Vierdaagse Day 2 - Diksmuide

The transport this morning took us to the start line at Diksmuide, about half hour north of Ypres. The route was a southern loop of just over 16km. Just after we passed the start line, we detoured to see the Yser Tower. The tower was put up to commemorate Belgian soldiers who died in WWI, destroyed after WWII, and rebuilt.

The first half of the route took us on the roads out of Diksmuide, through farmland and a nature reserve to a chateau. We made it to this half way point in about 100 minutes, and stopped to enjoy a bottle of Stella next to the the beautiful Blankaart Castle. The route back in was perhaps a little less scenic but we had three para drops to watch on the way, including the final one which we watched from the landing zone. Back in Diksmuide, we found a local brewery in which to celebrate the day and watch an oom-pah band before heading back to Ypres.

We finished the day with an alarmingly hot bus ride out to Hooge Crater Museum, which had an amazing new video showing the evolution of the front line on the Ypres Salient over WWI.

Beer Index (Diksmuide) - €5.70/0.5lRead more