Day 7, Monday May 16, 2016
Caitlain Anderson
Overview

• Group Perspective Discussion 
• Tour in Koksijde, Belgium
• Visit to Calais, France
• WWI Memorial in Ieper, Belgium

It started out a cloudy day here in Belgium.  We began the day with a group discussion at the hostel following breakfast.  Hans spoke to all of us about understanding and comprehending everything that we see while touring.  We discussed how everything we have seen so far can be categorized depending on the purpose.  Some factors that we considered included whether it is motivated by people or profit, and whether or not it is ecologically motivated.  

After a one hour bus ride on a spacious charter bus we arrived in Koksijde, Belgium.  Within this area it was highly evident that Belgium suffered greatly from the destruction during WWI and WWII.  We were dropped off near the beach and were given a little over an hour to tour and find lunch.  Were able to walk on the beach along the North Sea and along the pier.  There were chances to rent a bike, go shopping for souvenirs, and grab a bite to eat.   At this stop there was slightly too much overcast to be able to see the England coastline.  However, we were able to grab some pictures of the gorgeous beach.

We then hopped back on the bus for a two hour ride to arrive at Calais, France.  We drove to the top of Gray Cliff (which was frightening in the large charter bus).  We then had 45 minutes to tour the top of the cliff with many different lookout points and bunkers by the start of the Paris Basin.  The Paris Basin is the name of the sea at the point further south were the North Sea ends.  At this location we were able to successfully see the England coastline.  The bunkers in this area were created during the WWII era as lookout points.  The views from this cliff top were breathtakingly beautiful since we were higher up with views of the sea.  Afterwards it was time to hop back on the bus for a one hour bus ride.

We arrived in Ieper, Belgium in time to have an hour to grab dinner before continuing to the WWI Memorial in Ieper for a ceremony.  This memorial was built in the summer of 1920 by British after WWI.  During WWI Ieper was in continuous battle for four years straight trying to defend their land.  Help was sent to them by the British to defend Ieper, they remained heavily in battle until the war was ended four years later.  The memorial is called the Menin Gate.  It is large in size and was built to be able to have 60,000 names inscribed into it for the soldiers who bravely defended Ieper.  However, this was not enough space and an additional memorial was constructed at Tyne Cot to hold an additional 35,000 names.  The ceremony itself displayed a trumpeter with moments of silence to pay respect to the soldiers.  This ceremony has been done every single night, including throughout WWII and on holidays, since 1920.  The amount of respect from the attenders was evident on every persons' face.  

Key Takeaways

• Everything can be interpreted in different ways based on perspective.
• France is prettier than Belgium.
• It is possible to eat an entire Belgium waffle in 30 seconds with only 3 people.
• It is important to remember and honor the past in order to ensure a better future.