Ipres

There's this saying about lemons and lemonade. Getting lost would lead me to a city with - an IKEA! Wo0t! Time to raid their foodstuffs! The prices in Euros here for furniture is almost the same as it is in the States. Meaning, the locker that I picked up for 100 bucks US costs 100 Euros. That's nearly 200 bucks - oi. Guess I'll have to settle on chocolate and wafers. Can't really fit that sofa into my backpack anyway.
Back on the motorway to Ipres, I figured that the first thing I have to do upon arrival is find the tourist info, as there comes a time when one realises it's futile to try to find lodging in a foreign land by herself. Smartest decision so far since I booked the plane ticket.
They phoned the b&b for me, made sure there was room, handed me maps of the city as well as a very detailed one on how to get to the place, and sent me on my way.
The woman there was extremely welcoming, spoke 5 languages, and immediately got me set up with information and pictures to familiarize myself with the town. Off I went, camera in tow, to the Menin Gate one again to get some photographs.
Ipres is a city of about 40 000 people. It's very walkable, bicycle paths are incorporated into the infrastructure everywhere (as it is all over Belgium) and has a very safe feel. No matter where you go, there are people strolling along. There aren't a bunch of yobs out on the street just being anti-social, and I noticed next to no grafitti or other vandalism.

Now, if you're ever planning on touring the WW1 sites, I strongly suggest staying in Ipres. Everything you could want to see in a day or two time is right around the town. I would also suggest renting a vehicle; taxi-ing it would cost a fortune, the sites are too far away from each other to easily walk to, and even though you probably could bike to them all, it would probably take 4 days in what you could do in 1 driving. The other option would be to get in on one of the many tours that operate out of the town and will set you back about 45 euros or so.

The hostess of the b&b set me up with a full list of sites, including map and descriptions of each. I got to the first cemetery and was kind of slapped upside the head. You don't really think about the numbers killed until you see stone after stone in front of you. That was a small one in comparison to the rest I'd see that day. Thousands and thousands in the French cemetery - all marked by a cross. The Aussie memorial was one of the most peaceful places I'd ever been to. It was more like a park - indescribable really - will let the pictures do the talking for that one. Then Tyne Cot. Good Lord. It's the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world with over 11000 (I believe) buried there. That does't include the thousands and thousands with no known grave listed on the walls. In an effort to put it in perspective: they are currently re-engraving the stones - the first time since they were placed. It will take 5 workers 4 years to finish the job. After that was the Canadian memorial followed by a German cemetery. It's much different than any other, and maybe it's all psychological, but the feeling there was also much different - more at ill-ease than the allied places.

By this time, light was was fleeting, so I headed back to the b&b, dropped off the car, and walked back into the centre of the city looking for things to be amused by. Found my way into a restaurant where the beef goulash was delicious and the atmosphere nice. That is, until some Brit with a chip on his shoulder decided that his meal was unsatisfactory and proceded to insult the restauarnt manager's capabilities, the food, and the service. A full-out yelling match insued with the customer's wife trying desperately to be civil and neither man backing down. Needless to say, that cleared out the entire table beside me and left the place very quiet for a good while.
Back to the b&b that night with Belgian chocolates in tow and determination not to eat them. Once the ol' noggin hit the pillow, it was goodnight Charlie until 8:30 the next morning.

That's it for now. More later!