Saturday we started off by heading to Ypres (Iepers). This was a main area for WWI because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France from the North.
When we arrived there was a big market in the square so we looked around it. After we went to the In Flanders Field Museum which was very interesting.
This is also where many military graveyards are. We bought a tour guide (2.50E) to do a drive. We stopped at a few memorials and graveyards. The first one we stopped at was where John McCrae worked as a medic and wrote "In Flanders Fields". He was a Canadian (for my American friends info). This poem has become important for remembrance ceremonies. We got tired of driving around and decided to head for the coast to the North Sea. I'm not totally sure about which town we ended up in but it was near Nieuwpoort. After a walk on the beach we headed home, stopping for supper at an Esso at the diner along the highway.
Sunday was what Dave called a "no adventure Sunday". We went to church and it turned out they were having a potluck to wish the interim pastor safe travels on his way back to the states. This was great because it was "normal" potluck food.... mmm- thinking of the pulled pork, pastas, salads, chicken and deserts is making me hungry (waiting for dinner til Dave gets home from a meeting). We then spent the rest of the day doing nothing. I got a long talk with mom on msn while Dave slept. We then read out side near the pool- too cold to go in! It was McDonald's for supper.
Monday was Labour Day. Dave wasn't going to get it off but since he worked the last Belgium holiday he took it off. We were off (2 hour drive) to Bastogne where the Battle of the bulge took place. We checked out the museum there and the memorial. After lunch we started heading hom and went to Waterloo on the way. We took a tour of the battle fields.
"The Battle of Waterloo, fought near the village of Waterloo on Sunday 18 June 1815,[5] was the decisive battle of the Waterloo Campaign, and Napoleon Bonaparte's last. Waterloo marked the end of the period known as the Hundred Days, which began in March 1815 after Napoleon's return from Elba, where he had been exiled after his defeat and abdication in the previous year. The defeat at Waterloo put a final end to Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo
When we got home we turned right around to go do laundry and get pizza from the place beside the laundromat.
I will post more links under my pictures later.
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