Hotel du Sud Bastogne

... whatever happens. He was a paratrooper in his youth and had a very hardy, can-do approach to life. He’s now about 80 years of age. He told me with a bit of a laugh in his voice, that “if it comes to that, I feel good enough to die.” They’ll receive a visit again in March, and then probably in July. Mr. François is already planning his magic act for the talent show at the next Feast of Tabernacles. He told me it’s all prepared already.

By this time ...

We were on the road by 10 am, just as planned. Traffic is a bit heavier than we would like, but you work with what you're handed. It’s supposed to take about 6 hours to get to Luxembourg. We’ll see how it progresses.

We passed through Belgium at 1:15 pm. We passed through Luxembourg at 2:15 pm. We stopped along the way to have some lunch at 3 pm because I was very hungry. It was a very small town ...

... with certain extreme situations. It is also a strong recognition for all those "who served" and a lasting tribute to those who gave their lives". Along that line, the museum staff has often acted as a venue and assisted in projects tn bringing together veterans from former opposed sides to meet as friends. In a second section, the museum also provides an educational view of the development of the "national" Luxembourg armed forces since the creation of the Grand Duchy.

We woke up in Aachen this morning and decided to drive through the back roads to Belgium and pay a visit to Bastonge, were thousands of soldiers as ell as civilians died during WWII's Battle of the Bulge. The only real reminders are a Sherman Tank sitting in the middle of town and and the memorial ...

... I'm a fan of. Cute little villages like those that I've been to in Switzerland but lacking that little bit extra in presentation.

I only got to see a few towns in Luxembourg but there is certainly a lot more to explore. I highly recommend the wine district that runs along the border with Germany.

... of the Army. I wish them all well.

One thing I decided today in seeing the perimeter of Bastogne. While Easy Company was made famous with the Band of Brothers Series, I decided that E Co. was a symbol for all the Companies that suffered the hardships in and around the Bastogne area in the in winter of 1944. Each and everyone one of those men suffered in their own way that winter. And many are still suffering today. And for that reason, we need to continue to honor them.

We stopped here to see the American Memorial at the sight of The Battle of the Bulge. It was a very somber stop. I don't know much history about WW II, but this was one of America's bloodiest battles with the hugest loss of life ever in a war (19,000 Americans in the first three days). It was one of the last big battles of WW II. The German's pulled a sneak attack on four allies in that location ...

... a mile to the north of town, so I walked right through the main business district and McAuliffe Square, then up past the pastures and cows to the top of the hill that the memorial is situated on. They picked the best spot around, from the top of the memorial you can see off in every direction. The memorial itself is in the shape of a 5-pointed star, with the names of the 50 states and all of the army groups and divisions that ...

... raha Belgia kasumiks andma.

Aga pood iseenesest oli natsa väiksem kui Chicagos, kuid mööblivalik nagu igalpool, samasugune. Leidsin palju asju, mis mul endalgi kunagi ostetud sai ja USAsse maha jäi. Paljud asjad on just kaugemalt vaadates hästi lahedad, aga lähedalt silmitsedes kas plekist või plastmassist :D No aga külalised ei peagi ju kõiki asju kodus käperdama, eks!

... time before we had to get back on the bus. We all went on to the next museum, which was in the middle of one of the primary fields where Battle of the Bulge took place. This one was the permanent museum and basically had a lot of things crammed into two or three rooms in order to display as much as possible in the small space. Inside they also had a movie that Jerry wanted us to see about the battle. It sounded like a great idea until ...