Tag: Belgium

Rhine River Cruise Day 4

Saturday, November 2, 2019

This morning we walked off the ship and met our guide for a walking tour of Speyer.  Our first stop was the Speyer Cathedral, which is over 1000 years old.  It opened in 1106 and was added as an UNESCO World Heritage list in 1981.

Looking at the town after visiting the cathedral.

The Old Gate is the medieval tower with the clock. It is one of the 68 original towers.

We also visited the Trinity Church that was built in the 1700s.  The organ is in the middle in the front altar.  The paintings in the church were done by local artists.  The pews were double so you could see the front and switch sides and see the back of the church.

One of the trees I noticed with unusual fruit is called a mispel or as the local’s call it “dog’s ass”!  The fruit is used to make schnapps and jam!

The Jewish Quarter was one of our stops.  We saw the remains of a Romanesque Synagogue.  It was built of sandstone in the late 13th century.  There were two areas: the woman’s prayer hall and the men’s synagogue and it was used until 1490.

In the courtyard was a subterranean Jewish ritual washing baths.

Some free time was built into our day so we could explore the city on our own before returning to the ship and then sailing to Mannheim.

Lunch was on board as we traveled on the Rhine and it was raining.  We’re hopeful that it clears up for our afternoon explorations.

This afternoon we visited the town of Heidelberg, Germany which is a university town.  Our first stop was the Heidelberg Castle.  Below are pictures of Heidelberg as we drive up to the castle!

Our guide was full of great stories as we walked around the castle grounds.

The arch pictured below was built in 1615 for Elizabeth as a birthday present by her husband Frederick.  The arch was built in sections and erected overnight!

Frederich and Elizabeth
Elizabeth Gate

There were spectacular views from the castle looking down on Heidelberg.

After touring the grounds of the castle, we then went into town.

Hotel Zum Ritter built in 1592.

Many tried the Vetter Beer.  We walked in but it was very crowded and warm.  Instead we walked across the Old Bridge which expands the Neckar.  On the right bank is the 2 km path on high ground which we could see from the castle.

We visited the Jesuitenkirche which is a Baroque style Jesuit Church.  It was built during the 18th century.

After we visited the Jesuit Church it was time to meet our bus for our ride back to the boat!

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Beyond the Band of Brothers Tour Day 12

Saturday, July 27th, 2019

We were on the bus by 7:30 because we were heading to Munich, Germany.  Our first stop today was the Luxembourg American Cemetery located in the country of Luxembourg.

Over 5,000 are buried here and about 100 of these are unknown soldiers.  The only woman buried here is Nancy Leo, a nurse, her sister also served as a nurse during WWII.  Nancy was killed when her jeep overturned on her way to Paris to visit her sister!

Below are some pictures of the cemetery.

Also buried here is General Patton.  In the spring of 1947 his grave marker was moved from Plot EE to the front so to save the ground and those buried around him.IMG_6771

Before we left the cemetery the veterans in our group and another tour group did a wreath laying ceremony outside the memorial chapel.  Below are pictures from the chapel inside and out.

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Today’s weather is much cooler and rainy.  The first precipitation that we’ve had!  We certainly welcomed the cooler temperatures.

On to Munich we go!  Our tour director played an anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon made by Disney and was about Hitler!

Our arrival to the hotel, H4 Hotel Munich Messe, was around 6:30 PM and our dinner was at the hotel.  We were glad to have a room with air conditioning after three days of oppressive heat and no air at our hotel.

  • After dinner we had a great time at the bar with others from our group!  After riding on the bus all day it was nice to relax. The bar had these 4 projector screens that had 4 different band and/or singers playing music.  It entertained us all!IMG_7716

Beyond the Band of Brothers Tour Day 11

Friday, July 26th, 2019

We were on the bus to go spend the day in and around Bastogne.  Below are pictures from the main square in Bastogne which is also called McAuliffe Square.  This square honors General McAuliffe who commanded the 101st Airborne.  The tank on display is  an American Sherman tank and is next to a bust of McAuliffe.

We picked up our guide, Bruno, who is an active duty Belgium soldier.  IMG_4514Our first stop was the Bastogne Barracks.

