Brugge to Leper/Ypres – June 1&2/13

We then caught a cab to our Avis car rental and from there we were setting out for our new destination of Leper which is still in Belgium.    Along the way we stopped at a small village called Torhout and found a little pub/restaurant to have a coffee.  They present the coffee to you on a small platter with the usual cream and wrapped sugar cube or sugar packet on the side but they also always include some sort of treat such as a small chocolate, a sweet biscuit, a cream filled cookie, etc. Occasionally the coffee platter will also have a small shot type glass that has about a 1 ounce alcohol infused custard too…….they are so nice and I wish we would have taken pictures of them all because they are so different.   After a short drive we arrived in Leper and again it is incredibly touristy!  It was Saturday afternoon and the main square had a market selling foods, flowers, clothes, etc.

After settling into our hotel we headed off to the Flanders Field Museum, it was amazing and the 2 1/2 hours flew by.

During the WWI  Leper was totally destroyed by bombing and the battles. At the time Winston Churchill said they should leave Leper as it was to remind people about the horrors of war and battles, however the people of the town wanted it returned to it’s original condition; they wanted their town back. It is quite shocking when you see pictures of what it was back in 1918 at the end of the war and what it is today.

After dinner we attended the Menin Gate Ceremony which is held each evening at precisely 8:00 p.m.

The Menin Gate was constructed to remember the soldiers who died in battles around the area of Leper (Ypres/Leper Salient area) and who had not been given a proper burial and remembrance. On the panels are the names of 54,389 Officers and Men of the British Empire and Commonwealth Forces. This ceremony has been going on every night since November 11th, 1929; except for the four years of German occupation from May 20th, 1940 to September 6th, 1944.

At 7:55 p.m. The local police block the main road into Leper that goes through Menin Gate and immediately after the Buglers who are members of the local fire brigade arrive. At precisely 8:00 p.m. the Last Post is played followed by a minute of silence. Then depending on the evening their may be a coloured party, choir, band and other dignitaries laying wreaths.

This is followed by the Exhonoration

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.”

After this Reveille is played and then slowly the crowd disperses. It was a very  touching and solemn ceremony. So, hard to believe that it has been going on every single night, in all weather and seasons and for so many years.

Sunday was a day to explore Leper. We had no agenda and it was great to have the time to poke around the town; even though a lot of the shops were closed for the day. There is one very interesting custom here and that is that the stores that are open on Sunday close at 12:00 noon for about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs for a lunch break, even the smaller museums.

However the restaurants that face the main square are all filled to capacity, especially since it was such a beautiful sunny day.

We planned our last evening in Leper around getting back to the Menin Gate Ceremony and this time we stood right where the main ceremony was held. Tonight‘s ceremony was the traditional one and not the extended version. However it still had a large crowd with all the respect and remembrance that should be given the soldiers that made the ultimate sacrifice.