Has anyone toured Easy Company sites ...

Author Message   Barry Cantor Senior Member Username: Barry_c Post Number: 998 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 66.194.158.66 Posted on Monday, April 26, 2010 - 12:50 am:    Lisa: 1976-80 I was assigned to Shape HQ near Mons. We used to drive to Ramstein down thru Liege to the Ardennes to Luxembourge then over to Trier, to Saarbrucken and up to Ramstein. Its a beautiful area. Don't know what your budget is, but there is a Benlux train pass...Belgium, Luxembourge, and the Netherlands. Find out more on Rick Steves' website, www.ricksteves.com Good Luck.   dinotars Senior Member Username: Dinotars Post Number: 6600 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 173.169.151.24 Posted on Saturday, April 24, 2010 - 02:58 pm:    If you get an opportunity, by all means visit Ardennes American Cemetery at Neupre,Belguim.The Superintendent there is Michael Green,former USMC.He is a most gracious host,knowledgeable and eager to assist visitors to that location.We had occasion to meet Mike when he was at Carthage American cemetery in Tunisia.At the end of the day we and he stood and saluted while the National anthem was played and the flag was lowered.He is mentioned in an fine article in the May issue of the Americal Legion magazine.We plan on another visit there this year.   Jack T. Paxton Senior Member Username: Jpaxton Post Number: 816 Registered: 07-2003 Posted From: 24.27.231.67 Posted on Saturday, April 24, 2010 - 01:43 pm:    Lisa: Just saw your post. We stayed at Spang last Fall and drove the 30-minute (or so) trip to Bastogne where the Battle of the Bulge took place. Highly recommend the city as well as the Museum outside of town. We also did the American Cemetery at Lux. Park your car in Lux and just walk around the city. Very nice, excellent food as well-esp the pastries. If you can spare the time, visit Belleau in France - five hour drive from Spang. This is where the battle for Belleau Wood took place during WWI and where the Marines "came of age." By all means use a GPS. We spent one night near Belleau then drove the five hours back to Ramstein and then to Rota in Spain before coming home. Great trip.   Lisa Damiano Member Username: Traveler83 Post Number: 7 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 149.101.1.127 Posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 - 08:29 pm:    Thank you, JEB! I'm not sure we will even go into France (planning to stay in Belgium/Lux/Netherlands/Germany) but it's good to know about the tolls for future trips! Lisa   JEB Senior Member Username: Wingrider Post Number: 480 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 68.18.196.51 Posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 - 12:35 am:    My brother and I did a similar trip back in 08. We did the trip backwards starting at Luxembourg and working towards the landing beaches. The trip report is probably buried very deep in the archives but I do have a video record posted. http://www.blip.tv/file/838252/ When it opens click on the small tv icon under the right hand side of the picture and it will open full screen. We rented a car in Ramstein and drove the whole trip without a GPS and had no problems. I have since bought a GPS with European maps and used it in Germany. It did make life much easier. Just be ready for some hefty tolls when you drive in France. Other space a trip videos can be accessed at: http://www.blip.tv/search?q=wingrider   Lisa Damiano Junior Member Username: Traveler83 Post Number: 6 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 149.101.1.121 Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 05:42 pm:    Excellent idea, John. Thank you!   John R Garrison Senior Member Username: Majorg Post Number: 2468 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 208.81.157.86 Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 02:33 pm:    Lisa; Just after you visit the American Cemetery in Luxomburg, drive out the gate turn right, drive less than one mile and the German Cemetery is on the left. It is VERY worthwhile to spend a half hour or so there and experience the contrast. Happy travels, John   Lisa Damiano New member Username: Traveler83 Post Number: 5 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 149.101.1.121 Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 01:48 pm:    Thanks to you all for the info and suggestions. I'm going to look into the museums and Garmin for sure. To be honest, I'm surprised that more SPATs haven't responded to my post about touring Easy Company sites (or Battle of the Bulge) given that many sites are relatively close to Ramstein & Spangdahlem. My husband and I are both rather obsessed with Band of Brothers, and my husband is on his third Easy Company book. After Ambrose, he read the book written by Dick Winters, and he just finished the book by Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron ("Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends") which he liked. Buck Compton has a book as well, although my husband hasn't read it yet. I will definitely post about the trip after we return! Lisa   william k Intermediate Member Username: Ltcbosco Post Number: 129 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.196.112.66 Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 11:58 am:    Roger--I don't know about Hanks new Pacific series being a success. His comments about why we fought Japan has some Vets turned off and I cannot