Bastogne Barracks
On the right was the building that housed the 101st headquarters.
Liberty Hall is where we started our tour.
Inside Liberty Hall

We went into the Liberty Hall.  In the hall we sat and Bruno explained what was happening and where the German Line was and the US troops locations.  The Germans had surrounded Bastogne.  General McAuliffe was the acting commander of the 101st Airborne and he along with his division arrived in Bastogne on December 19th, 1944.  Gen. McAuliffe’s headquarters was here at the Bastogne Barracks.  He set up his headquarters in the 2nd Lieutenant barracks Heintz.

General McAuliffe became well known for his answer of  “NUTS” when the Germans asked him to surrender on December 22, 1944 because the Germans had the town surrounded.

Entering the 101St Airborne Headquarters
McAuliffe telling the Germans “NUTS” to surrendering

The headquarters of the 101st Airborne was turned into a museum in 2010.  They have restored part of the barracks.  It is full of exhibits and a vast collection of materials/weapons etc… used in WWII.  The “NUTS” basement shows the office where the General spoke the now famous word “NUTS”!  After the Normandy invasion, the Germans made one last major offensive to conquer Antwerp.  There was a heavy attack by the Germans that pushed the Allied line back!  On December 21st the Germans had encircled Bastogne.  It was an American air raid that freed the surrounded Americans.

We saw the infamous Christmas letter and a copy of this letter was framed and given to the veterans in our group.IMG_4553

Our guide took us to their other display rooms.  We saw the Message Room, the Ops Room, Veterans Room, the Dining Room where the officers had their Christmas meal, and the “Sad Sack Grub” Room.

All the WWII veterans who have returned to visit Bastogne, have their pictures hanging in this room. They cover much of the 4 walls!
The veterans in our group were honored with a framed copy of the Christmas Letter!
Where the officers had their Christmas dinner.
An actual picture of their dinner.
A picture that tells where each officer had dinner
The Sad Sack Grub
Sad Sack Grub

They also had quite a few authentic relics.  One was part of a glider.

And the highlight for some in our group was The Vehicle Restoration Center!  This is filled with military armoured vehicles.  Some weren’t in the building because they were being used for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge and D-Day.

On our way to visit the foxholes left from the 101st Airborne or Easy Company, our bus stopped so we could visit the memorial to the 506th of the 101st Airborne Division.

The current monument along the road.
Part of the old monument near the foxholes.

You can find the 101st’s foxholes from Bizory to Foy.  Easy Company fought here from December, 1944 until January, 1945, against the German forces in Foy, Belgium.  The foxholes are well-preserved and accessible.  We visited some of these.  We were in the woods and looking out toward Foy.

Walking into the forest where the foxholes can be found
101st Airborne foxholes
101st Airborne foxholes
101st Airborne foxholes
Looking out at the village from the foxhole.
Those under 30 in our group posed in the foxhole and pretended they were freezing!

After returning to the city center of Bastogne, we said goodbye to our guide Bruno and walked over to our restaurant, Léo, for a delicious lunch.  IMG_4673Many tried the Airborne Beer with their food.

The restaurant also sold bottles with a label that commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.IMG_4675

We had free time until we were to visit the Bastogne War Museum.  We enjoyed our time walking around town and visited the Belgian Chocolate Shop.  The chocolate we tried was delicious! IMG_4685 We also did a lot of “window shopping” and walking around the town!

The picture below and on the left shows the original photo of General Bradley, General Eisenhower and General Patton surveying the destruction of Bastogne and the picture on the right shows the same spot today!

General Bradley, General Eisenhower, and General Patton
Where they stood today!
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WWII pictures in Bastogne’s City Hall.

The Bastogne War Museum explains the events that lead up to WWII and throughout.  You follow 4 ordinary people caught in this conflict and you get their stories from their perspective and see how their stories interconnect during the war. They are fictional characters but are based on facts! It was a Belgian boy, a young Belgian woman teacher, a German WWII officer, and an American paratrooper from the 101st.  It is an interactive museum with many WWII relics.  We had two hours to visit and could have used at least an other half hour to hour.  The museum has 3 immersive shows that help explain the story of Bastogne and its inhabitants during the winter.  The four characters tell their story throughout and they each have their own version of the war.

