Houffalize, Malmedy, and Saint-Hubert

Houffalize

Houffalize is a small town north-east of Bastogne, just north of the Luxembourg border and barely within Belgium.

Generals Montgomery and Patton met up here in a counter-attack against remaining German forces.

The town has an abandoned German Panzerkampfwagen V (Panther) tank on display.

L-R: Me, Jeff, and Tim with the Panzer.

Looking down on the businesses and homes of Houffalize, Belgium.

Here is a view to the north over Houffalize, from a high point at the center of town.

Forested hills and the main road through Houffalize, Belgium.

Here is a view to the south over Houffalize from that same overlook.

See: The Ardennes is largely rural, wooded and hilly!

Just as I had assumed it would be, but had then assumed I must be wrong....

The hot Belgian waffle maker. A girl making pastry in Houffalize, Belgium.

We would always ogle the pastry and the girls at the patisseries.

In Houffalize I realized that I had been in Belgium for a while but I had not yet had a Belgian waffle!

Quickly! To the waffle store!

Here is my real Belgian waffle overlooking Houffalize.

Malmedy

The German combat unit Kampfgruppe Peiper, part of the 1st SS Panzer Division, executed about 90 unarmed American prisoners of war at a crossroads outside the town of Malmedy on 17 December 1944.

This massacre along with others committed by the same unit the same day and on following days was the subject of a war crimes trial in 1946.

Memorial at the site of a Nazi German atrocity outside Malmedy in the Ardennes.

Television blowhard Bill O'Reilly repeatedly described this in 2005 and 2006 as a massacre of German prisoners by Americans. Fox "News" initially changed their transcripts to cover up what O'Reilly really said. Way to take the Nazi side, Fox.

Saint-Hubert

Saint-Hubert is yet another interesting town in Belgium.

There's a plaque on this hotel on the main square saying that Ernest Hemingway stayed there while in the area as a war correspondent. That isn't the most interesting thing about the town, just an odd bit of trivia I remembered.

Town hall and businesses at the center of Saint-Hubert, in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium.

We visited Saint Hubert on our way back to Brussels.

It is said to be where Jägërmëïstër was invented. See the statue of the hart inside the big church.

Large cathedral at the center of Saint-Hubert, in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium.

Jägërmëïstër hart statue inside the cathedral at the center of Saint-Hubert, in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium.

Jägërmëïstër recipes no one needs:

THE OVERNIGHTER — 1 adult dose Nyquil and an equal volume of Jägërmëïstër. Mix, enjoy, do not operate motor vehicles or heavy machinery.
THE MEDITERRANEAN — 1 shot olive oil, 2 shots Jägërmëïstër, garnish with olive and feta.
THE HONEST ABE — 1 shot Jägërmëïstër mixed with 1 shot of Log Cabin Pancake Syrup.
WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS — 2 measures Jägërmëïstër to 1 measure Morton's Table Salt.
THE DIABETIC COMA — 2 shots each: maple syrup, Karo corn syrup, Jägërmëïstër; serve over crushed ice in sugar-crusted margarita glass accompanied with an insulin injection.
THE JEAN-LUC PICARD — A cup of Earl Grey Tea with one shot of Jägërmëïstër.
THE CONTACT HIGH — Take equal volumes of Jägërmëïstër and Vicks Vap-O-Rub, mix into a salve and apply externally.
THE SMOOTH OPERATOR — ExLax dissolved in Jägërmëïstër.
THE DISASTER — A double Smooth Operator.
SAUDI SUNRISE — equal measures of orange juice, Nyquil, Aqua-Velva, and Jägërmëïstër; have your Bangladeshi servant mix and serve.