Flanders Fields and Ieper

This morning we took off a few miles to the West for the town of Waregem where there is one of the smaller of World War I American military cemetaries on foreign soil. It only covers 6 acres but is beautiful and immaculately cared for.

A small memorial chapel sits in the center with a beautiful altar and mosaic ceiling.

We walked around the gravesites and found the names of soldiers that were close to home from Idaho, Montana and Utah.

Each time I read a name I wondered how many children were left fatherless by this war. The care taker played the carillon for us and I wondered about how people in the houses around may feel about all the bells chiming. We next drove further West to the city of Ieper and had ice cream in a waffle cone just off the city market in the city center typical of nearly all European cities. The ice cream was delicious.

We decided to go to the In Flanders Fields museum. It is all about the many difficulties and horors of World War I which centered largely in this immediate area of Belgium from 1914 through 1918. Now war is not my thing and I don't like to see or hear about it. They started by giving us a tag with the name of a soldier to put in machines to find out about what part that person played in the war. I don't remember the name only that she was a nurse on the front lines caring for the wounded. My heart hurt for her. It must have been a hard job to see such things. One display was a horse pulling a cannon. The horse was covered in mud and it looked over-worked and cold. We also went into another church. As with all the churches here it was beautiful.

We then took a walk along a tree-lined trail around the top of a high wall surrounded by a moat that was built in mideval times which surrounded part of the old city.

Along the walk was very green and beautiful but it was quite a long walk. I think we were all very tired by the time we got to the Stedelijk Museum. Here they had a film about the history of the area. What excited me was that they had rooms full of paintings of the period.

There were some old pewter dishes and you could even see the cut marks on them. At this point we still had a half of our walk to finish. It was a good break though. At the end of the hike near the Menin Gate it was time to find a place to have dinner. We found a small restaurant and the food was good. After dinner we watched the laying of the wreaths at the Menin Gate along with buglers and bagpipers in a ceremony called the Last Post that has taken place every eveing at 8:00 PM since 1928 to honor thousands of British soldiers who died in World War I in the Iepers area.

It was a great treat to end the evening.

Week Three is Almost Gone

The rain keeps on falling every day. The fields of grain are ripe and ready to be harvested. We take walks in the evening with the guys. Sometimes we even walk during the day when the rain lets up a little. I guess the rain is why everything is so green over here. Monday we did laundry at the laundromat. The man there gave us a eruo off the cost because all but one large machine were busy. We combined loads and spent over an hour waiting for it to get done then drying took sixteen minutes. Tuesday we went to find a store where we could buy a tie for Dad. Then we drove out to see where Michelle's house is going to be. They are going to be moving the first of August. It is across the street from an old church so we had a look at their house and went inside the church.

Laurene and Michelle on walkway beside church grounds

Laurene has been wanting to see windmills and as we were walking around the church we spotted one down the street. Off we went to get pictures of it. It sat right out in some fields.

Somewhere Laurene had seen where there are several near here. We often drive country roads just to see what we can. Laurene has a great sense of direction to get us back home but sometimes we have to break out the map. There is a lot of farming in this area with many fields of sugar beets, potatoes, corn and oats.

Typical narrow country road where we walk

Corn field next to our apartments (roof in rear)

Wednesday I made cookies. It took me a while to look up metric coversions to get the job done. Then we took another drive to look for a grocery store that was supposed to have lower prices. We found it but were not impressed. I guess we will go back to the old standby, Delhaize. We like it because it has a good variety. Thursday was a little better weather wise but it sill rained off and on. It was a national holiday here similar to our fourth of July so everything was closed. Dad and Dave worked so we met them for lunch and went to McDonalds. After lunch Laurene and I took a drive to see what we could find and ended up at the town center where the open market was just winding down. We found a fruit stand still open so we bought some large sweet cherries. We also visited Liedts Castle in Liedts Park in downtown Oudenaarde. It is closed for the month of July but the building and grounds are beautiful.

When the guys got home they wanted to go for a walk on a country road near the apartment where we see these big-butted cows. They are Belgian Blues and have massive muscles on shoulders and buttocks. They look like body-builder cattle.