blame them. He must have skipped out during his high school history classes when they covered the Pacific theater and missed the total picture,but,opinions are like AH--everyone has one,in some cases two. I do agree with you that the BOB series is great---my favorite ones are Disk 1 and the closing part where they review the lives of the E Co men--sad.The disks are starting to wear out. I can still see "Wild Bill Guenerer" standing with one leg and a crutch in one of his pictures at the cometary at Colleville looking at the crosses from the Normandy invasion   Bob-Cat 6 Intermediate Member Username: Blueball Post Number: 93 Registered: 01-2007 Posted From: 71.225.13.43 Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 11:23 am:    March, 2009 we visited the National Liberation Museum in Groesbeek and spent 6 hours there. Excellent museum although not big. They had a great electric map of Operation Market Garden. We had also planned to go to the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek but it was closed for renovations. It was to reopen later in 2009. We traveled entirely by public transport so can't help you with driving except to warn you that bicycles have the right-of-way in the Netherlands. One thing you should look into if you will be visiting many museums in Holland is the Museum Card ("Museumkaart"). It is good for one month and covers almost all museums in Holland, at least the ones we wanted to see. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museumkaart for a list of museums covered. Last year it cost 39€ and for us was well worth the price even though we only spent 2 weeks in the Netherlands.   Roger Curry Senior Member Username: Rcurryastro Post Number: 797 Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 76.123.106.110 Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2010 - 12:59 am:    I was totally enraptured with "Band of Brothers" and have watched it multiple times from the box set. The new series "The Pacific" looks like it will be of the same caliber. I have found Stephen Ambrose's books to be very readable and hope someone will bring "The Wild Blue" to the small screen. His "D-Day" was also excellent. I know many of those unforgettable "brothers" have died off and the reunions get smaller and smaller. Hope Dick Winters lives to see many more. I hope you will tell us about the sites that you tour. Roger in Jacksonville, FL   Bill Terry Senior Member Username: Bill_terry Post Number: 633 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 72.216.27.70 Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 10:55 pm:    Lisa, factory refurb Garmin 270s with Europe maps already installed are about $120 on Amazon. Mine came with one free upgrade. My son used it in Europe and said it worked great. I plan to use it in June. I would have used it already but my wife had it and was out of town when I last went to Germany There's a thread already on here somewhere reference GPS's   Lisa Damiano New member Username: Traveler83 Post Number: 4 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 149.101.1.131 Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 03:42 pm:    Billy, Thank you for the tips and info! We are really looking forward to it! The open bus sounds wonderful, so we will probably end up on that (even though we don't have children). This will be our third Space A trip to Europe, although it's been almost 5 years since our last trip. We didn't have GPS the previous trips and did fine with the large bound Michelin maps, however, I'll talk to the hubby about possibly investing in one. How long were you in Lux? Is there any sites in particular worth making time for? Thanks! Lisa   billy j billingsley New member Username: Chiefw01 Post Number: 2 Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 192.188.205.194 Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 02:48 pm:    Lisa My family and I spent a day in Luxembourg. we drove from Ramstein and toured downtown on a open bus with a tour guide. highly recommended with 2 small children. We are Cat III and have done Germany and points south every year for the past 12 years and of all the places we have gone, Lux has been one of the best. I would also advise you buy a Garmin GPS with the Europe SD card if you plan to drive everywhere. More than worth its weight in any precious metal. If this is your first Space A trip then welcome to the SPAT family happy travels Billy   Lisa Damiano New member Username: Traveler83 Post Number: 3 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 149.101.1.126 Posted on Monday, March 22, 2010 - 05:33 pm:    My husband and I are both history enthusiasts and are planning a late May/early June Space A trip to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (flying into Ramstein or Spangdahlem). We are Cat III. I was looking for information on Easy Company (or Battle of the Bulge) sites in these countries from those who have plotted similar trips. We are planning to go to the American Cemetery in Luxembourg (and stop at General Patton's grave there), as well as Bastogne, Bois Jacques, Foy, the memorials in that area, and Eindhoven. Any tips, words of caution, advice on restaurants, or any other relevant information would be extremely helpful. We will be driving a rental car, and the Easy Company stops are just one part of a larger route we plan to take up to Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, and back to Germany. Thanks in advance! Lisa