Brugge, Diksmuide and Koksijde - Monday, July 22

Day three ... we were off (by car this time) to Brugge, Diksmuide and Koksijde. We ventured over to Brugge first. It was a beautiful, quaint little town with - as with all the others - tons of history. Known for it's lace, it's also a big tourist spot.

 

 

 

 I got lots of pictures of them holding hands and being all PDA-ish. ; )
Josh was like "it's too hot to hold hands." Nice.
 

 

 

Ineke explaining something to Josh ... again.

 

Fun sidebar: It was in Brugge that we found out that Kate Middleton was in labor. The entire day I was trying to will her to hold off ONE MORE DAY. I know that's bitchy of me. That way, the heir to the British throne could be born on my birthday. Sadly, it didn't work out that way. But it was fun all the same.

Me and Ineke tracking the baby developments.
The guys were (way) less interested.
 

We went to a lot of churches here too and I lit candles for the four of us, Josh's Aunt Linda who's been ill and for Princess Kate's delivery (I couldn't resist, I felt bad for hoping she'd delay labor for me). 

 

Burial site from the Middle Ages 

 

From there, it was off to Diksmuide to have lunch and to see the trenches from World War I.

 

 

There was a museum and monument to all of the soldiers who fought and died there. And there were a lot of them.

 

The tower Ijzertoren or Yser Tower was built as a peace monument after the World War I in the 1920s. It was destroyed by a bomb in 1946, because during the World War II, it had been the scene of Nazi ceremonies and collaboration. A new tower was built in the 1950s. The tower houses a World War I museum owned by the United Nations. They have some amazing and interactive exhibits showcasing the miserable conditions the Belgian soldiers experienced in the "trenches of death." They even have boxes where you can smell the "odor of death" or stench of mustard gas ... scents the soldiers would have known all too well.

"Peace" in Latin

 

"No more war."

 Word.
 

 

You can climb to the top of the monument and look out over the town (all of which was destroyed during World War I and rebuilt in the 1920s).

 

Quite the view

 

In addition to artifacts and exhibits, they had phrases on the walls like this one.

 

"Stupid war, stupid, stupid war."

We got a little bit of levity on the way out when we encountered this random chicken who followed us all the way down the road. It was hilarious.

 

 

Next up - the coast at Koksijde. The weather was perfect here. There was a nice breeze and it wasn't too hot. We sat and had some cocktails whilst looking at the North Sea (trying to see the shore of France) and betting on what the Dutchess of Cambridge will have.

 

 

We ate mussels, fries and I had tomato crevettes. It was like a shrimp salad (yes, I gave up my meatless life while I was there. I wanted to experience everything). Delish.

 

 

 

Then we walked on the beach. It was the perfect end to a busy day.

 

Bromance.

 

Paards op het strand.

 

On the drive back, we heard that Kate had given birth to a baby boy. Ineke and I had thought it was a boy so we won the bet. It was a great day ... leading up to Amsterdam for my 30th birthday.