Stop Two: Bastogne, Belgium

After breakfast in Amsterdam, we caught a train to Liege, Belgium, and then we picked up our rental car. I was the driver and Jason navigated.

The scenery was beautiful, hilly and green. Bastogne is about an hour from Liege. Once we settled in at our condo, we got out and walked to the town center. To our astonishment, we found a classic car circuit on display. We settled on a restaurant with a patio near the cars for better people-watching, and we put my French to use to order.

Our full day was spent viewing everything we could about the Battle of the Bulge. We saw several monuments and the 101st Airborn Museum before a lunch and coffee break. Then we drove to the Bastogne War Museum, the Mardasson memorial, the Bois Jacques foxholes, and others. Taken all together, the impact of the terrible circumstances and exceptional bravery magnifies.

Dinner was a lovely place set up by our host set in a train car, the Wagon Leo. We remarkably managed to stumble upon places the locals found themselves, so we had as authentic of an experience as you might hope for.