Four Countries in a Day

We left Rothenburg, Germany this morning and had a nice drive through scenic rolling hills. Passed over the Rhine and Mosel rivers and decided to make an impromptu stop in Trier for lunch. This is the oldest city in Germany, founded by Augustus Caesar in 15 BC, and for centuries is was the major Roman city in the west. It still has one of the old Roman gates, and the 100 foot high basilica is the largest Roman structure outside of Rome.

The main square was a beautiful spot for a quick lunch. Yesterday I nearly wrote that it was the last sausage of the trip, but today I had the currywurst once more and the others had the ubiquitous sausage on a bun. Lesson: Never make assumptions about sausage.

Back to the French-speaking world, we passed into Luxembourg for a stop at the American cemetery. This is a pretty spot, which includes Patton's grave.

On to France to see Fort du Fermont, one of the forts that made up the Maginot Line. After the first World War the French built a line of impregnable forts on their border. Unfortunatey in the next war the Germans just went around the forts. It was a fun tour, descending 30 meters into a warren of tunnels and rooms. It was an enormous fortification that seemed to go on forever. The tour was in French but we could pick out enough of the meaning, and I think our presence was appreciated by the guides for whom this is a labor of love.

The view from these guns. Windmills and solar are all over France and Germany.

Next up is the Battle of the Bulge, so we're sort of back to the start of the trip as this was the next major battle after Normandy and Falaise. We drove to our hotel in Bastogne and had a great fondue dinner while planning the next day.