Yesterday we headed out around noon to explore. This area is best known to Americans via WWII's Battle of the Bulge, which happened here. The battle was a surprise attack by the Germans, and American troops were encircled in the town. The Germans even asked for the Americans to surrender, to which General McAuliffe of the 101st Airborne famously replied, "Nuts!" As we all know, the Americans didn't surrender. General Patton arrived and broke the deadlock a few days later, but it took another three weeks for the battle to end. That is a very oversimplified version of the story, but I provide as background.
I was stunned at how many Americans died in this battle alone - almost 77,000. The number of Belgians lost is unknown.
Today, the area is rife with museums, fountains, restaurants, and shops. We didn't actually go in to the Bastogne War Museum due to an antsy Boo, but we walked all over, ate some delicious pizza (next time we will be having beer, fries, and chocolate in Belgium!!) and made sure to visit the Mardasson Memorial, which honors the memory of American soldiers wounded or killed.
The Visitors Center had an entire floor dedicated to Ardenne hams. Maybe I need to try one, but meat hanging from the ceiling in open air wasn't so appealing. From what I read, it is similar to prosciutto. Further info:
Ardenne Ham obtained legal recognition in Belgium on 4 February 1974, at which time the rules of how it can be made were set down. It must be produced in either Luxembourg province or in Liège and Namur provinces. If made in Liège and Namur provinces, it can only be made in the following cantons of those two provinces: Beauraing, Gedinne, Rochefort, Dinant, Ferrières, Stavelot, Malmédy, Saint-Vith, Louveigné, Spa or Eupen.
Sooo... The champagne of ham?
The men in the pictures above Boo have medals shaped like pigs. These hams are a big deal!
While walking around, we also came across this random statue and sign about werewolves. There isn't much info online, but I guess they were believed to inhabit the Ardennes Forest.
Pizza, not sliced. Knife and fork style. Yum. Also, I now want sparkling water at every meal.
Obviously Boo found this sign hilarious. Any sign with a red circle means the inside action is prohibited:
Mardasson Memorial:
You could take stairs to the top and look out from each corner of the memorial, which is shaped like a five-pointed star. There were engravings to show what you were viewing:
There is also a crypt underneath the memorial, which was built when American women asked for a place to pray and reflect.
A few pics of the surrounding countryside. It was a beautiful day:
We left around 5pm or so, and since we had promised Boo a castle, we drove to Old Luxembourg so we could visit the Gran Palais Ducal Luxembourg. We parked where we could walk through the old fortifications of the city. Absolutely gorgeous.
The Palace:
A pretty church door:
We are still recovering a bit from being on the road for three weeks straight, and sleeping later than I'd like, but we should be okay by Monday. I had thought about going to Germany today, but Boo is a little cranky despite 12 hours of sleep, so I've been practicing my French while we are coaxing her into a nap. A local fair called Schueberfouer is happening right now so we plan to go soon. Boo is pretty excited about the Ferris wheel.
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