Rhode Trip - Van on the Road

Bastogne, Belgium

September 6-7, 2019

We decided that it was time to visit WWII sites. The Battle of the Bulge took place in Bastogne Belgium 75 years ago. Now the countryside is peaceful green hills dotted with scenic towns. It is hard to picture the area as a battle field.

Mardasson Memorial - a memorial to the American soldiers killed in the Battle of the Bulge.

The battle took place Dec 1944 thru Jan 1945. 76,890 soldiers were wounded or killed in the battle.

In front of the Bastogne War Museum is an exhibit called Art Liberty - From Berlin Wall to Street Art. It commerates 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Bastogne Barricks - the command post for the Battle of the Bulge.

The barricks is now a museum that can only be accessed by guided tour. The tour was very good. We learned a lot about the battle.

The museum has a very large display of military vehicles.

The sidewalks in Bastogne were full of flowering planters. Peacetime!

Dusseldorf and Aachen, Germany

September 2-5, 2019

We went to Dusseldorf to attend a very large RV show, one the the biggest in Europe. AND IT WAS! Our friend Erik, Bill and I walked for 2 days and only looked at what interested us. There was much more to see then time to look, shop, or try out. We had a good time. From Dusseldorf we visited Aachen, a city near the border with Belgium. It is a nice city with a very old cathedral and lots of pedestrian friendly shopping streets.

The Rhine River in Dusseldorf

Downtown Dusseldorf

Old town Dusseldorf

Statues on the outside of St. Lambertus Catholic Church

The Stranger - a Saulenheleiligen statue by Christoph Poggeler

The Kiss - another Saulenheleiligen statue. There are 10 in Dusseldorf.

RV's are getting larger in Europe. The largest ones include a garage (instead of towing a vehicle). And notice the garaged vehicle, a Porsche.

Another larger RV with the garage in the middle instead of the back. I am not sure how they find places to park these or even drive them down the road.

The Overland vehicles were a lot more interesting, but really why do you need something like this in Europe. You have the same problems as the large RV's - where can you park them and will they fit on the road.

Notice on Overland vehicles they all have very small windows.

Pedestrian shopping street in Aachen.

The building in the middle is very narrow. I wonder what the rooms look like?

Pedestrian shopping street.

Store full of treats😎

Fall plants for sale

Aachen Cathedral

Inside Aachen Cathedral

Ceiling in Aachen Cathedral

Ceilings inside the catheral were amazing.

Sculpture in Aachen

Wall art

Maulbronn, Germany

August 29-30, 2019

We drove thru the mountains around Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The scenery is fabulous, but the crowds of people were horrible. Everyone in Europe is on holiday in August. Next we drove through the Black Forest area. The countryside is not nearly as dramatic as the Alps, but it is still very pretty and not nearly as many people.

Mountains near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Nice hike near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Early morning view from our campsite near Rottweil.

ThyssenKrupp Testturm - 246 meter tower in Rottweil. ThyssenKrupp builds elevators. This tower is where they test new designs. It also has an elevator for tourists, 30 seconds to the top!

View from the observation deck of ThyssenKrupp.

Maulbronn Monastery - a medieval monastery.

Maulbronn Monastery - UNESCO World Heritage Site

A building within the monastery walls.

Another wonderful sunset.

Passau, Germany

August 21-22, 2019

We stumbled across this wonderful city. We were slowly working our way toward Dusseldorf, driving along the Danube and there it was. Passau, also known as Three Rivers City, is where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz Rivers meet. It is one of the oldest cities in Barvaria, over 2000 years old.