We had a full day driving to and from Brugge and spending as much time in the city as the day would allow. Brugge was definitely one of my favorite aspects of the trip. This lovely old city was once defined by its canals. However, the canal access from the sea is now silted over and the city is no longer a thriving port. It is however a thriving tourist destination. I was unable to make many notes while walking on tour so I'll let the photos speak for themselves ...

We had about a half-day tour of Brussels that included the Atomium (a reproduction of an iron molecule magnified 165 billion times), built in 1958 for the World Expo. It has been remodeled and is now covered with stainless steel. A popular tourist attraction, it is not uncommon to see people standing with both arms in the air being captured on film as though they are holding the balls aloft. Brussels is famous for several things: the smurfs, it has the most Mich...

Bastogne was a highlight of the trip for Dwain. Turned out he was quite the master of military history and several approached him to ask questions about the significance of the area and what was occurring during the war. We also visited the Military History Museum. This is a town that was virtually destroyed during the war so it isn't quite as old as some but in many cases the facades of buildings were preserved and the building was rebuilt behind it. We sat o...

This city, established in 973, certainly has lots of history but especially a lot to interest Americans because it played a big part in the Battle of the Bulge. General Patton is buried in the American Cemetery here along with over 5000 soldiers 101 of whom were unknowns. It was a solemn and impressive visit to this landmark. Humbling to see how well they maintain this shrine to their American allies. Our tour guide was the most interesting and well versed, Rene,...

The drive from Amsterdam to Luxembourg took approximately 5 hours but we made several pee-pee stops (as our tour guide, Gerwin) likes to call them. We also stopped to photograph a windmill. There are only a few left in the country. Then we stopped at a small farm where they make both farmer's cheese and wooden shoes. We saw a demonstration of the cheese making process and learned that the name Gouda translates to round and flat and has nothing to do with the fla...