Rain was forecast in the morning so this was a good opportunity to visit the In Flanders Fields Museum in the Cloth Hall in Ypres. After a tasty breakfast in a café we went to the museum; it's such a detailed and comprehensive museum. We made our way through the different exhibits and then headed up to the bell tower. As we emerged onto the roof the sun came out from behind the clouds, lighting up the town and illuminating the golden dragon weather vane on the spire. After coffees and teas in the museum café we set off by car to Tyne Cot cemetery and from there to Langemark German cemetery. Both were sobering experiences, and it’s difficult to comprehend the huge numbers of dead young soldiers. Tyne Cot is huge with nearly 12,000 Commonwealth soldiers buried or commemorated there, but I hadn’t realised that the smaller (in geographical size) Langemark cemetery has more than 44,000 soldiers. It seems smaller because 25000 of the dead are in a mass grave and also the graves contain multiple bodies rather than one per grave. It’s very sad.
Back in Ypres we had a drink at the cosy Ypra pub before Davie and Chanel laid their wreath during the Menin Gate ceremony. The actual Menin Gate is currently undergoing renovation so the ceremonies take place on the adjoining bridge. The ceremony was solemn and moving and when I saw Davie and Chanel move forward with their wreath my eyes filled with tears. As we discussed later, it’s so important to remember the war dead, and also to hope that lessons can be learned.
We had a lovely dinner and also a great chat about science and education and languages and all sorts.
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