Bastogne!
We woke up Saturday rested and ready to tour Belgium. The previous night we (along with Chris and Kelly) decided that we would rent a car to visit Bastogne as taking public transportation would have taken us three hours while driving only one and a half. Chris and Kelly went for a run to pick the vehicle up while Anna and I walked around Leuven (pictures). It’s a beautiful little town with cobblestone streets lined with shops in old brick and stone buildings. A place I could see myself living for some time. Anna and I stopped at a café and ordered cappuccinos and then toured the town some more. By the time we got back, Chris and Kelly had the vehicle and were ready to head to Bastogne with us.
Kelly drove since she was the only one comfortable with stick-shift. The hour and a half drive allowed us to see much of the country side of Belgium. It’s a beautiful place with quite a bit of green farmland. The villages in Belgium, like much of Europe that we’ve seen, are compact and “efficient”. Not like the states where everything is spread out.
We finally arrived in Foy in the early afternoon. Those of you that know me, know that I am a huge Band of Brothers fan and a closet World War II geek. I have been looking forward to visiting Bastogne and particularly the Boise Jacque woods over-looking Foy since the first day of planning this trip to Europe. I almost talked ourselves out of the visit because of the hassle of transportation but I am glad I didn’t as it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Bastogne and nearby Foy are where my two favorite Band of Brothers episodes take place. I won’t go into the history here, but I encourage you to watch the DVD and read the memoirs of the men who fought in Bastogne in the bitter cold December and January months in 1945.
I brought a guidebook with me from the states that helped us identify historical landmarks. Our first stop was the Boise Jacque woods. We parked in Foy and walked an old logging road into the woods. It was eerie to see the foxholes dug by the men of Easy Company over sixty years ago (pictures) and it’s something I will never forget. As I stood there freezing with the wind whipping against my back, I couldn’t help but think of what it must have been like for the men who dug those foxholes in the cold winter for protection from the wind, enemy fire and exploding trees from enemy artillery.
We walked back to Foy from the woods, taking a similar path to what Easy would have taken when they attacked the town. We stopped at the church where “Shifty” Powers shot a German sniper out of the bell tower and took pictures of a nearby farmhouse which still had bullet holes on one of its sides.
From Foy, we drove to Bastogne and stopped to eat lunch before heading to the Five Point Memorial overlooking the town.
From Bastogne, we drove back to Leuven and enjoyed a very Belgian dinner at one of the local restaurants. Anna and I shared rabbit stew and ribs. The rabbit stew was great. The ribs were okay, but were much dryer than what you would expect back in the states. I enjoyed a Belgian beer with dinner and Anna had a red wine. In Europe, if you want water for dinner, you pay quite a bit as it always comes in a glass bottle. Sometimes it’s less expensive to buy a “real” drink. Also, no matter what drink you get, you don’t get free refills. That’s probably the toughest thing to get used to over here.
We finished the night watching the first episode of Band of Brothers while eating some Belgian Chocolates.
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