Germany and Beyond: War and Peace


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Europe » Germany » Rhineland-Palatinate
November 30th 2013
Published: March 30th 2014
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Berlin - Bavaria - Paris - Bastogne - Christmas Markets -- our German vacation was so full of spectacular sites, that I just would not be able to fit it all in one blog! Therefore, I will write this in sections, with each major segment of our trip having it's own post. This is segment 4: War and Peace! We have been planning this vacation for years! Well, sort of. My friend and old co-worker, L... Read Full Entry



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Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

And the German's came up from this hill...(Kathrin is very interested....in the ground! lol)
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Yep...this hill is where they snuck up on allied forces in the early morning of December 16th 1944 and launched a surprise attack, resulting in the deadliest battle of the War for allied forces and what would be known as the Battle of the Bulge (or Battle of the Ardennes or Ardennes Counteroffensive).
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

More of the hill. None of these trees were alive then. So there are no blast marks to look for.
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

This is the view of the field that they allied forces would have had.
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Lisa and Frank walking in the woods.
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Foxholes Frank would say that some, like this one, were probably for a tank, while other smaller holes, were just a 2-man hole used for a lookout.
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Foxholes. The locals don't really care much about the foxholes, so they use them to throw their rubbish and farm debris.
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

I wonder if a tank drove this road? Probably!
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Looking back out of the woods over the field
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Looking back out of the woods over the field
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Walking back down to Frank's
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Walking back down to Frank's. Emma, and Frank and J in the distance.
Battlefield above BettendorfBattlefield above Bettendorf
Battlefield above Bettendorf

Looking back to Bettendorf. It was such a beautiful morning! But still cold!
Memorial for the 80th Infantry DivisionMemorial for the 80th Infantry Division
Memorial for the 80th Infantry Division

The plaque talks about actions that took place in this field.
National Liberation Memorial Schumann's EckNational Liberation Memorial Schumann's Eck
National Liberation Memorial Schumann's Eck

Time table of the battles of WWII



31st March 2014

Beautiful!
What an amazing trip and wonderful History lesson. I would be overjoyed to be walking thru there where so much history took place. I would probably still be pinching myself to see if it was real, so I can understand why the last entry of the blog took a while to write. The church was absolutely beautiful, as well as the Advent calendar building. That would be so cool to watch the performances there every night. Thanks for sharing your adventure! :)

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