Ypres travelblog (MW)

War, tears, laughter and more

Ypres is an incredible part of Belgium, occupied by the Germans in  WW1 and WW2. It is a place where some of the largest battles happened in the wars. It has lots of monuments to commemorate these, and also plenty of good shops to buy chocolate, ammunition and more. 

    When I had experienced Belgium before, I visited to Bruges, where my trip consisted of mainly buying and consuming chocolate. Ypres was a completely different perspective of Belgium, focussing far more on the war.

 Talbot house is a great place to visit. For a start, there is a museum literally next door to it, which gives you plenty of information on the place. You can then head to the house itself, which has a little church at the top. It has a great atmosphere, and is a must if you are near that area.

Another good place is Croonaerts Woods. It has a view over a huge battlefield, and has a trench system, which you can actually walk around in. This was the first time I had ever been in a real trench, and was very exciting.

   

Menin Gate used to just be a gate where soldiers would march through to go to Ypres. Now a spectacular monument has been built in its place to commemorate all the lost soldiers in Ypres. It is a huge white arch, with 60,000 names inscribed on the wall. Every evening, ever since WW1, there has been a service, where the last post is played, wreaths are laid, and poems are read. The service is very moving. It is a breathtaking memorial and is highly recommended if you are close by.

Menin Gate

    There is a fantastic WW1 museum to visit, with lots of things to see, such as guns, artillery shells, clothes and films. The centrepiece however was a replica of a dugout, where all the loos, operating rooms, bedrooms were. It was very atmospheric, as if you were there. This museum also has an English and German trench, to see what both sides of the war lived and fought in.

   

   Tyne Cot is the largest graveyard in Belgium. 12,000 graves were there, ¾ of which were unidentified. The graves were all arranged in a very orderly fashion, in rows, columns, and arcs. It is very hard-hitting, seeing all those dead soldiers, 9,000 of which haven't even been named. If you do visit here, which I highly recommend you doing, spare a thought for all the soldiers who lie here.

Tyne Cot, the largest graveyard in Belgium

However, if you want a more haunting graveyard, Langemark should be consideration. It is the only German trench in the whole of Belgium, where 25,000 Germans had been piled into a small pit. It showed the other side of the war, the defeated side.
   On a more cheery note, there are some great shops leading up to the Menin Gate, such as chocolate shops, chip shops, waffle shops, and souvenir shops. I would definately visit these if you can
On the whole, it makes a great holiday for about a week if you want a slightly different kind edge to a typical holiday.

--- MW, 20/11/13