Hotel Collin, Le 1900 Bastogne

... arrived on time. The sky was overcast most of the way so there wasn’t much to see, and the plane was very full in any event, so I couldn’t see much from my aisle seat. Since I had officially left from France, there were no formalities on arrival.

I picked up my rental car, a Renault Clio (diesel), which is much larger than the early models used to be. I left immediately for the Sedan area about 3 ½ hours to the north-east, stopping briefly for lunch on the roadside ...

... hike and we took the dogs with us. It was very nice. It was a small cascade and it was very quiet and peaceful there. She said in the summertime it is very crowded. I imagine it would be like the waterfalls in North Carolina in the summer.

We got back home and I started working on uploading pictures. I had 5 days to catch up on. We chatted with Karyn while she prepared a dinner of pasta with broccoli ...

... been completed. Vianden is also remembered as the last place in Luxembourg to be freed from the Germans in World War II in February 1945 when the Americans completed Luxembourg's liberation.
he hotel was absolutley wondeful offering a great supper of Fondu and local smoked hams with the GREATEST local wine. We went to bed happy dreaming of Rupuzel (at least I was) I don't know who Bruce was dreaming about.

The next morning we awoke and headed in to Diekirch about 20 ...

... the Americans about 2kms outside of town and a tacky little museum in town. We did find an impressive cemetery on the way dedicated to the Americans that died at the Battle of the Buldge and the American aviators that had lost their lives. All the names were listed as well as their division and rank.

I apologise again for taking so long to release the pics and for not giving a good write up of Luxembourg. I seem to draw a blank when I want to put things down on paper or on computer as the case may be.

Briefly I'll say Luxembourg was cute! Similar achitecture & feel to German speaking countries ...

... we Americans do not appreciate enough. And can NEVER appreciate enough. The other interesting stop we did make was at a small Belgium made bunker used by the 101st during the siege. It was the bunker where the CO of the 101st and the CO of Patton's 3rd Army met for the first time and broke through the Germans lines. The bunker is marked with a plaque.

After finishing the perimeter, we headed back in to Bastogne for a dedication of the plaque to General McAuliffe at ...

... that I have my own room, no roommates, and my own bathroom and shower. Kind of seems like a novelty, but it's so quiet. It's small but clean, and in a great location right in the center of town. This is the first place I've come to where most people don't speak English. The bus driver spoke practically no English, and the lady at the hotel desk understood some, but spoke mostly French. I managed to get by with my limited French ...

Korraks sai shoppingutuuri käigus ära käidud ka Belgias. IKEA üritas oma monstrumpoodi esialgu Luxembourgi suruda, aga sealse butiigipidajate rõõmuks see ei õnnestunud. Nagu kiusteks ehitati pood täpselt Luxi piiri taha, Belgia poolele. Nüüdseks on Luxi kauplemisseaduseid ümber tehtud, lausa IKEA suguste kasuks, ent enam see ei loe, sest Luxikad peavad ikkagi oma IKEAs ...

We got to Bastogne in the late morning and went straight to the WWII museum. It was really a very well done museum, with all sorts of personal accounts of how the war affected not only the soldiers, but also the civilians who were just trying to survive. The entire thing was very polished and really drew you in. It kind of reminded me a little of the Holocaust museum in D.C. on a smaller scale (although this one had four floors filled with ...

A historic transportation hub in the beautiful rolling hills of the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. Still a small city, Bastogne played a pivotal role in the German Winter Offensive of 1944 - "The Battle of the Bulge". Desperately needing to slow the encircling Allied armies, Hitler transfered some of his best and most experienced troops from the Eastern Front and used them to attack through the Ardennes Forest with the hopes of ...