Bastogne War Museum
One of the displays in the museum.
A display that shows damage in a text from the Battle of the Bulge.
One of the 3 shows.

The Mardasson Memorial sits on a hill called Mardasson.  It was dedicated in July, 1950 with 10,000 attending including General McAuliffe.  This memorial was designed to honor 76,890 American soldiers killed, wounded or missing during the Battle of the Bulge.  It is a 5-pointed star shape and is a tribute to the American soldiers by the Belgians.  We didn’t have time to explore it or go to the top and look out over the area.

The Mardasson Memorial
Another view of the Mardasson Memorial
This memorial is beside the Mardasson Memorial and it commemorates the men of the 101st Airborne who defended Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

Dinner was at the same restaurant where we had lunch.  Our dinner was a hamburger, frites, salad and sorbet with fresh fruit.  Our tour director felt that a hamburger would be a good choice because Belgium has really good beef.

It was another full day of learning more about the Battle of the Bulge and exploring this historic area!

Beyond the Band of Brothers Tour Day 10

Thursday, July 25th, 2019

This morning we picked up our guide in the center of the town of Bastogne.  We will be learning about the Battle of the Bulge or also known as the Ardennes Offensive.  It is called a Bulge because the Germans have a bump or bulge around the Ardennes forest in pushing through the American line!

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The view as you drive into Bastogne.

Henri, who is 85 years old and was 9 years old when the Battle of the Bulge occurred.

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Our guide Henri!

He watched the Battle from his home on the family farm until it was destroyed.  The family never rebuilt the home.

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On the hill was where Henri’s home once stood.

He moved in with his grandparents and his father was killed during the war.  He is extremely knowledgeable about the Battle of the Bulge!

Today was focused on the Northern Arc of the Battle of the Bulge.  We stopped at the 82nd Airborne memorial at Liege, Belgium.  It was surrounded by rolling fields and pastures.  This also is another area where our Dad was located.

82nd Airborne Memorial
Plaque on the memorial.
Side view
Cow pasture where part of the Battle took place.

We stopped and saw a Sherman tank used by the U.S. in Vith, Belgium.  The town of Vith was destroyed during the war and was rebuilt and redesigned after the war.

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M4A1 Sherman tank of the 7th Armored Division at Vielsalm. This tank is placed along the roadside.
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Picture of St. Vith after bombings!

We saw a monument in honor of the 106th Infantry of the Army who fought in the Ardennes forest.  This monument is in front of the St. Vith School.IMG_6607

One of the women on our tour, her father was part of the I&R (Intelligence and Reconnaissance) Platoon and fought in the Battle for Lanzerath.  Her father and his small platoon was captured by the Germans.

There also is a memorial to the 82nd Airborne in Lanzerath.

Our next stop was crossing into Germany to see the Siegfried Line which extended from Holland to Switzerland.  We walked along a cow pasture and into the woods.

Siegrfried Line Dragon teeth.

Along the pasture and into the woods we could see the dragon teeth along the line.  These were placed as obstacles for tanks, trucks, etc… In the woods is a memorial to the 99th U.S. Infantry Division.  The German forts that were along the Siegfried Line were destroyed after the war.  This line was commissioned by the German government as a lead up to the war.  The line included trenches, barbed wire, the line included 22,000 bunkers and pillboxes, and forts.

We went back into Belgium to visit the twin villages where the Germans attempted to advance during the Battle of the Bulge.

A memorial to the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division is situated near the church of Krinkett.  Also a memorial to the 99th Infantry Division, which were called the “Battle Babies” because they were very green (little battle experience).

We drove around a roundabout a couple of times in Butgenbach-Bullingen to see the memorial in the center which is for the 1st Infantry Division.

Lunch was at La Faitafondue in Waimes, Belgium.  It is a fondue restaurant.  We had a delicious salad bar, Belgian Frites (french fries), and cooked our own meat (chicken, pork, and beef).  For dessert we were served homemade Belgian ice cream:  chocolate and vanilla.  This restaurant changes its decor once a year.  This year the theme was Pirates of the Caribbean.

outside of LaFaitafondue Restaurant
The theme of the restaurant for this year.
Cooking our meat in the fondue pots.
Our homemade ice cream dessert.

