neither was able to make any large gains throughout the war. In fact, in about four years worth of battling, only a few kilometers were gained. However, the loss of human lives was immense. Approximately 35 men were lost for ever meter gained!! In one battle alone, The Third Battle of Ypres, almost half a million people died in three months of fighting, and the land gained was lost just months later. Soldiers died nearly as often from disease, terrible trench conditions, and drowning as they did from enemy fire. The thick clay sucked in many soldiers, and it was a death sentence. The Germans broke the rules of law set up by the Geneva Conventions by using chlorine gas, and the Allies followed suit; eventually, the chemical warfare escalated to nerve gas and mustard gas, affecting survivors many years later.
In the end, the city of Ypres (also spelled Wipers or Ieper) was wiped off the Earth. All that remained in the area that the battles took place was fields of clay filled with the bodies of the dead and metal from ammunition and machinery. It was said that not even two bricks remained stacked; everything had been shelled to the ground. On average, there were three shells fired for each square meter throughout Flanders Fields. Hundreds of thousand kilograms of metal were removed from the fields, but farmers still find it during spring planting and fall harvest on a yearly basis (almost 100 years later)! Considering that at least one in three shells did not detonate (because of poor quality or poor impact in soft clay), it is no surprise that several hundred people have died since the war ended, most recently as 2007, from live ammunition.
There are many war cemeteries throughout Flanders Fields, including four dedicated to German soldiers. We stopped in several, and they were each a bit different. The cemeteries for the Allied soldiers had flowers and upright headstones while the cemeteries for German soldiers were a bit more modest, but still well kept considering they were the enemy. Occasionally, a body is still found in the area, but that is not surprising with over 50,000 soldiers missing in just the Flanders Fields area alone. As we walked and drove around, it was difficult to imagine a war on a landscape that is so beautiful, but through these memorials and cemeteries, we will never forget the immense cost of war.
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