Veterans Day Remembered

IN FLANDERS FIELDS 

By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium

Ramscappelle Road Military Cemetery - There are many photos on this site and more explanation

Y - Ypres, Belgium

I have already mentioned the Yser River and so did not want to repeat it.  Instead I am making a brief mention of Ypres, which I did not visit.

Ypres is the French name for Ieper, a town in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It's surrounded by the Ypres Salient battlefields, where many cemeteries, memorials and war museums honor the battles that unfolded in this area during World War I. After being destroyed in the war, many important buildings were carefully reconstructed, including Gothic-style St. Martin's Cathedral and its soaring spire.

Most people know of this area because of World War I, so here is a link to more information. Here is also a link to a blogger I follow in Australia.  She posted this entry about Ypres just this past week.

I have read many books about the two world wars.  There is one book dealing with the First World War that I found particularly interesting.  It is Adam Hochschild's "To End All Wars", which is told from the British point of view.  I reviewed this book in 2013 and that post can be found here.

We have one letter left to go.  Have you survived the challenge?

Bonus:  Yarrow

V - Venice of the North, Brugge, Belgium

I will be completely honest and say that I don't believe I had ever heard of Bruges, until I saw the movie 'In Bruges'.  I was hooked and knew that someday I had to visit.

The historic center of Brugge is another UNESCO World Heritage site.  I spent two days here.  This first was dreary and devoid of tourists.  The second day was sunny, crowded, and difficult to get around as the King and Queen of Belgium were entertaining the King and Queen of Jordan and doing those 'touristy' things I was doing.  Here is the UNESCO video followed by lots of photos.

 City Hall on May 18.  Built in 1376 A.D.

Market Square

Canal view with swans and Church of Our Lady in the background.  

Jan Van Eyckplein church

Belfry of Bruges

Market Square

St. John of Nepomuk

Church of Our Lady, 13th - 15th Century

Statue of Jan Van Eyck

Michelangelo, the Bruges Madonna.  This is found in the Church of Our Lady.  If you saw the movie, Monuments Men, then you surely remember them finding this statue in a salt mine in Austria.

City Hall on May 19 with people awaiting the arrival of the royals.  

The Queens and their entourage.  If you enlarge the photo, you can see a pink hat under the lavender awning, one of the Queens so I was told.

BTW, this is where I had the waffles with ice cream.  Yum!!!  Such a cozy little place.

Have you ever been inspired to visit someplace after seeing a movie?  Which movie and what place?  

Bonus:  Hosta ventricosa

S - Steen Castle, Antwerp, Belgium

I did not go to Antwerp to see the Castle, but Steen, or Stone, Castle is hard to miss even though it is much smaller than it used to be.  It dates to the 13th Century.  The building now serves as a maritime museum.

The giant in front of The Steen Castle is the Lange Wapper, a mythical demon known in many folklore tales in the Antwerp area.

And if you were wondering why I was in Antwerp, it was to see the Cathedral of Our Lady and the artwork it holds along with the Grote Markt.

One of four Rubens paintings in the cathedral, The Raising of the Cross

Churches and art are two of the things I enjoy viewing on vacations.  I do not believe one has to be religious to enjoy viewing churches and their artwork.  Castles, churches, art museums, gardens...What is your pleasure?

Bonus:  Daylily 'Siloam Amazing Grace'

O - Orval Abbey, Belgium

Sometimes you visit a site that you had no idea existed and are pretty sure even if you did you would not be interested.  How wrong I was.  Orval Abbey was quite interesting and so I am sharing lots of photos of ruins with you.

In 1070, Benedictine monks from Italy arrived to build a church.  In 1132 Orval became a Cistercian Monastery, with monks sent by St. Bernard.  While the monastery is rebuilt several times over the centuries, in 1793, troops of the French Revolution raze the construction to the ground.  It isn't until 1926 that the Cistercian-Trappist monks come back to the site to rebuild the present monastery.

 The Abbey today

 Visiting the ruins

 The Dormitory

 The Chapter Room

A model of the site

Do you enjoy touring ruins?  Which ones have you visited or would you like to visit?  Rome, Greece, Egypt, Petra?

Bonus:  Daylily 'Oriental Ruby'

N - Nieuwpoort, Belgium

Nieuwpoort is located in Flanders and is comprised of the city proper and the towns of Ramskapelle (where the cemetery is located that I showed for Flanders) and Sint-Joris.  We were here to see the Monument to King Albert I, the Soldier King, that was constructed to honor him in 1938.

The German army invaded Belgium in 1914, up until Nieuwpoort, near the sea, where they came to a grinding halt. This was achieved through the power of seawater and the smart coordination of the sluices and locks, which were opened to inundate the city.  While the Germans were stopped, the city itself was destroyed.

The banks of the Yser River

The word 'Yser'  is often seen in crossword puzzles.  Do you do crosswords?  Did you know the significance of the river  before reading this?  

Bonus:  Ninebark shrub