West Flanders Province, Belgium Travel Journals & Blogs

EUROPATOUR 2019
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- Sep 21, 2019, 2:18 PM
- ☀️ 25 °C
- Altitude: 29 m
- France Hauts-de-France Roncq 50.73779, 3.131950°44’16” N 3°7’55” E
Day 91
9000 KM ~ 13. Land ~ Belgium :)
September 21, 2019 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Freunde besuchen in der letzten Woche ☺️ ...erstmal auf
nach Antwerpen 🕊️ Kai und Charlotte wir kommen... 🤗

In Belgien werden die Sprachen Holländisch, Französisch und Deutsch gesprochen/verwendet - haben wir erfahren. Wobei Flämisch da noch etwas Eigenes ist.

Mit Englisch kommen wir aber immer überall weiter 🤘Read more
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Traveler 4 Gen. EUROPE ADVENTURE
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- Jun 20, 2024, 1:33 PM
- ☁️ 20 °C
- Altitude: 47 m
- France Hauts-de-France Neuville-en-Ferrain 50.759976, 3.1549950°45’36” N 3°9’18” E
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Day 49
Belgium today.
June 20, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Well after our sad goodbyes we set off for Brugge in Belgium. We arrived in about 3 1/2 hours weather really nice no rain and about 20 degrees. We got into our accommodation for the night and then went for a local wander. Just beautiful!Read more
Traveler Mmmm. Not sure about that…😳
6/20/24Reply
Traveler Loving all the scenery!
6/20/24Reply
Traveler Looks like a great place
6/21/24Reply
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Europe Xmas River Cruise ++
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- Jan 2, 2025, 9:30 AM
- ☁️ 4 °C
- Altitude: 64 m
- Belgium Flanders Ieper Klein Zillebeke 50.830475, 2.95268350°49’50” N 2°57’10” E
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Day 20
Tracing Alfred William Alley’s movements
January 2 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
Through finding Alfred’s battalion diaries written by the commanding officer we were able to trace where he was in the few days before he died.

Their camp was moved from one location to a few kilometres away & Alfred and some others were sent to a supply dump site called Hornby where they were tasked with making g some accommodations. It was when they were returning from Hornby dump to the new camp site that they came under artillery fire and he and another man were killed and some wounded, all from his brigade.Read more
Traveler 3 good looking young men.
3wReply
What bad luck for Alfred Alley! [Carol Gilling]
3wReply
Well it does not look like you will see snow in Europe? [Carol Gilling]
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Traveler EUROPE
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- Oct 2, 2023, 10:26 PM
- ☁️ 21 °C
- Altitude: 20 m
- Belgium Flanders Ypres Westhoek 50.849738, 2.88938550°50’59” N 2°53’22” E
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Day 45–46
Days 42 and 43
October 2, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Day 42 was meant to be utopia for John who found a sports bar to watch the rugby league grand final live. He then went to the Prix de l'arc de Triomphe (Melbourne Cup of Europe). At least the races part was good !!
Photos 1 - 3- sports bar and races
Video 1 - race crowd do the Viking clap like the Canberra raiders

Day 43
Photo 4 - Adelaide Cemetary outside Villers Bretonneux. An unknown soldier has been removed from this cemetary and placed in Canberra

Photos 5, - 7with our guide at the John Monash Centre - a museum and interpretative centre that commemorates Australian servicemen and women who served on the Western Front during the first world war
Photo 8 - battlefields and war cemetaries visited today
Photo 9 - Memorial to women at the Lochnagar Crater
Video 2 - Lochnagar Crater (tunnel dug under major German command centre in order to blow it up)
Photo 10 - memorial to all animals used in the war effort - horses, mules, dogs and pigeons
Photo 11 - Pheasant Wood cemetary at Fromelles - newest war
cemetary created following the discovery of 6 mass graves in 2008
Photo 12 - VC Corner Australian Cemetary - the only cemetary that has just Australian soldiers (known and unknown)Read more
Traveler Poor John. We thought the Broncos had it in the bag 💼
10/2/23Reply
Traveler Have a very relaxing time in Singapore- it’s stunning- and a very safe trip home!
10/2/23Reply
Traveler Looks like a beautiful day for the races! What fun!
10/4/23Reply
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Traveler EUROPE
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- Oct 3, 2023, 8:29 PM
- 🌙 15 °C
- Altitude: 19 m
- Belgium Flanders Ypres Westhoek 50.852207, 2.89171350°51’8” N 2°53’30” E
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Day 46
Days 44 and 45
October 3, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ 🌙 15 °C
Day 44
Day 2 of Battlefields tour.

