Day 21

[beboots]

Day 21 (...wow, has it really been that long...?)

So it has been brought to my attention that I haven't yet spoken about Ypres. :) It's an awesome city. Much of it has been rebuilt since the first world war, as it was literally leveled by shelling. The really cool thing about it is that those buildings that were rebuilt? They're exact replicas of the orginals, save for the fact that the dates written on the sides are now like "1923" and so forth. So it has a kind of... newness to it that makes you think "ah, so this is what it was like 200 years ago when it was new..." (which isn't strickly true, as the buildings would have probably looked even more grimy way back when because of the industrialization polution and so forth...)

Anyway, we go to see the Menin Gate (we passed through it on our way in, in fact), and that was just awe-inspiring. I can't remember the exact dimesions, but I swear that it rivals the Arc de Triomphe in size and grandeur. It's a giant war memorial dedicated to those soliders of the British Empire whose bodies couldn't be found. It's litterally covered with names, which is rather depressing. 

The main attraction of Ypres for us was the In Flanders Fields War museum. It was awesome. :) All of the displays were in French, English, Dutch and German, so it was easy for me to understand. They had a temporary exibit on about the different cultural groups that fought in the trenches; did you know that the British actually brought in many "barbarian" soliders from its colonies? Not just Native Americans from Canada, but also East Indians, Africans, Polynesians... even a few Chinese and Vietnamese labourers were sent to the battlefields of Europe! It was really interesting to read about all of this and see the interesting "foreign" uniforms... Oh, and in the display on "Canadian soldiers", they had this deer skin that belonged to this Native American soldier who fought in the trenches. In traditional style, he depicted his exploits in battle on a deer skin - so it looks really ancient, until you realize that the enemy figure are wearing german helmets. It's awesome.

And that was just the temporary exibit! They also had a really well done permanent one as well. There was dialogue and sound effects playing as you looked at the displays... oh, and when you entered, you got a card that you scanned at computers which were found at intervals throughout the museum. Essentially, you follow the life of a person from the era. I got a Dutch nurse, Rosa something or another, who worked in a field hospital near Ypres... and she was killed on her way home at the end of th war. D: One of the teachers actually followed the story of a young Adolf Hitler. I kid you not. It was an awesome museum.

This past Saturday, Yan and I returned to Brugge for a day trip. Essentially, we bought Belgian chocolate. Lots of it. Oh, and we also went up to the top of the the famous belltower (and listened to it ring as it struck the hour of one o'clock!) and checked out Michelangelo's Madonna in that one church... both of which we missed when we went with the class. Also, we found another delicious waffle restaurant that was just plain awesome. I got to have a lovely and crispy waffle with light and fluffy whipped cream and real maple syrup on top. Absolutely delicious... :3 

Today, we went to the market at Wazzemmes again. If you want cheap stuff, there's the place to go. I bought some clothing there (I don't expect it to last long, but wow, it looks cool while it's still intact), and a bunch of really awesome 1€ or 2€ scarves. Please, act surprised when I give them to you as souvenirs. :) They look really pretty when worn, or even just hung up in the wind or on the wall. I didn't pick any with too many sequins, as those ones are itchy and they hurt. D:

...So tomorrow I actually have to go back to class. Darn it! ;_; Don't worry, in between hopping from here to Belgium, I actually have been doing my homework. ;)

Comments

Hi from home

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Lauren,

It was lovely to talk to you yesterday. I really enjoy reading your journal. At this rate you won't want to come home. I can't believe you've been gone for almost 3 weeks! I went to the Farmers' market yesterday in the sunshine. Today it rained all day but the lilies you bought for me are blooming and lovely. Ian has to write Math & Chem 20 exams tomorrow & Tuesday then he's finished. Sydney is back from her trip. Dad is away in Saskatchewan.
Love Mum

Re: Hi from home

[beboots.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that my lilies are blooming! :D

I'm also getting worried that I won't want to leave Lille... it's so gorgeous. I almost want to come back in September, because there's a city-wide garage sale which millions of people attend for like three days straight... But perhaps that's something for next year. :)

[xlirealx.livejournal.com]

Omg that sounds like such an awesome museum! If you took any pics there, you must post them soon, ok? :)

[beboots.livejournal.com]

Photos? Well, I took a few inside, but not many, as the lighting was poor for photography. ;_;