June 3, 2013 (Monday)

After completing our explorations of Amsterdam and spending one last night in the Hotel Vondel, we will be picking up a rental car and driving to Bastogne, Belgium.

We are booked for 2 nights at the Le Merceny Motel in the heart of the city of Bastogne.  The city is about 150 miles northeast of Kaiserslautern, Germany, situated along Belgium's hilly border with Luxembourg.  An old Sherman tank is prominently placed downtown, around the corner from a stone monument to Gen. George S. Patton.  We will be going to the Mardasson memorial, a big star-shaped structure with 5 points.  The story of the battle is engraved on the monument's walls.  A steep, spiral staircase leads you to the top, where you an take in the hilly view and contemplate all the fighting that took pace during the siege of Bastogne.

There is a museum to the 101st Airborne we also hope to visit.