This summer I plan to visit St Vith to see the WWII battle sites along with visiting WWII museums and monuments since this is where my father served with the 7th Armored Division. Any information on tour guides, WWII sites, and transportation available to St Vith would be appreciated.
Thanks, Charles Blanchard
Posted by
Paradise, Texas
1 posts
My husband and I went to Belgium in March. Don't know if you have Fort Breendonk on your list of sites but it was AMAZING. It was so preserved....not difficult to imagine the atrocities that took place there. We also visited Bastogne. If you go there, be sure to get a tour guide as it makes it much more than just seeing a place and a museum. I used Frank Grubbels (frankgubbels@gmail.com) He is a young man in his early 30's but has been providing tours and sharing his knowledge about the events in the Ardeens/Bastogne for years. We also visited the 101st Airborne Museum in Bastogne and the mannequin soldiers were absolutely life-like. We had on our list to visit Camp Vught in the Netherlands and Arnhem but simply ran out of time (and energy) since we were using public transportation to get everywhere and not renting a car.
Posted by
3245 posts
I agree that Frank Gubbels is an excellent guide. Reg Jans also gives excellent tours of Battle of the Bulge sites.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7296 posts
I agree that Fort Breendonk is a chilling, under-visited site. It's hard without a car, despite not being remote at all. It is more involved with Belgians and "The Mechelen Trials" than with KL's in general. Audioguides include English there, no cost, I think. Government run location, ready for visits.
Posted by
Belgium
67 posts
Fort van Breendonk isn't that hard to visit without a car. If you're staying in Brussels. It's like 1 hour by bus (line 460 which departs from Brussels north). There is a bus stop about 400 meter from the fort.
An alternative is to go by train till station "Willebroek" and then go by foot (+- 20 minutes).
Or you could rent an electric bike and if you follow the canal it's about 1 hour and 15 minutes.