Laurene and Dave went ahead of us while Dad finished something. We didn't find them so we went another way. When we got home our neighbors Michelle and Silvio,
invited us to go for a walk around a nearby lake with them so, what the heck, dinner was turned off and we went on another walk with them.

Michelle and Silvio

 

Dave and Laurene were already eating so they didn't go. The trail around the lake was over a mile long. The lake was beautiful and the trail was well groomed. Kids go to a camp on one side. People were fishing and we saw a lady catch a small fish which she kept. Maybe all the fish are small but the poles they used were quite big for what was being pulled out. The weather held out until we finished the walk and then it rained again. Friday started it out with a bang when I dropped a glass cinnamon container on the marble kitchen floor with no broom, mop or vacuum cleaner to clean up. I just had a roll of kitchen paper (paper towels) but I managed to get it cleaned up.

Market in Oudenaarde, Festival in Gent and Sunday Services

The weather has been raining off and on. We went to the market that is set up each Thursday in the center square of town in the rain. It would rival the open flea markets we visited in Arizona. A lot of trucks pull in, open the sides, and then sell meats, bakery goods, candy, clothing or whatever. In the afternoon the sides are closed and they're gone. These stores on wheels were fascinating to me. The rain hampered the mood to shop and we didn't buy much. That and the fact that we had just spent over 100 euros on food a day before. I found things that looked good until I saw how much they cost. Then I told myself, "Dang, that item just got ugly," and I would walk off. Friday I spent the day not feeling well. I threw up into the early morning hours and Laurene and I just spent the day at home. I started a new painting and looked up water color videos in between being sick. It was not a fun day but by evening I felt better so we took a one-hour walk around the fields near home. Saturday we headed for Gent to see the annual festival that is going on for the next ten days. The 21st of July is like our 4th of July only they party for ten days in Gent. Laurene and I  went to the Gravenstine Castle While Dad and Dave waited for us on a bench under some cover. This castle was first built in the 1100's.

It was raining off and on the whole day we were there. We met an American couple that bought a barge to tour Europe and, yes they left their kids to do it. They have been touring for four years now on the canals all over Europe. How does that sound to you guys (fun, fun, fun)? After the castle tour we watched a very unusual parade.

Apparently because of the huge crowds they have set up outdoor open urinals in the streets. I was quite shocked the first time I saw a man walk up to one of these to relieve himself.

We then went to the top of an ancient bell tower to look out over the city.

Picture Dad took at night of Bell Tower in 2004

We listened to the bells chime several times. They are driven by a huge drum with pegs that trigger the bell gongs, much like a small music box. This drum now used was installed in 1659.

We walked around to see some of the scenic views along the canals in the city center area in spite of the almost constant rain.

Then we went to a restaurant called Le Petit Paradis that Dad and Dave had gone to in 2007 and we had a nice dinner of filet mingon with a special desert of ice cream topped with whipping cream and delicious Belgian chocolate syrup. Road construction has made navigating to and from Gent difficult since the GPS always wants to take the closed section of a road but Dad has now figured out how to avoid this with the GPS. Our trip to church Sunday morning in Gent, where the nearest branch is located, was much less stessful. After talking to members we found out the parade yesterday had some not so good themes in it. Fortunately we didn't know what the meanings were as we watched. We met some very neat people at church with whom we will do things as we get to know them. In meetings we have member interpreters that tell us what is being said. In Relief Society and Sunday School they sit next to us whispering and in sacrement we wear head phones to hear the interpretation. Most people understand English so if I want to contribute I can. Just for Laurie: Everyone waves at me now with a big smile.

July 13 - Wednesday in Oudenaarde

Yesterday we just stayed home. Early on it was not the best day for me but it ended well. We had a nice dinner with Dave and Laurene before we visited for a while and retired. Today I met the lady next door whose name is Michelle. She is here from Romania. She speaks English well so it is easy to talk with her.

Her husband even helped us when our car would not start one day. We invited her to explore with us today.

We went in to Oudenaarde to a tapestery muesem but we weren't allowed to take pictures. We then went to the old city hall. It's not used for government any longer but is now also a museum. There was a beautiful silver collection on display and many centuries-old paintings. Our pictures had to be taken without flash so it was difficult to get clear photos.

Although it was cool and raining it was a fun day.