Where will life lead me?: December 2013

Egads what a mixture of mayhem this trip started with. First, I had to be at the tour pickup point before 5 am...yes, that is right, 5 am (even the sun was still asleep) which meant I had to go to bed really early...not a strong point for me as I like to stay up late and not get up early. I did manage to do it, but barely. Unfortunately, the friend that was supposed to be going with me, didn't...thankfully it was just a matter of sleep late and not that something was wrong.

So, I get on the bus and get comfy (I am not stupid, there are some things that get drilled into you and stick with you for a long time...such as in the military it is kind of a going thing that if you have down time in the field take a nap, you never know if you will get a good nights sleep...so since I was going to do a walk in commemoration of the Battle of the Bulge, why not slip back in military mode?) Thankfully, again, I was able to get a little nap time. Sadly, it was raining and a little snow the whole way...Not a good prospect when one is looking to take a walk in a path that included fields.

Once we got to Bastogne (Belgium) the rain had stopped, so at least that was a good thing. We got registered and got our commemorative badges and certificates, and were on our way. We had a choice of three routes, 7 km, 13 km (depending on which sign you looked at as it seemed to change through the walk and was sometimes more km), or 24 km (I think that is how far the long one was...there was no way I was doing that one so I didn't really pay attention).

It was really kind of interesting to see so many people in uniforms...from various countries. Some in US uniforms were actually not American but liked to dress up as such. Sadly, I did not take along my Canon as I was afraid I might slip on ice or mud or whatever so opted to take the less good camera...but hey it still captured some moments.

In the show "Band of Brothers" they show the St Pierre Church as being where aid was given to the 101st Airborne, but they made a mistake as they showed the church rather than the building that was really the location (below) which is a back door on what is now the Musee en Piconrue. It is actually across the street from St Pierre.

When we first set out we walked up to the Heinz Barracks, now called the Bastogne Barracks (I wrote about this museum in an earlier blog when I went to Bastogne). I didn't go through the museum again, but there were a few extras this time that weren't in the courtyard before (these were set up especially for this weekend).

Since I had already seen the museum, I decided to cross the street and go into the cemetery. It is really an interesting place, but the reason I went in was to find the grave for Renee Lemaire (the Angel of Bastogne). It was Renee and the nurse from Belgian Congo, Augusta Chiwy that are known for giving aid to the Americans during the Battle of the Bulge. This is when I really wish I had my good camera with me.

Then it was on to the reason for the trip...to stomp around in the mud.

And finally at the end...McAuliffe Square.

Patton Memorial

Inside St Pierre Church

I just liked how this looked...Merry Christmas

One place to get Airborne Beer and the ceramic helmet.

Vincent Speranza (the guy that the Airborne Beer was made for and the ceramic helmet showing how he brought beer back ...if you don't remember the story look in the November post about band of brothers).