We were on the road before 9.30am in spite of a leisurely breakfast and 'pack up'. We had time to take photos, fill in the guest book, do a last check of the room and pay the bill which was actually less than we were expecting because they had reduced the rates for this month. Unfortunately I had decided to take papers with me to sort and dump later and ended up with a booklet that should have been left in the BnB

We went to the Memorial Museum in Caen which was excellent as an over view of the war but not the best of choices for us . It recommended a 4 hour visit and we had about 2. We also paid for the audio guide but did not listen to all parts. We decided later that if we had known more we would have either done something else or moved more quickly through the early exhibits and concentrated on the later ones which had more information that was new to us. It gives an excellent overview of the war and has a strong implicit peace message. There were a lot of school groups present.

We first saw a movie of the Battle of Normandy which was excellent. It had shots from the time and a split screen with the Allied actions and German actions on different sides. So we saw the Germans patrolling the area while the Allies were getting onto the boats and planes. Then the German troops scrambling as the planes arrived. It then showed the advance with pictures of the ruined towns as the Allies advanced and captured Caen. Then it showed the advance through France and into Paris.

We then went to the displays which started with the end of WW1, the 20’s, the rise of Hitler, the annexing of countries and on to the invasion of Poland . We were listening to the audio until we realised how long it would take and that a lot was information we were familiar with. From then we listened only to parts and mainly looked at the exhibits. It had a lot about the phony war and also life in France under the Vichy government, which we were less familiar with. It was not sanitized and quite critical of the French at this time. The war in the Pacific was covered with a lot about the death camps. There were even letters written by an Austrian soldier to his wife saying he was shaking when he first had to shoot people as part of the mass killings but then he could kill even children without a qualm. It then moved to the US entry into the war, all-out war, the end of the war and finally the Nuremburg Trials. We would have gone back to a smaller exhibit about Normandy but we had gone out for lunch and realised we would have to go through the whole exhibit again to get to that room.

As we left we drove through Caen and realised how new looking it was – after all the destruction in the war it was basically rebuilt .

We had decided to use toll roads through to Bruges, when we realised that it would make little difference to distance but a lot to time. We realised why later as there was a very impressive series of bridges and viaducts on the trip north.

John was struggling to stay alert so we pulled off at random and ended up in Sans Sens. He had a brief doze while I looked around the main square and the church. The church had been rebuilt but much of the stained glass in it was old and now has an historical listing. We then had coffee and an ice cream in a local café. Once again it had many cigarettes, lots of spirits and lotto tickets but also sold jewelry.

We were then back on the motorway through rolling countryside now with less than 300 km to go. We even had glimpses of the sea as we headed towards Calais. We could even listen to UK radio and sing along. The overhead bridges near Calais were interesting as they had new looking and different white statues at each end showing horses, golfers etc . We drove past the hypermarkets where we had been told many English stock up on duty-free cigarettes and booze. We also drove past a series of allotments with matching sheds. The Dunkirk turnoff made us realise again how far away Dick’s father is buried.

We were then into Belgium and into a long traffic jam with about 20 km to go!! There were poppies at the side of the road but they had to stay there as I was not getting out, although there were many times I could have walked faster than we could drive.

We arrived safely at Bert and Bea’s to meet Bert (Bea had had to go unexpectedly to Norway). She had had an upsetting day because a rock had fallen onto a car in front of their bus. Later she rang to say that the rock had fallen onto a parked car but they had then closed the road so they had to do a 100 km detour!! It made our small traffic jam seem nothing.

We ate tea with Bert in the garden and then he suggested he could show us Bruges and we could bike . I did indicate I had not biked for ages and I had to get used to hand brakes but it was OK for most of the time when we were on cycle ways. But we also biked on roads with cars and later it was dark. I felt worse for John and Bert as they were worried about me. Bert did suggest stopping and getting the car but I made it!! And they made it!!! And it was well worth the trip to see Bruges with a person who could tell us things about the buildings.

Bruges is in line to host the next Football Cup with the Netherlands so the railway station has just been upgraded. We went through here and on into the city centre. Bert told us that the city had been a major city in the 15th century when canals would allow English wool into the city and the finished goods out. The Guilds had magnificent premises, wealthy people built here and the civic and church buildings were magnificent. Then it declined and was too poor to renew buildings so the original buildings remained. In recent years the English discovered the city, a number settled here and tourists discovered the city. There was now money to put into restoration. One year it was made a European Heritage city and this allowed one of the buildings to be gilded with thin sheets of real gold.

We saw the only Protestant church and some of the 13 Catholic churches and were told that they were open for visits and their treasures could also be seen for a fee . We went to the original meat market from which the selling of meat was banned a few centuries ago and many chocolate places moved in. We saw the concert hall with the information centre.

Then we went to the main market square which is huge. It had horses and carriages and we were told the horses work 1 day then get 2 off. We saw the Governor’s residence and later a new sculpture form a famous Japanese sculptor which is not liked in the city and called the governor’s car wash. Many of the buildings had something on the roof like a snake or mermaid from the days when the houses were not numbered and merchants would be told to sell goods ‘at the place with the snake' etc.

I had already known that French fries had first come from Belgium but we heard more about this. They were a way of using up less good potatoes. The King was visiting France and some had been cooked but he arrived late so they had to be cooked for a second time . He said that they were better than the ones in Belgium so hence the name and the method of cooking is still used. There are 2 stalls (both caravans) selling them in the main square and the annual rent for the 2 stalls is 1 million euro!! The stalls operate 24 hours a day as you would imagine.

Bert recommended a trip on the canals and our tour took us over a few lovely looking bridges. They were lit up for night so one had a blue glow and another had interesting looking green moss on it.

We also saw the oldest house in the city and the oldest pub. We didn’t have money with us and I was not keen to bike after drinking although it might have made me more relaxed. We arrived back with a general agreement that biking tomorrow might not be a good idea as the traffic would be a lot worse. I had decided this about 5 minutes into the trip and John even sooner I suspect after watching me. But overall it was a good way to see around and having someone who knew where to go made a big difference.

Footnote: You may have heard the expression ‘like a fish on a bicycle’. Well Christine was really floundering. I have seen better balance on a one-legged piano stool. I have cancelled her entry into next year’s Tour de France forthwith. - JB)