Bastogne

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26 September 2017

The camperstop at Herbeumont is on the site of a disused railway station. The line has been converted into a path which crosses the river on a large brick built viaduct. We started the day by walking over this.

We then drove 65k north east and as we did went into the area of one of the fiercest conflicts of WWII, known as the Battle of the Bulge where, in December 1944, Hitler made a last desperate effort to dislodge the American forces who were massing on the German border. There were many military and civilian casualties during the six week conflict and great damage was done. The town of Bastogne was besieged and it now has a modern museum which very movingly, in the words of civilians and soldiers from both sides, tells the story of the war in general and the siege in particular. We visited it and felt it was one of the best museums we had ever seen.

From Bastogne, we crossed the border into Luxembourg and stayed at a riverside campsite at Esch-sur-Sure.

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