Friday was our last day in Belgium and we really made the most of it. We walked around the city ramparts; it was very peaceful and beautiful, lined with magnificent autumnal trees and quiet apart from the sound of church bells pealing. We descended at the Menin Gate and I paid a visit to the Leonidas Chocolate Shop to purchase a few delicious souvenirs and gifts. Next stop was the “In Flanders Fields” museum which is housed in the Cloth Hall, followed by St George’s Memorial Church, where Ewan expertly (by looking it up in the register) found the Lenzie Academy plaque for its ex-pupils who died in the 1st World War. We were keen to see it because Heather went to Lenzie Academy and so did Andrew and Jennifer.
We then left Ypres and headed for the German Cemetery at Langemark. I remembered it from our previous visit nine years ago, with its hundreds of flat dark grey markers, each marking the graves of about eight soldiers. There is also a memorial for those who could not be found or identified, for the staggering number of twenty-five thousand soldiers. Most of these were killed in the first few months of the war when the Germans were pushing forwards. It’s a sombre cemetery, shaded by oak trees.
And then it was time to make our way back to Brussels Charleroi airport. I’m glad to say that there were no delays, either on the road or plane journey - it’s always more pleasant when the end of a holiday goes smoothly. James checked the mileage on our hired car and we have travelled 695 km over the five days, not including our trip to Bruges which was by train. We have seen so much, some places revisited and many new. It has been a unique and memorable holiday with great company.
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