Willkommen: March 2014

Bastogne

Bastogne, Belgium is a charming little farming town that was where the Battle of the Bulge took place in WWII. I'm not much of a history buff, but thanks to Band of Brothers, I am very interested in the history of World War II. I don't know if it means more to me because I have the characters in my mind, or just because I know more about it than other historical events or wars, but I like learning more and more about it.

Here we are at the Mardasson Memorial. It was inaugurated in 1950. The monument is in the shape of an American five-pointed star and was built to honor the memory of the 76,890 American soldiers who were killed or wounded or went missing during the Battle of the Bulge. At the center of the memorial, a commemorative stone bears the words "The Belgian people remember their American liberators - 4 July 1946"

This is a view from the top. The building you can see is the new museum that opens next week. We missed it by a week. Oh well, it's a good excuse to go back sometime.

This is Bastogne in the distance.

A crypt was built with three altars, one each for Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish services. It was designed to enable American families to gather together to remember their dead.

The boys had fun filling their pockets with rocks and leaves.

Here we are a few miles down the road at a monument built for the Easy Company, which spent a long, bitterly cold month on the defense line surrounding Bastogne.

It was really bright and was hard to get good pictures. There was a bouquet there for Bill Guarnere, one of the survivors who recently passed away. There was a sweet hand-written note from "one of your Belgian friends".

This is the Bois Jacques forest, the scene of intense fighting. There are still fox holes that were dug and used by the men of Easy Company. I was completely shocked with how dark it was inside the forest. The trees were dense, for sure. I can't even imagine what those brave men went through. It was a very somber place, but it was definitely a spiritual place to be.

Chateau de Lunch

We had planned to visit a castle after Dinant, but on our way there, we passed this little gem and decided we would stop there instead. I'm still not sure what it was, but we decided it was a chateau of some sort. Because of where it was located, it wasn't a castle, but it was pretty magnificent anyway.

I don't recall why he was so happy, but here is Benson.

Josh played with the boys while I tried to track down something for lunch. We were far enough away from the touristy parts of town that the baker I found was not at all pleased that I couldn't speak French. I was able to communicate that I wanted some sliced bread, an eclair (it was quite divine, may I add), and a sugary pastry thing.

So we found a bench and had some food.

Here is a view of the playground with another beautiful church in the background.

It was a good idea to stop here, let the boys play for a bit, and recharge before Bastogne.

Dinant

While we were at Mini Europe, one of the models that we saw was of this church and citadel at Dinant. We were headed to Bastogne anyway, and it wasn't too far off the path, so we stopped to check it out. It was really beautiful and incredible.

A little history for my Dad: The name for the town of Dinant was first recorded about 800 BC. The first fortress was built at this spot about 1040 and the first bridge about 1080. A tiny town in those days, Dinant's main activity was manufacturing copper. The industry thrived, but the town and castle were destroyed by Charles the Bold in 1466. Eight hundred copper beaters were tied together in pairs and flung into the River Meuse.

The castle was rebuilt in 1523, whereupon the economic life of the town flourished again.

The town was occupied by Louis XIV from 1675 to 1698, when the castle was given a major facelift. From 1818 to 1821, the castle was once again destroyed and then rebuilt by the dutch to produce the Citadel we know today. During the struggle for Belgium's independence (1830) the Citadel was taken over by Belgian partisans. It was demilitarized in 1868, at a time when tourists were turning their attention to the Meuse Valley.

Finally, sold to the public in 1878, it became the scene of violent conflicts during both World Wars.

There is a 408-step stairway that dates back to 1577. It has survived to the present day.

We opted for the cable lift.

Here is a shot from the very strange women's restroom. There was that red heat lamp thing, a stuffed animal with a sign announcing the 40 Eurocent charge for the restroom (which I paid to the plate, but got my money's worth, taking myself, Brigham, and using the changing table for Ben). Anyway, the whole thing was just kind of creepy.

It had a really nice view though!

There was an old airplane and big gun right near the playground.

And a really fun playground for the kids, but we had to hurry, because we only paid for 2 hours of parking again. (it's hard to know how long these places will take...and parking is pricey. Not as pricey as the very small box of tampons that I had to buy from the corner store, but pricey, nonetheless.)

This shows how well we were able to pay attention during the tour, which was all in French. To be honest, all tours may as well be in French for me. I don't retain much anyway (the facts at the beginning were plagiarized from the pamphlet they gave us...).

At the top of the fortress.

So you know how the Alamo doesn't have a basement? Well, the Citadel has one. And what would you expect to be in the basement of a 1000 year old fortress? Of course, a touring Disney sand sculpture exhibit!!