Hey everyone!
Last night we went out for dinner and I had a beef stew which was delicious, but the most expensive meal I've had all trip! Never mind. It was delicious and the conversation was good. Then I had a few drinks in the hotel bar with our guide, his friend, Neil and Troy.
This morning we set off for Bruges. It was strange going somewhere so familiar having been there just last week! I had a pretty chilled out few hours, basically telling people things I knew about Bruges and directing them to things they wanted to see.
We started off having a coffee in the main square. At this stage it was quite cloudy, but the big carnival from last week had gone.
Trevor has a dodgy leg and can't walk very far, so Troy and I went on a canal tour with he and Janet (the same one I did last week). It was once again really nice! The sun came out at this stage.
After that we just walked around and did a bit of shopping. Janet and I bought some lace butterflies, lace is famous in Bruges. The lady behind the counter asked if Janet was my mum haha!! I really like Trevor and Janet. I know I've said it before but they remind me so much of you Nan and Pa! They're really kind and have done lots of travelling. Trevor especially reminds me of Pa, and the banter between he and Troy reminds me of Pa and my brother Adam.
We got back on the bus and went to Langemark Cemetery, a German cemetery. The Belgians told the Germans they had to concentrate their dead because they wouldn't allow them a lot of space because after WWII some Belgian people had seen Germany invade their country four times in their lives!! For this reason though Langemark was quite small, 44,000 German soldiers are buried here, 33,000 of these in a mass grave. The difference between this and commonwealth cemeteries here was astounding. The graves were covered and moss and up to 18 soldiers were buried under one plaque. The whole place looked dirty and forgotten about. Apparently they have no war graves commission and that's why.
Next we went to Essex Farm. It was here on 3rd May 1915 that John McCrae, a Canadian soldier who had lost his friend in battle the day before, wrote the famous poem 'In Flanders Fields'. We had a look in the cemetery here where we saw the grave of a 15 year old soldier. Then we walked to the commemorative plaque for the poem and Rod had me read it to the group. It reminded me of when Mum and I go to the dawn service in Melbourne because they usually read that poem.
We then went back to Ypres and had a drink while waiting for the Last Post service. I met some Aussies from Adelaide who I chatted to a while. Then I went and stood by the chain fence for the service by myself. It was only 6.45pm so I waited 1.25 hours but it was worth it. I was right up the front with a great view, and the time went quickly because I talked to five English people. One of them, an old man, had a photo with him and it turned out his cousin had died here 100 years ago today. He told us about all the research he had done on him and showed us his bible that he had left at home before the war. The things you learn and the stories you hear from people when you talk to them. It made me feel really emotional for the service. It was completely different to the other night. Tonight their was a huge group of Canadian soldiers including a band of bagpipes. I cried tonight, because the man behind me was crying due to his cousin. I'm really glad we went again!
Tomorrow we leave for France! Looking forward to some more crepes!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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