RebeccaHWA

Hi In July we have a car rented for three days to look at places the Australian forces served in, in WW1. Places like Ypres, Menin Gate etc. We catch the train to Brussels. Pick up hire car on the 4th July at lunchtime and return it there on the 7th before going to Paris. I know it is not long enough but it is all we have. Should we go to Brugge for one night and then to Ypres? Can anyone recommend anywhere to stay in Brugge or Ypres or suggest something else. Ideas please.

stfc

This forum is awash with Brugge accommodation recommendations, try searching. If you wish, Ypres/Ieper can easily be done in a day, with the primary sites seen using one of the several tours. FYI, the Menin Gate is IN Ypres, just along from the main square.

MyriamC

In case you'd want to stay in Ypres (Ieper in Dutch), I would recommend hotel Ariane. It's in a quiet location, walking distance from Menin Gate and the In Flander's Fields Museum.
http://www.ariane.be/

avalon

Myriam beat me to it. I would also recommend the Ariane, which also has a good restaurant. A bit out of town , about 7 miles the du Mont Kemmel hotel in Kemmelberg is also quite nice. While the town of Ieper can be seen in 1 day it would be rushed, you might miss Last Post if you left early, We;ve spent a total of 2 weeks on various trips and have always found things to do. There is also a very nice street market , I think on Saturdays. THe Canadien Memorial is aweinspiring

RebeccaHWA

Thank you for the suggestions. I will have a look now. My husband does want to see the last post. I think we will spend one or two nights there as it is the area my husband wants to visit. We want to see the sites etc where the Australians fought and died in, in WW1.

AnselmAdorne

"<i>We want to see the sites etc where the Australians fought and died in, in WW1.</i>"

RebeccaHWA, on your way back from Ypres to Brussels, you might consider swinging down into France and visiting Fromelles, the site of the AEF's first action in France. It is a profoundly moving place. It looks like it's quite out of your way, but it will only add an extra hour or so to your travel time. You can look up the driving directions on Google maps.

Here's the description:

www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/fromelles/index.html

Here's a photo of the "Cobbers" statue:

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/116032755

Here's the latest from ABC on the remarkable discovery of the remains of 250 "diggers" who disappeared during the battle and whose graves were found only within the last couple of years:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...17/2848619.htm

Anselm

RebeccaHWA

Thank you AnselmAdorne we are off to Fromelles as well. Just been to google and got instructions and maps. Have decided to spend 1 night in Brugge and two in Ieper. Doing a loop so will see a fair bit. Would love weeks but can't fit everything in. So a huge thank you.

sandy_b

It's been a few years (2004) since our trip, we visited Bruge for a couple of days and then picked up a car and headed off to the Ypres area to visit WWI sites.

A friend of ours who is a WWI & II history buff, recommended a great place to stay . . . Varlet Farm in Poelkapelle.

The drive was interesting and took less than 2 hrs and our hostess Charlotte was waiting with homemade apple pie and coffee. We can't say enough nice things about her, and she is an expert on WWI. Her farm sits right in the middle of a battleground and they have a mini museum in their barn of artifacts they have uncovered in the course of plowing. Charlotte's husband is a real farmer, raising sugar beets, leeks, Brussel sprouts, celeriac, and potatoes.

She has lovely guest rooms in a building detached from her main house, a huge breakfast is included, and she encouraged us to make sandwiches for lunch.

She has maps and all kinds of info on cemeteries in the area. She/her farm was the highlight of our trip (trip included Bruge, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Maastricht).

She has a website: www.varletfarm.com/en/index.htm

I typed up my travelog from that trip and would be happy to email it if you are interested . . . just let me know at [email protected].

Hope you have a terrific trip,
Sandy (in Denton)

lavandula

On the one day we attended ceremonies in Passendale (Passchendaele), Zonnebeke, Ieper and visited Tyne Cot, which is the cemetery where many Australians lie buried. We visited Passendale and Zonnebeke mostly to see the ceremonies as there is not much to see there - small villages which were wiped out in WWI and rebuilt (architecturally not inspiring to me, but there are war memorials there). Ieper (Menin Gate) and Tyne Cot knocked me out though. I was just stunned at how many people died in WWI, as their names are recorded on the Menin Gate. And I keep reminding myself that the human waste was not only on our side, but there must have been similar numbers on the other side too. Crazy, I hope we never see that again. And Tyne Cot is also very moving. I am not a war buff but it did make me reflect. Ieper is worth a visit for other touristy reasons too.

Lavandula

Maudie

Well I was going to post but lavanula has summed it up so well, so ditto what we said! We did a day trip from Brugge driving through most of the places above. I was quite reluctant to go as I did't know how I would feel but so glad I did. If you aren't moved to tears during the Last Post then there is something mighty wrong with you! I left a sprig of wattle by the name of a soldier from WA, I had carried it with me all the way from Perth. We drove back to Brugge as soon as it was over, it was a very quiet trip, four of us lost in our own thoughts.

