Crimson Coast (Reflections)

[smallhobbit]

It was a fascinating tour - I learnt such a lot.  Not as emotional as last time, although there were times, like the Last Post ceremony.  It was more quiet reflection, and seeing what went on behind the lines, so vital and yet recalled far less often.  One of the tour party was able to find his grandfather's grave and lay his poppy there, which was really good.



The above is a piece of modern sculpture, called the Three Wise Noses, which is on De Panne beach.  One head looks towards England, one towards France, and one inland in Belgium.

Belgium and the area of nearby France has a lot of history, and I'd like to know more.  I'm currently trying to find a suitable book (in English) which doesn't cost an arm and a leg, or was written fifty years ago.  The two photos below show where Marshal Ney had his headquarters during the Napoleonic Wars.

 

We were in the Flemish speaking area of Belgium, and at one museum all the exhibits were listed only in Flemish.  Also, a couple of the museum bookshops only have Flemish books which was a little frustrating, and, to me, rather surprising.

We did have one funny incident.  We were in a cake shop in Nieuwpoort, and TD asked for two cakes in French.  The reply came back in German, so I finished the conversation in German. 

And speaking of cake (from Poperinge):



Despite being tiring it was an excellent trip, and I'm so glad we went.

 

Comments

[scfrankles]

How touching that a fellow member of the tour party was able to visit his grandfather's grave.

On a lighter note, what splendid and impressive cake ^__^ And I'm kind of intrigued by the language aspect - it does indeed seem surprising that museums that surely must attract a lot of foreign visitors, and which are located in a country that has three official languages, are only stocking books in Flemish.

Also rather intrigued by the cake seller using German. I can understand them perhaps not being fluent in French, or simply not wanting to speak it. But it surprised me that they used German to communicate with the two of you, instead of going, "Oh, tourists. I'll try English." But perhaps they assumed your husband was from another part of Belgium or from France and thought German was a safe bet as a lingua franca. As I say, intriguing. And it's wonderful you got to try out your German skills, even if you weren't expecting to ^___^

[smallhobbit]

Leger are very good about ensuring where possible family are able to visit their graves, and the guides do all they can to help them find them.

We were surprised at the emphasis on Flemish (I understand there's a strong nationalist push in the area, which I'd be interested to learn more about), but it did make it harder to understand things. I can read enough French to follow basic labels, and could understand some of the Flemish by its resemblance to German but generally the effort was too much.

As for the cake, I can only assume TD (The Daughter)'s French was so bad the proprietor thought we were German (on the basis the English always ask in English); it amused us though. I have some experience in buying cake in German, which stood me in good stead ;)

[scfrankles]

I can only assume TD (The Daughter)'s... Ah, yes ^^" Sorry for mixing her up with your husband ^___^