Day 117

Aug 14

Calais –Ypres (Ieper)

Ypres or Ieper (Belgium)

The town of Ypres is well known to most Australians as the annual remembrance day focuses often (amongst other places) on Ypres or Ieper as it is locally called. World war one has more meaning in Australia than in the Netherlands as the latter was not involved in this one, however Australia was, and very much so. Many Australians died on the Flanders WW 1 Battlefield and many of them in Ieper. In most countries there are Remembrance Day once or twice a year. In Holland this is May 5 (Liberation day) and in Australia it is April 25 Anzac day and November 11 (date of end of first world war) In Ieper it is done EVERY day at 8 pm. "lest we forget" has a different meaning here. I guess some 300-400 people were present today as were we. A very moving ceremony.

Ieper itself is a beautiful place. On the main square is a building which would be used in other places as a parliament building or a town hall. Here it is just a historic building housing the local war museum. The building looks hundreds of year old and in a way it is, however during ww1 is was totally destroyed but rebuilt after the war was over.