After lunch, in Malmedy, we stopped at the Memorial of Baugnez.  The U.S. soldiers who were prisoners here were gunned down by the Nazis, December 17, 1944.

Another memorial to these soldiers is near by.

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Next to the memorial is the Hotel du Moulin.  There is a story written by John Toland, Saturday 29, April, 2006 entitled:  “The Brave Innkeeper of ‘The Battle of the Bulge'”.  This article was printed in the Coronet magazine in December, 1959.  It describes how the innkeeper helped to save the lives of some American prisoners.

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Next we saw a German Tiger II tank.  It is the most famous tank of WWII.  It had a devastating 88 millimeter gun.

Church across from the tank.
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This is one of the many memorials that is around the area of the Battle of the Bulge.

Henri had us make a stop in Chenoux at the monument for the 82nd Airborne.  Dad was also in this area treating the injured.

We also saw the monument at the 82nd Airborne’s Headquarters during the Battle of the Bulge.  They used all of the homes around the square.

A Panther AUSF-G a German tank is a medium tank deployed during WWII on the Eastern and Western Front.  The one below was left by the retreating 2nd SS Panzer Division.  It was out of fuel and abandoned in a field.  The Village of Grandmenil has it as a monument to remember the events of December, 1944 that occurred here.

It was a very warm day with temperatures over 105 degrees.  Our entire group was exhausted from another emotional and busy day.  We returned to our hotel to freshen up and have dinner but it was difficult to do because of the heat and no air conditioning.  Our group made the best of it!

Beyond the Band of Brothers Tour Day 9

Wednesday, July 24th, 2009

We left this morning at 8:30 AM and are traveling to Belgium.  This was definitely a day of riding on the bus!

We stopped at 10:15 AM for a rest stop and are still in France.  On the bus, the movie The Longest Day was shown.

Around noon we stopped for lunch at a rest plaza then we were back on the road!

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My interesting Gluten free salad.

We left France and entered Belgium about 3:30 PM.  We had a couple of traffic slow downs due to construction.

Catelyn, our tour director, shared some interesting facts about Belgium.  A few that we remember were-

  • 1,100 different beers made in Belgium with an 8-10 % alcohol content
  • Belgium is known for its chocolate, Godiva is one of the makers in the country
  • There are different types of Belgian waffles
  • French fries can be traced back to Belgium.  The American soldiers during WWI thought they were in France when they called these frites French fries because they were in the French speaking area of Belgium
  • There are 3 official languages in Belgium: Flemish (Dutch), French, and German
  • You can also hear Luxembourgish spoken in the Belgian province called Luxembourg (which borders the country of Luxembourg)
  • Belgium is within the European Union so there is no border/passport control

Our first rest stop in Belgium and our first time to pay to use the toilet.  It cost 70¢.

We arrived at our hotel around 6 PM.  Our hotel is the Vayamundo Hotel and is located in the town of Houffalize, Belgium in the Ardennes forest.

Our room
our balcony, but it was too hot to enjoy
The view from our room into the forest

We are staying here for 3 nights and our weather is to be even warmer tomorrow, a high of 105º.  Also, no air conditioning or any fans.  It was difficult to sleep.

The picture below is looking down on the town of Houffalize, Belgium.

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Houffalize has been rebuilt since all of the Allied bombing during the Battle of the Bulge.  It was important to the Allies to cut off the Germans getting supplies and fuel because the bridges here still remained.  The pictures after the bombings show that there wasn’t much left of the town.  189 civilians from Houffalize were killed during the Allied bombing!

REFLECTIONS– As we traveled and explored the Normandy area, it amazed me how the French in this area have embraced what happened here and fly not only their flags but those of the Allies that helped to liberate them.

With this year being the 75th anniversary of D-Day, new memorials and memorial gardens, banners, etc… have been added.

It was quite moving to walk on the beaches the WWII soldiers were on and all the lives that were lost during the invasion and throughout the war.