Flanders Field Trenches

On Friday, we took a day trip over to Ypres,  Belgium to the museum and a couple of sites from the Flanders Fields battlefields of World War I.  Most of my knowledge of World War I is limited.  I knew trench warfare and chemical warfare were rampant.  I understood the basics, but most of what I've read and heard in history classes focuses more on the impact the Treaty of Versailles has on the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany, and the eventual start of World War II.  I honestly had forgotten that the invasion of Belgium was one of the rallying points for the US entrance into the war.  The town of Ypres sat within artillery range of the front lines for years.  Pictures of the Cloth Building (now the Flanders Field Museum) show rubble of what had once been the town's bell tower.  Everything was destroyed.  The other draw was that a friend of mine told me about a privately-owned museum that is basically one family's collection of military memorabilia.  The real draw is that this museum also contains part of the original trenches that were part of the British lines.  Most other trenches were filled in and returned to farmland after the war.  Some have been rebuilt to provide

memorials or educational centers.  The trenches you see the kids and I in were never filled in.  Realizing how many men would have lived, fought, and died in those trenches gives you pause.

Today, we took a trip to Paria Dazia.  I still think its the best zoo I've visited.  Others I've been to have more animals.  The playground at this one is Isaac's favorite part.  Walking through the one of the monkey areas, one of the monkeys jumps onto my shoulders and lets Isaac pet it.  Plus while Emily and I are drinking coffee and watching the kids play when one of the employees wanders by riding an elephant.  Not exactly what you'd get it in the States.  I definitely think we loose something in such a litigious society.