Category: France/Belgium, Summer 2022

No visit to the Ardennes region of Belgium would be complete without visiting Dinant, perhaps the most beautiful city in the region.  On the way we drove to a spot to view Walzin Castle just south of Dinant, which sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Lesse River.

The castle is not open to the public, and getting there is a little scary, as it seems like it’s a one way road for about 6km, but it’s not one-way.  We had one point where I wasn’t sure we could pass a car, but somehow we both lived to tell the tale.  The fairy-tale castle view made it worthwhile, right?

On the way into the town of Dinant, you pass through this break in the rocks.  I had to take a shot from our boat ride, as there was nowhere to stop on the roadway.  Yes, the road cuts right through that gap, it’s one way, and I don’t see how a larger vehicle could fit.

Here is a shot of the gap from the web, where some idiot did stop in the middle of the road.  We can all benefit from idiots sometimes.

Once you make it through and realized you won’t have to pay your insurance deductible after all, you end up winding along a curvy route until you hit the middle of town and cross the “Saxophone Bridge”.  First, the incredible view across the Meuse River.

The main bridge in town is lined with saxophones dedicated to various countries.  Dinant is the birthplace of the inventor of the Saxophone, Adolphe Sax.  This bridge is actually named after Charles de Gaulle, who was a 24 year old French Lieutenant during WWI and was wounded here defending the city from the invading Germans.

The American saxophone is below.  In the background is the Notre Dame of Dinant, and the Dinant Citadel above it.

We took the gondola to the top of the Citadel for the view.  There are also steps up if you are feeling adventurous.  It was a tad warm and the steps were in full sunlight….and we aren’t poor.  There is a small restaurant on top with plenty of Belgian beer.  My kind of place to hang out!

The view from the Citadel is impressive.  The self-guided tour of the Citadel was well worth it.

This is the inside of the Notre Dame of Dinant.

Great views on the previously mentioned boat ride.

They have Belgian beer on the boat, so color me happy!

Our last day in the Ardennes we went to the little town of Durbuy.

Durbuy proclaims itself the “World’s Smallest City”, although it’s not even the smallest town in Belgium.  This is for commercial reasons, which we soon discovered.  The below is one of several high end hotels in the town.  There are restaurants everywhere, and if it was the Worlds Smallest City at one point, it is no more.  It was like walking around what was a quaint lovely spot that was transformed by Disney.

There is a beautiful castle in the center of town, but you can’t visit it.

They did have a corner cafe that had Belgian beer, so all was not lost.

We spent a little time in the Topiary Gardens here, as there really wasn’t much else to do.  The below topiary had the following description:

After having made all the men dream in the cult series of the 90’s “Baywatch”, the sculptural Pamela Anderson proves that the “bimbo attitude” is still relevant and still makes people fantasize.

Sorry, I don’t get it.  Now I didn’t watch Baywatch because I’m not into plastic women, but the least they could have done for the topiary was put fake plants on where her breasts are supposed to be.

This response was best….I pee on you Pamela Anderson!

The Razorback Pig was cool.

As was the Elephant.

Knowing what I now know, would I have gone to Durbuy?  Likely not.  I leave it to you to decide if you ever make your way here.  Now if you do make your way to this region, the hotel we stayed at, Ne5t Hotel and Spa, had some of the best food we’ve had on this trip, both for Breakfast and Dinner.  It’s very quiet as well, so a good spot to get away for a few days.

A special thanks to the Chef and staff who made this a wonderful stay!

Next up, we head to Reims, France for the main purpose of the trip, the wedding of Randy and Kari!

 

 

 

As is becoming quite clear, if you make a movie or a series about WWI or WWII, I will likely watch it.  I’m going to go out on a limb and assume anybody reading this has seen HBO’s Band of Brothers, which came out in 2001.  Band of Brothers was based on Steven Ambrose’s book of the same name, and was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.  One of my favorite episodes is “Bastogne”, and I have wanted to visit this place ever since the first time I saw it.

First off, why is this battle called the “Battle of the Bulge”?  As maps were released of the Allied lines, it was easy to notice a bump in the line, described as about 50 miles wide and 70 miles deep, where the German offensive had pushed the line back. An American war correspondent, Larry Newman, was shown such maps by Gen. George Patton.  The word “salient” — meaning something that projects out — had been used during World War I to describe the shape of the allied line during the German assault on the Belgian city of Ypres. But Newman wanted to think up something less formal, thus the term “Bulge”.

The Bastogne War Museum opened in 2014 and took 4 years to create.  Using an audio guide, the museum tells the story of the Battle of the Bulge (called BOTB going forward) through the lives of 4 people who actually experienced it.  These are a 13 year old Belgian boy named Emile, a young Belgian school teacher named Mathilde, a German lieutenant named Hans, and an American corporal from the 101st Airborne Division named Robert.  Hans and Robert were both on their respective front lines.

There are also several movies and settings inside the museum to assist in telling the story.  Here is a mockup of the room where Operation Overlord (the D-Day invasion) was planned.  The museum gives a lot of WWII history leading up the the BOTB to put it all in context.  The map below covered a screen on which they showed a 3D movie of the events of D-Day.

This set was made to look like night-time in the Bastogne forest.  If you click on the photo to enlarge it you can see two screens on which they projected several images depicting the battles.  I think they kept the air conditioning extra low to enhance the feel.  The actual conditions were below freezing during the battle, but the visitors might not have appreciated getting the room that cold!

This set was a cafe in the city of Bastogne, in which Emile and Mathilde take shelter from German and sometimes American shelling in the cellar.

First they show activities outside the cafe, and then the entire cafe lifts up to reveal the cellar.  It was very cool!

We lucked out on timing, as the museum just opened two new experiences on July 9.  We visited on July 13.  Man would I have been pissed if we had shown up a week prior!  Whew!  The first experience is a multimedia 270 degree movie called “Generations 45”, which followed the paths of an American and German veteran after the war up until the time of the fall of the Berlin wall.  This is the set outside the theater.

I love the ode to General Patton.

We then made our way to the Peace Woods, very close by.

They have trees planted for each soldier lost in action, all lined up with their troop divisions.

A short distance away is the Bastogne forest where Easy Company held off the Germans.  This is the other new experience offered by the Bastogne War Museum.  It’s part of your entry ticket, and when you enter you can download an app that will allow your phone to act as 360 viewing platform of re-enacted scenes from the BOTB.  First a view of the forest.

Then you can see the actual foxholes of Easy Company.  The app on your phone showed soldiers interacting in these same foxholes.

This area used to be open to the public, but as of July 9 you need a ticket to get in whether you want to use the app or not.  There is a huge fence surrounding the perimeter.

I saw several cars pull into the parking lot with confused people inside, not knowing of the recent change.  Hopefully they figured it out and got their tickets.

A view towards Foy.  The forest used to extend another 200 meters or so towards Foy, but has since been cleared for farming.  If you watch the Band of Brothers episode, the village they attack at the end is Foy.

One last foxhole.  It was so cool seeing these!

One last stop, the Easy Company Memorial, made possible thanks to Tom Hanks.  Now I have to go back and watch that episode again!

Next up we visit Dinant and Durbuy, two beautiful spots in the Ardennes region of Belgium.