[The alarm rings]
“Hey! Wake up! It’s 7.00 in the morning! We need to get dressed and
catch the 8.00 AM! Wake up. WAKE UP!”
Oh! The husband. I sleepily manage, “Can we cancel, please?”
What
Eeprey Sheeprey? I would rather sleep, you see.
Off goes the blanket and yanked I get off the bed. The sky is overcast
and it’s even drizzling. I really did not want to step out that day.
Grudgingly freshening up and dressing for the trip at the crack of dawn
(well at least for me!) on a Sunday of all days, I even tried to talk
him out of it, but he is so used to my early morning strikes that we
set out alright.
We found the train rather crowded for a Sunday to a seemingly unknown
little town. Grabbing a map at the Ieper station, we walked to the center of
the town in the rain.
The center was bubbling with
energy and was packed with people. Usually on Sundays most European
markets keep closed, but here was a bustle and many a curio types shop were open. A
little further down, there were people waiting for what felt like a
procession.
We could hear dialects of all sorts, and languages with many a English
speakers with a Canadian twang or a British twang, then smatterings of
German along with the usually French and Dutch. It was amusing, but we
hadn’t a clue of what we were waiting for.
At around 11 hours, the music began and we were smitten. Ah! So, it was
the famous Armistice Day parade and we were right at the Menin Gate!
I
thanked my stars for, pray tell me, how many visitors will be lucky
enough to witness something like this?
The parade was grand with Veterans and their progeny walked past – the
Scottish bagpipes were played, the Sikh regiment walked past, the
French flags, and the Royal guards. It was just such a proud moment for
them that we couldn’t but be carried by the flow.
At the end of the parade, there were celebrations everywhere! It was
such a proud and joyous gathering. We followed it up with a concert at
the St. Martin’s Cathedral behind the In Flanders Fields museum. There
were tributes by artistes and firemen and soldiers from all over the
world. It was a day well spent and history learnt where it was written.
History: My knowledge of European history was shamefully limited to the
highlights. This stint at the EU however, changed it for the better.
So, in this trip I learned, and you are welcome to learn along, that
Ypres or Ieper(pronounced Eeprey in French, Eeper in Dutch, even
Waipress in English) is a small town in the West Flanders, Belgium that was not
so unknown to the Romans many centuries back, who trudged all the way
for plunders. This is the same land that played the unfortunate host to
the insane World War I and was left completely flattened under the
bombardments and effects of poison gas.
If you ever have the
opportunity like us, the In Flanders Fields museum will do you the favor
of enlightening you through the ghastly proportions of the disaster
Ypres fielded.
This is a trip that will definitely pull at heartstrings of many.
*Travel Costs:
*Return Train Tickets - Euros 12 per person on weekends(half price)
Accommodation - A day trip is recommended
Food - Approx. Euros 20 a meal
Local commute - On foot(recommended)
Misc. Costs - Museum entry fee approx. Euros 10/-
Total Costs - Approx. Euros 50~ Rs. 3, 000 /- per person
