| Page Views: 832 Last Visit to Ieper: April, 2007 | The Great War is never far away . . . by filipdebont - last update: Jun 10, 2007 |
| close up of the Menin gate |
Mostly, for me Ieper is the gateway towards the hill area (towards Heuvelland, Kemmelberg, Rode- and Zwarteberg) for my tours with my bicycle.
But I think that is a common fact that one travels around the world and that way we forget to visit the beautiful places nearby our home.
But thanks to VT, I have learned to visit and to revisit the nearby places. As being a member of VT, you learn to look with different eyes; you start to look around as a tourist even in your own region, and that way you discover beautiful gems in your own neighborhood.
A perfect opportunity to do that was the Meeting we (Jean Pierre - wandeljp - , Frans - northsea - and I) organised in Ieper on Saturday April 21st 2007. |
|  | We had organised a great welcome, with our own VT-bar, with 4 flavours of Jenever and of course the typical Flemish cakes (named "Lukken" from Destropere) and some delicious Belgium Pralines (chocolates).
We started with a walk along the Ramparts (with the great guiding by Patje), along the way we passed a war cemetery, the Rijsel gate, the wooden house and we finally reached the imposing Menin gate.
Then we continued our journey towards the Grote Markt. Here we could amire the imposing Cloth Hall and Bellfry. |
| Grote Markt with Cloth Hall and Bellfry |
| | After lunch we continued our journey, via the Celtic Cross we passed St Martin's cathedral (unfortunately we could not visit the Cathedral as there was a wedding ceremony going on, then we visited the St. George's Memorial Church and via the Fish market we arrived back at the Grote Markt.
Now it was time to visit the In Flanders Fields Museum, an interactive museum on the Great War. I a bit a shamed, but I must admit that I had never visited this museum before, so now thanks to this VT meeting it finally happened.
After the visit at the museum everyone was (very) thirsty, so time for some local beers on the terrace of the Old Tom.
After a delicious diner we headed for the Menin Gate for the Last Post Ceremony.
And then it was time to say goodbye, . . of course with a local beer.
It was a fine day with a wonderful group of (old and new) friends. |
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 Comments for filipdebont about Ieper | | | | |
breughel Mon Sep 24, 2007 14:21 UTC
Dag Philip. Uitstekend commentaar na een zo goede VT meeting. Wat was die "Iepers Fury"? | cadzand Sun Jun 10, 2007 21:23 UTC
Indeed, it was a great meeting, which started with a hearty welcome. Thanks to all organisers for the job done. Een heel mooie page is dit geworden. Proficiat !!! | tompt Sun Apr 29, 2007 18:37 UTC
Toch wel wat gemist. Zeker de bar moet door iedereen geweldig gevonden zijn. Volgende meeting zijn wij er bij :) Tom en Gonnie | MATIM Sun Apr 29, 2007 13:03 UTC
Nogmaals hartstikke bedankt :) |
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