Joy Ride

We don't really know the story behind this team of horses and the carriage -- they passed by us when we were visiting one of Flander's war cemeteries. But the passenger seemed to be having a great time! Given that this is hop-growing country (see yesterday's post), perhaps they're draught horses returning from a tasting?

Growing Beer

Most beer drinkers have never seen the raw version of a key ingredient -- hops. In Belgium, a key hop-growing region is near Poperinge, the town where we stayed on our short trip.

These hops are just starting their climb ... they'll reach the top before they're harvested. Poperinge has a lively hop festival in September -- you can read about it here.

Age Fifteen

The Essex Farm Cemetery, just outside of Ieper/Ypres, is best known as the place where Canadian John McRae composed the poem, "In Flanders Fields." There is a commemorative plaque just outside of the cemetery gates near a group of bunkers.

We were drawn, however, to a grave that was receiving much attention from a tour group that was visiting the cemetery. This particular grave had, by far, the most decoration of any grave in the small cemetery. And then we saw why ... the soldier, V.J. Strudwick, was only 15 when he lost his life in the war.

Mourning Soldiers

The statue of mourning soldiers stands in the German War Cemetery (Deutsches Soldatenfriedhof) in Langemark, Belgium. Over 44,000 WWI soldiers are buried here. In stark contrast to the Commonwealth graves, there are 8-20 soldiers buried per marker. There is also a mass grave, and some of the graves surround a few bunkers.

Remembering WWI: "Where?Wednesday"

Our quick trip to Belgium was mainly to visit West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen) to see some of the WWI memorials. There are over 170 cemeteries and there are seemingly more memorials than you can count. The area around Ieper (Ypres) saw some of the most brutal fighting of the war. You can read more about the "Ypres Salient" here. Winston Churchill once said of the area, "A more sacred place for the British race does not exist in the world."

The largest of the cemeteries is Tyne Cot, named after a barn that was called "Tyne Cottage" by the British soldiers. In fact, this is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world, with nearly 12,000 soldiers of the U.K. and commonwealth countries buried here. The number at the bottom of the war graves listing for Tyne Cot is a bit shocking: only 3,588 of the soldiers buried here are identified.

Gazing in Ghent

This week we're going to share some photos from our neighbor to the south, Belgium. Our first stop on a quick weekend trip was Ghent. Sunday was obviously a beautiful day... perfect to appreciate the architecture, maybe have a glass of beer or wine, or just relax along the canal.

We're still amazed sometimes that we can walk 10 min from the center of town and see cows and sheep grazing. This one is a bit lazy.

Garden Gazing

The roses in the Princessetuin aren't in bloom yet, but the garden still makes for a nice place to relax during our warm spell.

Spring has Sprung

We've been so busy traveling that the greening of the area seems to have happened overnight. The warm sunny weather has helped.

This pic was taken yesterday evening, just outside of one of the many embassy residences located here in Wassenaar.

Continent-Hopping: Where?Wednesday

Last week we were in sunny southern California, home to the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. Said to contain the oldest building still in use in California, the mission is a beautiful place to visit. In addition to the gardens and buildings, there's plentiful wildlife: the famous swallows, other birds, lizards, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Highly recommended if you find yourself in this part of the world.