Photos - 1 and 2- after attending a short rememberance ceremony at the Menin Gates we had dinner with our guide at a really nice hotel in Ypres, Belgium called the Depot. Volunteers conduct this service which includes playing the last post at 8pm 365 nights a year in appreciation of all those who served - an incredible comittment
Photo 3 - Tyne Cot - largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world
Photo 4 - letter advising parents their son is deceased
Photo 5 - remains of caterpillar mine crater - one of a series of mines that were placed along the German front line by tunnelling

Day 45
The tour of The Catacombs in Paris is approximately 2 km long and deep underground. It contains the bones of over 6 million people. There's 140 steps to go down and 112 to get out. The height dips to 5' 11" in some places. It's a bit freaky down there quite macabre and a bit eerie. Thankfully reasonably well lit !!

Photos 6 and 7- Catacomb's tunnels
Photos 8 - 10 - bones

Last night in Paris heading for Singapore via Dubai tomorrow night.Read more
Traveler Amazing trip Shelley & John - thank you for sharing. Some parts have bought back great memories for me and the places I haven’t been I’ve enjoyed feeling just a teeny bit jealous! 😃
10/4/23Reply
Thanks for sharing your travels. Great pics. You will be home now. Talk soon xx [Lorraine]
10/5/23Reply
Traveler Heartbreaking even after all these years.
10/7/23Reply
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Europe Xmas River Cruise ++
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- Jan 2, 2025, 1:00 PM
- ⛅ 6 °C
- Altitude: 16 m
- Belgium Flanders Ieper Sint-Jan 50.863873, 2.93112550°51’50” N 2°55’52” E
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Day 20
Rifleman Frederick Alley
January 2 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C
Rifleman Frederick Alley DOD 13Dec17 Age unknown

Killed in Action

3 NZ Rifle Brigade, 3 Battalion

Grave Plot II, C.22

The site of the current cemetery was until the Third Battle of Ypres in no man’s land. On July 31, 1917, the 15th (Scottish) Division captured the Lost Corner and Freiberg with the 55th (West Lancashire) Division on their left flank. The cemetery was started the next month by the 15th and 16th (Irish) Division, under the name ‘New Cemetery, Frezenberg’. A few weeks later, however, a British plane crashed near the current ‘Cross of Sacrifice’, which earned the cemetery its current name, Aeroplane Cemetery. The cemetery was used by combat units until March 1918.

The cemetery includes the graves of 15 men who served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

