Europe Day 4

We said goodbye to our cousin! We went to a fun Dutch grocery store and smelled the millions of fish products and Jon got these traditional pancake looking treats.

 

And headed about 15 minutes away to Maagraton, Netherlands, where there is a US WWII cemetery.

 Walking through there was very emotional, even though we don't have any family buried here. But we could just FEEL the pride and sadness, but mostly we were grateful.

 A drive through The Netherlands isn't complete without running into a sweet windmill!

We crossed the border and headed to Bastogne, Belgium, where the Battle of the Bulge Museum is located. Jon's grandpa was in that battle, so we definitely wanted to stop there. It was amazing! 

We got headsets, and so as we walked we heard stories from three different people -- a Nazi solder, a US soldier, and someone with the resistance. 

 Pretty cool to think his gpa was here!

This mural was for all of the states in the U.S.

Next we went to Moyen, Belgium, which is where Jon's other gpa was an officer at a POW Camp. We had one old picture and then a description of where it was, so we think we got pretty close. 

 The description was an old school with a courtyard. It was a small village and this seemed to fit.

 Facing the courtyard.

Back facing the next building.

Next we drove through Arlon, Belgium, which is another POW location, but we didn't stop since we didn't know where the camp was.

Welcome to Luxembourg!

 And then there is the French countryside. *sighhh*  At one point we stopped at a big French grocery store. They had an entire isle of very interesting smelling cheese! I was looking at gluten-free bread and this girl started talking to me in French. She was really embarrassed that I didn't speak French. I bought some bread and it was amaaaaazing!

  

 We went to one of Casey's friend's houses (a former bishop), where we were going to stay for the night. He took us here, which is just a few miles from his house. It's super old ruins of a fortress. He said they were 1,000 years old.

 I mean seriously. The red roofs? So quaint!

Then Casey's friend took us to see the town, Pont-à-Mousson, France. It was darling!

We had an amazing time at his house. He spoke perfect English! He had been in the air force. He loves to read and translate and spend time with his family. 


Continue to Europe Day 5>>>