Ypres

Belgium, April 2005

First stop on our 6 day Belgium road trip was Ypres.

Stories have long been told about the WWI battlefields of Flanders. There were the tall red poppies that rose over the flat, flat fields; the soldiers who disappeared forever in the quagmire of battle; and the little town of Ypres (or Ieper in Flemish) that was wiped off the map.

However, just because it was wiped off the map doesn't mean you still can't see it. The town has been convincingly rebuilt, and it's outlying farmlands are today dotted with cemeteries and memorials, and in early summer the poppies still flower.

Around Town

Lakenhalle at sunset. It's hard to believe that this was completely destroyed and rebuilt after WWI. Taken not far from the pub on Meensestraat where we had our first Belgium beers.

Lakenhall's Belfry.

Funnily enough, Ypres' main folkloric event is the annual Kattenfestival or Festival of Cats. Sounds innocent enough you'd think but the festival actually has it's origins in a 12th century tradition of throwing live cats from the Lakenhalle's belfry. Cats, it was believed, personified evil spirits and this ritual which continued until 1817 was their undoing. Today's version sees toy cats hurled out the window of the second Sunday in May. Cool.

Restaurants and pubs next to the LakenHalle.

Street much like any other street.

Gasmask from the In Flanders Fields Museum

Walls of the old town.

Another Old German Menace

A fantastic looking candy pink Volkswagen Beetle in the carpark of the Lakenhalle. I love the 'Mission Cancelled' sticker on the windshield.

Beetle and a nice view of the LakenHalle.

Battle damage on left hand fender.

Last Post

The Menin Gate is perhaps the saddest reminder of the town's past. The huge white gate is inscribed with the names of 54,896 British and Commonwealth troops who lost their lives in the quagmire of the trenches and have no known graves.

The last post is played late in the evening and a small ceremony of rememberance is held. Lest we forget.

Plaque above one of the archways in the gate.

Australian casualties.

A memorial near the gate.

Our Own Ypres Carnage

After the Last Post, Anka and I were decidedly hungry and decided to go to a pub for a little food and refreshment. Several strong Belgian beers later, we stumbled out into the street and decided to head back to the hotel.

Unfortunately, we got horribly lost and at 10pm had no idea where we were. A small bar was open however and we popped in for a quick beer and a smoke while we got our bearings back. I soon discovered however that they served my favourite brand of cashasa, a Brazilian rum and then persuaded Anka, the bar maid and couple of regulars to try it straight.

Two hours, 3-4 beers, 4 shots and a game of international table football later, we waved our new friends good bye and staggered out of the pub completely spastic. Somehow made it back to the hotel and threw up within 10 minutes of each other. We woke up very hung over the next morning.