We walked through the trenches in Diksmuide, very sobering. We were amazed by the cemeteries that just appear in a farm field. The Belgium Govt looks after them and they are all in pristine condition, each one has a book that has the names of the soldiers buried there.

Make time to go to In Flanders Field Museum at Ypres - it is very well done.

Here is a link to the B&B that we stayed at in Brugge if it is of any help, very clean and we thought it was in a good spot and the price is very reasonable. There is an underground public carpark not far. Our son has since stayed there and found it just as good.
http://www.bedandbreakfastbruges.be/
Click on Bed and Breakfast.

Make sure you wander Brugge in the early morning and evening, it is magical.

Hope you have a wonderful journey and come home with lots of great memories.

RebeccaHWA

Thank you for the great replies. I will spend the afternoon looking at them. Sandy-B your email isn't working at that address. Mine is [email protected] I would love to read about your trip.It is much nicer to read of other people's experiences. Maudie I am in Perth as well. Warwick in the northern suburbs.Just been walking along our lovely coast on a perfect day. Just wow thanks everyone. I am looking forward to this part of the trip, sad but proud of all those young men and boys who lost their lives.

avalon

A few pictures of Ieper and various WWI sites

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/...hotos-_-Sharee

AnselmAdorne

<i>"And I keep reminding myself that the human waste was not only on our side, but there must have been similar numbers on the other side too."</i>

Lavandula, that is indeed the case. There is a large German cemetery at Langemark, not far from Tyne Cot. Like many German military cemeteries, it feels dark. The grave markers are black stone and there is a thick canopy of oak over the site.

Here are a couple of photos:

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/116032737

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/116032748

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/116032723

And, finally, one you will recollect from your visit, Tyne Cot:

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/116032754

utrechtman

I went to Ypres (Ieper)in 2005 and stayed at a really nice hotel (Novotel Ieper). It's a great location, just a one block walk from the Groete Markt (or town square) and just minutes from the Menin Gate. I would also suggest you look into taking the Flander Battlefield Tour (FBT). It's a 4-hour tour of Ieper's World War One history. I saw: underground bunkers, trenches, museums, the church crypt where a German "hospital" was (Hitler was patched up there after being wounded), giant bomb craters, cemetaries, etc. I can't think of a better way to really see the sites as you have a guide who has access to places that you can't get to if touring on your own. A walk along the walled section of Ieper is also quite scenic (just past the Menin Gate). Also, the food and drink in Ieper is really outstanding!!!!! So fresh and tasty. There may still be a restaurant in the town square next to the Cloth Hall (a giant medieval-looking building that dominates the square. I highly recommend at least one meal there. And a tip: if you take the FBT, wear comfortable shoes and watch out for the sheep poop. Farmers use sheep to keep the grass down. Enjoy your stay! Oh, the Menin Gate daily ceremony is at 8pm - very solemn indeed!

lavandula

Anselm,
If I ever get back to that part of the world I will definitely visit the German cemetery - so beautiful and haunting. Thanks for your photos!

Lavandula

Maudie

Hi Rebecca, I'm in Leeming not too far away at all! It was a perfect day for a walk along the beach for sure.

Hope you get your trip sorted and everything fits into place, you have been given some wonderful suggestions here.

Anselm, that mist is surreal - sort of sums up the whole feeling of the area. Amazing photo's, thank you.

joe4212

Anselm

Thank you for the photographs which brought the memories flooding back.

Langemark had a profound effect on me. It was a winter morning, raining heavily and the sky was dark with storm clouds. I will never forget seeing those four statues for the first time, watching us no matter where were at the cemetary. We had already been to Tyne Cot, which I found overwhelming but Langemark, possibly due to the weather, made me uneasy. It's difficult to explain.

If I am remembering correctly was it not here that Hitler visited and proclaimed that he would never allow Germany to suffer so many deaths like that again?

Yes, so many deaths. So many young people lost, the numbers of which are almost impossible to comprehend.

Rebecca, prepare yourself for a rollercoaster of emotions.

Joe

AnselmAdorne

lavandula and Maudie ... thanks.

joe4212: "<i>... but Langemark, possibly due to the weather, made me uneasy. It's difficult to explain.</i>

I understand. The weather probably made a difference, as it did for me at Langemark, but it is also by design.

I have had the privilege to visit Great War cemeteries of Commonwealth, American, French, and German war dead. (And Portuguese, Italian, and Indian, too, for that matter.) The differences between the first three are subtle:

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/116032744 (Commonwealth)

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/92240148 (American)

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/91530499 (French)

German cemeteries are more typically treed; the markers are usually black (although there are some that are white):

www.pbase.com/anselmadorne/image/116032746

I hesitate to mention it, but I did write a couple of trip reports that go with these photos:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-picardy.cfm

and

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ern-france.cfm

AA