Monday, October 1

Our morning started in Diekirch, Luxembourg with a visit to the National Museum of Military History which houses an amazing collection of Battle of the Bulge equipment and all the every day supplies of an army in combat.  The museum exhibits through supersized dioramas the most significant events in the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944-45 which was a cold wet snowy miserable winter.

An interesting display in museum

In the afternoon, Heather and Patrick selected one of many hiking trails in the vicinity of our hotel and spent the afternoon in the forest.  Charlie and I took a drive through the area of Luxembourg and Germany along the Sauer, Our and Sure Rivers where Dad's company fought from mid-December 1944 to mid-February 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge.  We drove a circuit from Beaufort, through Waldbillig, Consdorf, Berdorf, Scheidgen, Michelshof all in Luxembourg then we crossed the River Sauer into Bollendorf and Weilerbach, Germany which is where the unit crossed the river on February 13 & 14, 1945 to attack NE into Germany.

Villages we drove through, all familiar names from the 803rd's records.

Sauer River at Bollendorf, Germany

Luxembourg is absolutely beautiful--hill top views for miles, charming villages, clear streams and some of the most prosperous farms we have ever seen.  We keep marveling over how clean the cows look!  And it's the first time we've ever seen cows drinking from their own water fountains rather than water troughs!

Tomorrow we're headed into Germany briefly stopping in Trier to see the Roman Ruins then up the Mosel Valley to our next night in Ellenz-Pollersdorf at the Gastehaus zum Moseltal.  Tomorrow is also Heather's birthday!