Getting settled in Zandvoorde

A busy street in Ieper (Ypres) on a rainy morning

Yesterday we had a Big Adventure in Brussels. We had reserved a car to rent, but the rental office was closed, so we went to the office at the airport and asked why we had been directed to a closed office. Turns out we had reserved the car for the 24th, not the 21st. Ha!

We got it all sorted out, and drove to our next stop: Zandvoorde, near Ieper (Ypres). We are in the Kunstmin Guesthouse -- a cool little B&B that is a converted forge. Very interesting space -- we'll be quite comfortable here for the next three days.

It's cold and rainy today, so we drove into Ieper to buy jackets. This afternoon we'll be taking a WWI battlefield tour with a fellow who seems to be a real expert on the subject, so tomorrow's post should be full of interesting things!

Meanwhile, here is a look at our B&B, and at a nearby Zandvoorde British Cemetery, where 1,583 servicemen of  WWI are buried or commemorated. Out of those, 1,135 are unidentified. Most died in the desperate fighting around Zandvoorde, Zillebeke and Gheluvelt in the latter part of October 1914.