We left Charleville-Mezieres on the evening of the 22nd and headed into Belgium again so we were well placed to get to Luxembourg the next day. We found a nice lay-by near the village of Neuvillers and set up for the night. The next day we woke to a massive queue outside, which it transpires was for an international agricultural festival which was being held in the field next to us!
I had spent the night before reviewing a tourist brochure downloaded from the Luxembourg tourist website and decided that we should explore the Ardennes area of Luxembourg before working our way down to the capital itself. This also meant that a visit to the Belgian town of Bastogne was en route. This also seemed worthwhile as we had seen the series Band of Brothers which recanted the exploits of "Easy" Company, part of the US 101st Airborne who famously held the town against German encirclement during the Battle of the Bulge, so we headed there first.
Bastogne
This was a lively town with plenty of WWII memorials and monuments to the sacrifices made not only in the town but the surrounding Ardennes area. An American Sherman tank guards the main square which is named after General McAuliffe who famously replied "NUTS" when the Germans asked for the Americans to surrender the town (they were encircled and cut off from the rest of the Allied troops). It just so happens that there is a big nuts festival in Bastogne every year and had been since long before the war, so anyone who thinks that Americans know nothing of irony has been mislead.
There is also a quite imposing church, the Church of St Pierre.
I visited an exhibition called "J'ais 20 ans en 40" meaning "I was 20 years old in 1940" which recounted the experiences of the war from all sides and I found it hugely thought-provoking. There were displays of Belgian civilian life under occupation and how Belgian male civilians and soldiers were transported to Germany and forced to work in the factories, supporting the German war effort. Those who refused to go to Germany had to go into hiding and become part of the resistance, forgoing their supply of rationing unless others could provide them with assistance and risk their own lives.
In the exhibition, amongst lots of other interesting displays, there was a room which was completely white with about a dozen or so tree trunks commonly found in the Ardennes. As you walk in you hear the sound of coughing and a wheeze. Suddenly you hear the explosion of gunfire, and then artillery which gets louder and louder, which then suddenly dies out only to start over again. When you are in this room you can't help but be thankful that you weren't fighting in the forests surrounding Bastogne. There is a memorial to the members of "Easy" Company who fell on the outskirts of the town and some foxholes in the forest nearby. The forest itself seemed to quite foreboding to us, and as if to add to the atmosphere, thunder rippled from the sky as we walked among the square-ish holes in the ground.
In to Luxembourg
As the thunder clouds were coming in we decided to head for the border and enter Luxembourg rather than sleep in the forest. I had read about a picturesque town called Esch-sur-sure so we put that into the SatNav and off we went. As we got over the border to Luxembourg we were greeted with petrol stations selling Diesel at 0.98 Euros per litre, which by my reckoning is about 83p per litre!! Needless to say we filled up.
Heading toward Esch-sur-sure we found what I think will be a contender for most picturesque place to sleep. We were on a very large hill overlooking a huge lake and dam. Words can't describe this so just look at the pictures!
Here is the route so far!
I had spent the night before reviewing a tourist brochure downloaded from the Luxembourg tourist website and decided that we should explore the Ardennes area of Luxembourg before working our way down to the capital itself. This also meant that a visit to the Belgian town of Bastogne was en route. This also seemed worthwhile as we had seen the series Band of Brothers which recanted the exploits of "Easy" Company, part of the US 101st Airborne who famously held the town against German encirclement during the Battle of the Bulge, so we headed there first.
Bastogne
This was a lively town with plenty of WWII memorials and monuments to the sacrifices made not only in the town but the surrounding Ardennes area. An American Sherman tank guards the main square which is named after General McAuliffe who famously replied "NUTS" when the Germans asked for the Americans to surrender the town (they were encircled and cut off from the rest of the Allied troops). It just so happens that there is a big nuts festival in Bastogne every year and had been since long before the war, so anyone who thinks that Americans know nothing of irony has been mislead.
There is also a quite imposing church, the Church of St Pierre.
I visited an exhibition called "J'ais 20 ans en 40" meaning "I was 20 years old in 1940" which recounted the experiences of the war from all sides and I found it hugely thought-provoking. There were displays of Belgian civilian life under occupation and how Belgian male civilians and soldiers were transported to Germany and forced to work in the factories, supporting the German war effort. Those who refused to go to Germany had to go into hiding and become part of the resistance, forgoing their supply of rationing unless others could provide them with assistance and risk their own lives.
In the exhibition, amongst lots of other interesting displays, there was a room which was completely white with about a dozen or so tree trunks commonly found in the Ardennes. As you walk in you hear the sound of coughing and a wheeze. Suddenly you hear the explosion of gunfire, and then artillery which gets louder and louder, which then suddenly dies out only to start over again. When you are in this room you can't help but be thankful that you weren't fighting in the forests surrounding Bastogne. There is a memorial to the members of "Easy" Company who fell on the outskirts of the town and some foxholes in the forest nearby. The forest itself seemed to quite foreboding to us, and as if to add to the atmosphere, thunder rippled from the sky as we walked among the square-ish holes in the ground.
In to Luxembourg
As the thunder clouds were coming in we decided to head for the border and enter Luxembourg rather than sleep in the forest. I had read about a picturesque town called Esch-sur-sure so we put that into the SatNav and off we went. As we got over the border to Luxembourg we were greeted with petrol stations selling Diesel at 0.98 Euros per litre, which by my reckoning is about 83p per litre!! Needless to say we filled up.
Heading toward Esch-sur-sure we found what I think will be a contender for most picturesque place to sleep. We were on a very large hill overlooking a huge lake and dam. Words can't describe this so just look at the pictures!
Here is the route so far!
Loving the blog. Keep up the good work. Am enjoying traveling vicariously.
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