Saying goodbyes at Bruges and on our own now.

Friday 16-10-15 
We had another early start leaving Amsterdam by 7 am on our way to Bruges in Belguim. Most of us managed a couple more hours sleep on the coach as we left the Netherlands and entered Belgium. We stopped at Bruges around11.15 am and we were given a couple of hours to have lunch and enjoy this beautiful medieval town, with more canals and churches. We couldn’t resist all the delicious Belgium chocolate shops and had to buy just a small amount of chocolate. Well our time had come to say goodbye to the many friends we'd made on this trip. It was sad as we had enjoyed an incredible 18 days with the group. As we headed for the Bruges railway station, the coach and the rest of the group headed back to London. We managed to purchase our tickets to get us to Ypres and found it easy to get a seat on the train even with our heavy cases. Unfortunately we had to change trains at a larger station and had 4 minutes to do this. We managed to quickly find the correct train and lug out suitcases up down and upstairs but when we got to the train it was completely full. It meant we had to wait an hour for the next train. Talking to a lovely Belarusian, he told us it was very busy because the Uni students all return from the bigger towns to their homes on Friday afternoons and that's what we struck. The next train arrived and we stormed on....our suitcases were a bit of a problem. Rob could fit his on the top rack but mine was too wide and so it took up isle space....oh well. I'm sure people thought silly Australians. 
We finally arrived safely in Ypres. The people here are so helpful. While trying to find our B&B two different people came to our rescue without being asked. They both spoke perfect English. Our B&B here is beautiful and our host has been so helpful too. We walked to the Menin Gates and got there an hour and a quarter before the ceremony was due to begin. Our host had told us that it is always packed with people. Rob held our spot while I stated to try to find my Great Uncle's name on the gates. I thought I would probably need to come back in the daylight when I had more time as there are thousands of names to search through. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the wall opposite to where we were standing and saw Australian Infantry 5th Unit. In the last column of names, 2nd from the top under the list of privates, I saw Pelham, P. E. V. I was so excited to see his name, on the inside of the gates, high up above the area where the last post is performed every night. At 8pm the service began. 3 buglers played the last post and a young school girl then said the ode. Following this, the life story of an English soldier who was killed in this area in WW1 was read out. Students from about 6 schools went up in groups of about 4 and laid wreaths. It was a very moving ceremony. We are so pleased we have come to Ypres. It is another beautiful, medieval town that was rebuilt after WW1 to be exactly like it was before the war.