Brugges

Today we explored Brugges, a charming medieval city with cobbled streets, lace makers, chocolate factories and would you believe a chip museum. We sat at a sidewalk café, soaked up the sun, ate waffles and coffee and watched the world go by. There was an organ grinder with a monkey, beautiful old buildings and quaint shops. We did watch the lace being made (by hand) and visited a chocolate factory which I thought was a little disappointing. Ian thought he would rather poke himself in the eye with a needle than go to watch ”chips though the ages.”

The photo of the guys drinking beer are our historians and guides having lunch with us in the square in Brugges. The one at the front is Mat McLachlan and the one on the other side is the historian from the film In Flanders Field

On the drive home we stopped at Essex Farm Cemetery, where in 1915 Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae composed In Flanders Fields. There was a grave there of a 15year old rifleman V J Strudwick who would have been just a school kid. There was also a 22 year old VC Winner Private Barratt who apparently was a marksman. There was also the Front Line Aid Station in good condition where McCrae worked.

From there we went to the ‘’Trench of Death” at Diksmuide. It is the furthermost northern part of the German Line. The fighting was so intense there that the troops were rotated every 3 days. There was about 300mtr of trench which had been preserved with concreted sandbags but the majority of it is as it was back then. It gave you a good idea of how they were holding the enemy and the pull back position in the case of it being over run. They held out for the entire war as they ground was so wet the Germans couldn’t advance and there was a river between them which although narrow was heavily defended. Ian went down into a tunnel here and gave himself a good bump on the head and he now has a big purple egg on his forehead.

Tomorrow we do the Somme.