The Allisons: Belgium: Bastogne and Bruges

What's not to love about Belgium? Known for its beer, waffles, and chocolate, one can scarcly go wrong.

We drove just 2 1/2 hours to Bastogne, Belgium to experience yet another piece of American history in Europe. Bastogne was where the Battle of the Bulge was waged. The battle was the last real German offensive of WWII. It was the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.

This is the last remaining part of the midieval wall that protected Bastogne during the middle ages.

Ezra poses in front of a tank at the memorial.

This star-shaped building is the memorial just outside of Bastogne commemorating the battle. Just like in Normandy, here we really felt like the people of Bastogne still have a deep gratitude for the Allied Forces.

That's Mike and the boys on top of the star (left, by the top of the stairwell).

There was a crypt under the memorial with mosiacs and altars of the 3 major faiths.

The names of all 50 States adorned the top of the memorial. Had to get a picture of Texas. It was on the inside of the star. I made Jonas go stand in the rain for this pic. He didn't seem to mind. :)

Another memorial. I thought this picture was funny because it looks like Jonas is wearing some kind of crazy hat.

This was a Memorial down long road in middle of some fields. It commemorates the efforts of the 101st Airborne Division during the battle. It was especially cool for us because we geared up for the trip by watching Band of Brothers. :)

About 2 1/2 hours later we arrived at our hotel in Bruges. We had a little play time at the hotel before we headed into the city proper.

This was the back of the hotel. Our room is the one with the balcony. The doors are open.

Bruges.

This is the square where the town hall is. We ate a delcious dinner at the restaurant right behind the boy's heads.

Mike sampling one of Bruges' local brews.

A typical Belgium dish. Rabbit. Mmm. (Picture taken by Jonas.)

Mike wanted this picture of Judith scarfing down some rabbit. He thought it would be fun to show her when she's 12 and fond of fuzzy little bunnies. ;)

Another picture of the square. A starting point for the horse-drawn carriage tour.

Some swans on one of Bruges' lovely canals.

Judith in the dining room of the hotel.

A tower.

This was some courtyard we wandered into. I loved the sculpture monks praying together.

This was a sculpture in one of the churches. It was the only one of Michelangelo's works to leave Italy during his lifetime. So beautiful.

Stained glass inside the church.

Mike and the boys beside the well in front of an old brewer's mansion.

The ceiling inside the mansion. It was a museum.

In another museum, they had these cosutmes to dress up in. Much to Mike's disappointment (ha, ha), they didn't have a costume to fit him (or Judith), so he took the picture. How cute are the 17th century Ezra and Jonas? :)