Plots II to VIII, and part of Plot I, were formed after the Armistice when graves were brought in from small burial grounds and the surrounding battlefields. There are now 1,105 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 636 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate eight casualties known or believed to be buried among them.Read more
What a great effort Maurice, Amber, Riley and Logan! Thanks for all these photos of this history. [Carol Gilling]
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What a journey! [Carol Gilling]
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Traveler Not Switzerland
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- Jun 4, 2023, 8:32 PM
- 🌬 16 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
- Belgium Flanders De Panne Adinkerke 51.076529, 2.58415851°4’36” N 2°35’3” E
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Day 1
Just in Belgium
June 4, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ 🌬 16 °C
Having delayed departure Switzerland seemed a step too far for this trip. Also Swiss weather not the best at the moment. So got to Calais and turned left stopping just over the Belgian border with sun and wind just like home. No plans other than to go where its sunny.Read more
Traveler Good plan. we finally found the sun
6/4/23Reply
Traveler Good 👍
6/5/23Reply
Traveler Glad to hear you're safe and sound and hanging on to the sun. We've just got back from the Illegal Eagles concert at the Pavilion. All the old hits, very good.
6/4/23Reply
Traveler Glad you enjoyed.
6/5/23Reply
Traveler Do you carry your own paving slabs for the patio?
6/4/23Reply
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Traveler Camino Français
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- May 16, 2024, 12:28 PM
- ☁️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Belgium Flanders Aalter 51.081874, 3.45094351°4’55” N 3°27’3” E
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Day 5
Dag 5: who'll stop the rain :)
May 16, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Vandaag met regen begonnen. Om 9.00 vertrokken uit Kaba hostel Gent. Tot 12 uur REGEN daarna miezerig. Om 4 uur bij Freddie en Zita....wat een hartelijke ontvangst! De camino van 2017 had een diepe indruk op hun gemaakt. Freddie is inmiddels 77 en werkt nog steeds....6 dagen! Sprake van heimwee naar die tocht en de band die we daardoor hadden opgebouwd. Tsja de camino verandert mensen :) Even fotootjes...welterusten lieve mensen. Morgen is streven...Doornik, dan zit ik weer op de route CAMINO FRANCES (dit ommetje was 116 km + morgen nog 60, soit zeker de moeite waard geweest!)Read more
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Traveler Toppers!
5/16/24Reply
Traveler Heel bijzonder zo'n band na de Camino😊
5/16/24ReplyTranslate
Traveler Als je 180 kilometer omfietst voor een ontmoeting dan moet het wel heel bijzonder zijn! Hier was ik blij met de regen...😅
5/17/24ReplyTranslate
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12 Pfoten auf Europa Tour
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- May 28, 2023, 5:57 PM
- 🌬 16 °C
- Altitude: 9 m
- Belgium Flanders Koksijde Sint-Idesbald 51.107907, 2.60279751°6’28” N 2°36’10” E
Day 242
Keine Kroketten in Belgien
May 28, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ 🌬 16 °C
Westwärts ans Meer. Unser 3ter Reiseabschnitt unseres Auszeitjahres. Und nochmal mit dem weissen Riesen. Aber wir sind noch nicht mal in Belgien, als ein neues Lämpchen aufblinkt: Motor kontrollieren lassen. Es ist wie verhext. Aber ans Meer haben wir es erstmal geschafft. Und zu Bitterballen und Pommes auch. ;-) Die Kroketten waren alle.Read more
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Traveler nicht schon wieder 🙈 Drück ganz fest die Daumen, dass das Leuchten der Lampe harmlos ist✊✊
5/28/23ReplyTranslate
Traveler O jullie zijn weer onderweg. Wat fijn! Genoeg kroketten bij onze achterburen 😉 Succes met het heksmobiel. 🧙🏻‍♀️ Liefs van ons 😘
5/28/23ReplyTranslate
Traveler Ach ihr Armen! Hoffe, dass ihr dennoch den wunderschön aussehenden Abend geniessen konntet. Schön, dass ihr wieder auf Tour seid! 😘
5/28/23ReplyTranslate
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Hard work pays off
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- Oct 14, 2023, 12:57 PM
- 🌬 13 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Belgium Flanders Nieuwpoort Ramskapelle 51.111408, 2.7541951°6’41” N 2°45’15” E
Day 28
Weer op Nederlandse bodem
October 14, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
Na een overnachting in België bij Joost en Cindy zijn we weer terug in Nederland.
Hier staan we nog 1 nachtje op een camping in Voorthuizen bij Patrick en Marieke voor dat we morgen doorrijden naar huis..
We hebben onderweg van Dieppe naar Sint Job int goor nog wel wat foto's gemaakt...Read more
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Was weer een ouderwets avondje samen 😘 [Joost]
10/14/23ReplyTranslate
Traveler Dat was het zeker weten!😘
10/14/23ReplyTranslate
Traveler welkom in Nederland 😀😘
10/14/23ReplyTranslate
Traveler Wil weer terug...😪 Hier alleen maar regen en kou...
10/15/23ReplyTranslate
Traveler begrijp ik heel goed !
10/15/23ReplyTranslate
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