This is the final post of the whirlwind tour my parents, Anna and I took last week.
In this post, we will go to the American military cemetery in Luxembourg followed by a tour of the forests around Bastogne to see the sight of the Battle of the Bulge. Finally, we finished the tour with a visit to the picturesque village of Bruges, Belgium and a short stop by the North Sea.
We started with a visit to an American military cemetery. It is one of 24 American overseas cemeteries that are the final resting places for 124,913 Americans killed in warfare (WWI, WWII and the Mexican War). This particular one is just outside of Luxembourg City. It is just over 50 acres and serves as the final resting place for 5,076 soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen and was established on 29 Dec 1944, while the Battle of the Bulge raged nearby.
It is interesting to note that the land for all the cemeteries has been given back to the US. All these military members are buried in American soil. Also, this location was the headquarters of General George S. Patton Jr’s Third Army. In fact, the General is also buried here. Although he was killed in a vehicle accident shortly after the war’s end, he is buried in a place of honor with the many other members of the third army. Here he is…
There are number of these poignant reminders of the horror of war scattered through the cemetery.
After our tour of the American cemetery, we drove up the road to the center of the Battle of the Bulge. Of you’re not familiar with this battle (and no it’s not a reference to the collective growing American waistline), here’s a brief rundown. On 16 December 1944, the German army on Hitler’s orders made one final push to repel the Allied advance on the west. His belief was to slow the western front would allow him time to build his super weapons (jet planes and super heavy tanks, for example). Initially, the German offensive was very successful and indeed it was the single most costly American engagement of WWII. Over 19,000 Americans lost their lives, however, it was the turning point in the European campaign. It signaled the beginning of the end and although it was a temporary setback for the allied army, it was a decisive blow to the German military machine.
Here in Bastogne, the German cemetery is a very poignant site to see. It is set with trees throughout and each headstone lists six names (three on each side). This is in stark contrast to the one on each American headstone.
After, we traveled to the forests around Foy (a small town outside of Bastogne). This is also the region where Easy Company of “Band of Brothers'” fame fought over Christmas in 1944. It was incredible to actually walk though the forest and see where these men dug in to repel the attacking forces. The 101st Airborne (of which Easy Company was a part) was cut off in the Battle of Bastogne (part of the larger Battle of the Bulge) after the initial battle. In fact, the German Army commander felt he had effectively cut off all options for the Americans in Bastogne. They were outnumbered, with limited ammunition, and little winter clothing. The German commander asked the American commander, Brig Gen McAuliffe, to surrender. The General, in typical American fashion, replied “Nuts!” This didn’t translate very well (in fact, it’s a phrase not used today, but as far as I can tell, it means “you’re crazy”), so his translators just used the term, “Go to hell!” This simple and direct phrase was echoed throughout the regiment and gave the men great strength.
While the trees were probably replanted after the war, this is probably similar to how the area looked when Easy Company dug in to fend off the advancing enemy.
The men of easy company were immortalized in Stephen Ambrose’s novel “Band of Brothers” which was later made into a highly acclaimed HBO mini-series (it won the Emmy for outstanding mini-series). Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg co-produced them. Afterward, the Hanks family, HBO and the Jeep corporation donated this monument to the men of Easy Company.
There is also a powerful museum in Bastogne dedicated to the battle.
It was a great opportunity to see first hand just what happened over 60 years ago.
Next stop was the beautiful Belgian city of Bruges. This city is a very popular tourist destination (for good reason). Our first sight was the Church of Our Lady that houses a statue carved by the venerable Michaelangelo. This is one of only a few of his statues outside of Italy.
The rest of the church was quite spectacular as well.
There was a moat that surrounded the medieval city that is visible today.
As you can imagine, Belgian waffles originated in Belgium, so they are available pretty much anywhere. However, something that may be interesting is that there are two types of waffles (or gauffres), the “Belgian” with it’s rectangular shape associated with Brussels and the Liege version (associated with that city). You can see here the Liege version with thick dough and irregular shape. These are not eaten for breakfast, but as a snack through the day and not with utensils (it’s finger food).
The famous bell tower afforded a great view of the city.
The other Belgian delicacy is of course chocolate. There are no shortage of shops that sell truly delicious treats. This particular one came highly recommended and did not disappoint…
Dinner that night was also delicious. My father enjoyed the traditional menu of mussels and fries (which is also originally Belgian) and the rest of us had similarly great meals.
The next and final stop on the Tourist Train was the beach city of Oostende on the North Sea. We had a brief tour and stopped on the beach for a picnic lunch.
Since it was such a nice day and we had come all the way to sea, my mother and I decided to take a quick dip. Unfortunately, I was not dressed for it, but I still had to get in a little ways…
That concluded our whirlwind tour of Bavaria, Austria, Munich, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, and Belgium.
It was a great trip for all of us. 🙂
Until the next trip…
–Jim
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