At the start of our trip near the hotel, we passed a forest with an old castle beside it. We snapped a few photos but plan to return when we get back to Roeselare on Friday to check it out more. The bike trip started out pretty eventful with us making a wrong turn in the first kilometer. We corrected our route and decided to follow the route signs more closely.
We rode out of the city and into the countryside. Belgian farmhouses, crops, and livestock dotted the land. We passed cows and bulls, horses, deer, huge dogs, small dogs, apple trees, tons of corn fields, onions, some sort of turnips, and of course…brussel sprouts! The farmland was a nice change from the concrete cities we had come to associate with Belgium. The fresh air was nice too. Check out the pic of the vending machine selling fresh strawberries!
We cycled through Passendale which was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of WWI. There are many cemeteries and memorials in this part. We stopped by the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world for any war. British soldiers as well as Canadian, New Zealand, and Australian soldier are also honored.
We arrived at our destination in Iepres/Ypres this afternoon. The area our hotel is in forms a large town square surrounded by tall brick buildings. We peddled in through a street festival and concert and after going directly underneath the Menin Gate Memorial. The square was the site of "In Flanders Field" marathon finish line so there were a lot of people milling about, including a Zumba exercise-dance demo.
The Menin Gate Memorial commemorates the soldiers of the British Commonwealth who fell in Ypres Salient during WWI who have no known grave. It is a huge list of names carved into all sides of the monument. Later, we attended the nightly Last Post ceremony at 8 P.M. They block off the traffic every night for this. The tribute is sounded beneath the Gate by the local fire brigade.
Other sights were the Cloth Hall and St. Martin’s Cathedral. Lunch was Poppie’s Pizza in the Market Square. A Mexican pizza for me and a catalone for Trixie. I also got to sample a Rodenbach dubbel, what beer critic Michael Jackson (the kid-friendly one…uh…that doesn’t sound good either) called “the world’s most refreshing beer.” It did not disappoint.
We found dinner at a local take out joint to cut back on our euro expenditures! A chilled Duvel was for dessert. As almost every beer in Belgium comes in its own specially designed glass, this Duvel out of a Dixie was a little out of place. But still good.
We will pedal on tomorrow morning towards Diksmuide. This includes a trip near a Trappist Brewery and to their tasting café. Tough day.
Killer photo's!
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