For day Five we planned to head for the Belgian coast. We started off with a trip to Diksmuide to the Yser tower museum that commemorates Belgium in WW1 and also the Nationalistic differences between the Flemish and French speaking elements of their society. A very different museum with an unusual story to tell.
We planned to then visit the “trenches of death” nearby, but couldn’t as the access road was closed to traffic! Instead, we headed off to Nieuwpoort and the Albert I Memorial and the British Memorial to the Missing. Nearby, we also saw the sluice gates that were opened at Albert's command to flood the polder denying the Germans their Northern route of advance through Belgium.
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| British Memorial to the Missing guarded by majestic lions |
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| King Albert I Memorial |
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| The sluice gates holding back the sea from the Belgian polder |
In the afternoon we drove up towards Ostend to take in the Atlantikwall Museum. This covers the defence of the Belgian coast during both world wars. There are many well stocked displays to see and a lot of ground to be covered!
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| Wurtzburg Radar |
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| Mock-Up of WW1 coastal artillery piece |
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| Fully equipped Pak 40 bunker |
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| Collection of 1944 beach obstacles |
Finally, we headed back to our Gite via Vladslo’s German cemetery to see the famous Grieving Parents statues – by Käthe Kollwitz, a noted German sculptor. Sadly, these are starting to deteriorate and are currently surrounded by protective netting which limits your ability to view them.
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