9 AM and we were all back in our bus after a good, although short night’s rest. We must congratulate and thank every one in the group for always being on time. We never had to wait for anybody. On our way to Diksmuide.

In the Ijzertower and the Trenches of Death our 80-year old guide gave us a pretty detailed history lesson about the cruelty of the first World War, and the misery of the soldiers stuck in the mud for almost 4 years. It was an experience to walk and sometimes almost crawl through the trenches, while the guide was explaining the dangers for the soldiers during that war.

Place on the Ijzer-river where the Germans were stopped during WWI.

Ijzer-tower

From the top of the Ijzertower we had a very nice view of the surrounding country, split by the Ijzer river. The detailed maps in the maproom on the highest level of the tower gave us a better understanding about the role of the water in stopping the Germans from taking the whole country. Johnny didn’t forget to explain the symbolic and sacred function of the Ijzertower for the Flemings, still peacefully struggling for their independence from Belgium. The Ijzertower is also the tallest peace monument of the western world, where on its walls in huge characters we can read : NO MORE WAR. The original tower was build right after W.W.I, and bombed by the Belgian government right after WW II, to offend the Flemings. Immediately, the Flemings build a taller tower, the one you can see today. All this history and beautiful views of the flat country made us very thirsty. It was time for our special lunch at Restaurant "the fort" anyway. ‘Paling’ (eel) was served, but 8 of us didn’t want to try and chose chicken. Of course we washed everything away with a couple of good Belgian beers.

At 2:30 PM we were expected at the Dolle Brouwers brewery (Mad Brewers) on the other side of Diksmuide, a couple of miles away from the Ijzertower. It is still Mammy who guides the tour through the brewery with a lot of humor in her own typical and unmatched style. Mammy is the over 70 year old mother of Chris, the brewer and owner of the brewery. There too, we had a couple more of his excellent beers, before we headed to our hotel in De Panne.

We gave ourselves one hour for check in and refreshment, before we were on our way to the grand ball in Poperinge, Saturday’s highlight of the Hops Festivities. On our way, we made a stop for a light (sic) dinner in the middle of nowhere, we mean, in Oeren at Cafee de Leute. (Pub the Joy) This centuries old little farm house used to be also the town-hall for the local population which was never more than 50 people. Tine and Ivan, owners, placed us in a small room just above the cellar with plenty of old photographs of the Belgian royal family starting with king Leopold I in 1830.

" Cafe de Leute"

We had exceptional country sandwiches with country cheese, or ham. or some typical fare like pig-head patee, or pig-tongue patee, or just plain delicious country patee. The serving was too big for some of us. We washed everything down with a couple of good Abbey Ales on draft. Bill Owens told us how he fooled Michael Jackson with a fake Trappist brewery in Indiana.

Bill Owens, publisher "American Brewer"

Just before Poperinge we drove through West Vleteren, where the fifth Belgian Trappist Abbey is located. Visitors are never allowed inside the abbey. The pub in front of the abbey, where you can taste the Sixtus Trappist Ales was closed for their yearly holiday. What a shame.

In Poperinge we headed immediately to the big marquee where the grand ball with the selection of the hops queen was held. A couple of thousand people were having fun, drinking big glasses of beer and making a lot of noise. Surfer Bill and Johnny went out among the people looking for the candidates for the hops queen, asking them to come and present themselves to our group. You know, we al had a chance to vote.

Plenty of people at the election of the 'Hops Queen'.
Drinking half liter pints of beer.

The noise in the marquee made it clear to us from the beginning which girl would win. She clearly had brought her fans with her. Candidate number 2, Ilse Vitse, charmed us very much in particular when she went on stage saying "A life without friends is like beer without hops." Something we will remember for the rest of our lifes. (Isn’t it Dean?) After having devoured a couple of beers, and checked out what else there was to see, and enjoyed the German and Flemish music and songs.

Slowly but surely members of our group slipped out of the tent to check out the rest of Poperinge. Amazing, but at around 11:30 PM we found the whole group at Cafe de la Paix on the central market place. At midnight we decided to drive back to our Hotel.

Day V