Ardennes Part 2 Feb. 10-12

In Febuary, we planned another adventure to the South of Belgium to the Ardennes.  The group changed a bit but the overall goals did not.  We wanted to hang in cool cottage/cabin, hike a bit and visit a brewery.  And, we succeeded!  We all arrived on Friday night and enjoyed the warm fire in our Airbnb while catching up.  Before bed, we did our very best snow dances in hopes we would get some wintery weather for our hike the next day.  We woke up to 1-2 inches of prime snowball making snow.  We enjoyed a great American breakfast of bagels and cream cheese before heading out for our hike.  We had planned a 10 km (6ish mi) hike but of course ended up turned around a bit and completed about 12 km (7.5 mi).  It was beautiful to walk through the quiet, snowy woods. 

Hiking

The perfect snowball fort

By the end of the hike, we had worked up quite the appetite and headed to Bastogne for lunch.  Bastogne is where a significant part of the Battle of the Bulge took place during World War II.  We went to a restaurant full of war memorabilia, and they served a beer created based on an old war story.  Airborne beer is served in a ceramic helmet to signify an American soldier who brought beer to an ailing friend in his infantry helmet.  Some of us sampled the beer, and we all enjoyed a hot lunch after our snowy walk.  On our way back to the cabin, we stopped at the War Memorial outside of Bastogne.  The snow was coming down very hard during our visit.  It was emotional to be at the memorial and imagine being in that sort of difficult weather during the Battle.  

Airborne beer

The taste testers

World War II memorial

After our visit to the memorial, we headed back to our Airbnb for some R&R.  We had pulled pork for dinner and spent the evening hanging out and playing games.
On Sunday morning, we headed out for our last stop before heading home, Brewery Achouffe, the brewer of La Chouffe beer.  We had a nice Belgian brasserie lunch before heading on our tour.  It was an interesting tour with the history of the brewery and brewing process which ended with a tasting.  We all spent some time and money in the gift shop before heading home.  It was another successful weekend in the Ardennes with friends!

Achouffe brewery