Ypern

Snapshot
Where - Ypres, Belgium
Weather - nice

We have been underestimating not so much the distance but more the time it takes to get from point A to point B, mainly due to the sheer volume of traffic on the roads (and the amount of roadworks, but the funny thing is, we never actually see any work being done? ). Brad thought we would have time to visit Bruges the afternoon that we arrived in Belgium but I thought we would be pushing it so we have put that off until we come back into France from the UK. So we booked a 2pm ferry from Dunkirk giving us time in the morning to head for Ypres, an area of the Western Front where Australian soldiers fought (and died) during WW1.

The Menin Gate was where the troops passed through to go to the front, and it now stands as a memorial to all the soldiers that died in that area. There are over 54,000 names on the gate with over 9,000 of these being Australian. The statues of lions were originally in front of the Menin Gate and were gifted to the Australian War Memorial in 1936 and they are currently on loan from Australia as it is the centenary of the Ypres Salient Battle.

We also visited In Flanders Fields Museum which contains a lot of artifacts in the area and they are still finding them today. It was very interesting but Brad did not seem to take any photos.

Only a 45 minute drive to Dunkirk to catch the ferry (so we thought) but the traffic was horrendous and Brad is panicking thinking we were going to miss the ferry. We got to Dunkirk OK but finding the port was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Tiny little signs indicating 'Car ferry' - not great big street signs like we expected. It will be good to get to England where at least we will understand the road signs. However, we found the ferry in plenty of time so all is well. Next stop...England!Read more