Told you the weather was too good to be true - pissing it down. Plan for today is to head for Verdun, but by a bit of a roundabout route via Bastogne, into Luxembourg, towards Ettlebruck, then south back into France and then follow the Meuse from Stenay to Verdun.
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Bastogne, stopping for snap in the Place McAuliffe. This town has a great significance for Americans due to the WW2 battle of the Bulge. There's US references all over. |
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Just outside Bastogne, the Mardasson Memorial to the 76890 americans wounded or killed during the Battle of the Bulge. Its a big un', as the Yanks like to do things in style.
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The Sgt Major on top of the memorial gives a sense of the size of it. Memorial big too.
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Run down to Verdun now and a quick visit to the Douamont Ossuary. This is a memorial containing the remains of both French and German soldiers who died on the WW1 Verdun battlefield. Through small windows, the bones of at least 130,000 unidentified soldiers of both nations can be seen filling up alcoves. On the inside of the building, the ceiling and walls are covered by plaques bearing names of French soldiers who fell during the Battle of Verdun.
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Whats through the square window.....? |
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The square windows, each looking into a 18 cubic meter vault containg the remains from different areas of the battlefield. there are 36 vaults in total with two larger 150 cu.meter vaults at each end of the building - so 948 cu.meters in total. |
After that sobering experience it was off to the hotel in Verdun and something to eat in the steakhouse next door.
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