You Say Ieper, I Say Ypres

Right after my quick trip to London, we performed in Ieper, Belgium (known as "Ypres" to much of the world). Ypres is particularly significant to the history of Belgium, because most of WWI hinged on battles in Ypres. And, if I remember correctly from the museum tour, it was where the concept of "trench warfare" was first developed. You may also have heard of Ypres through your high school English classes, as the famous poem "In Flanders Field" was written about the fields just outside Ypres.

We stayed in a hotel on the town square, which was directly across from the giant clock tower symbolic of the town, and also of the redevelopment of post-WWI Belgium. Here is a picture of the clock tower pre-WWI bombings:

Here is a picture of the clock tower after the bombings:

And, here is the picture I took from my bedroom window:

After the city was ravaged by bombings, the citizens rebuilt it as it had been. So even though the buildings look like they've been around forever, they've actually only been around since WWI. It's a pretty neat testament to the will power of humanity.

Here are some other pics of the town center:

Kiana & Annette in front of the clock tower.

The giant church nearby.

Inside Cafe Vivaldi, off the main square.

And if being in Ypres couldn't be cooler, it was certainly made cooler when we found out we'd be performing inside the building attached to the clock tower!

The side of the building you see in the pictures is now a museum dedicated to telling the story of the town; the other side of the building has been converted to a concert space:

What I saw.

What they saw.

Cool.