I've been extremely busy since arriving in Germany last July with my '96 Series 80 we've named "Marjan". The intent was to use Marjan to do expeditions, but between work, working off some faults and weather, we've only managed several local or near local trips.
After 90 days of working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, we finally have next weekend off. So we are planning a "bucket list" trip to the beaches at Normandy, which is about 1300 km away.
Once there, we're going to spend a couple days to hit a few museums, including a chance to view the Bayeux Tapestry. Then we are going to come back through the Benelux area and tour the Hurtgen Forest.
Back in the late 80s, I used to give battlefield tours of The Bulge and the Hurtgen Forest, and have always been fascinated with the latter. One of the best kept secrets of WWII, is that the US Army fed three Divisions into Hurtgen that were basically destroyed. The forest is extremely dense, dark and beautiful, and was known as "The Green Hell" by many who survived it.
Battle of Hürtgen Forest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I plan on cleaning up Marjan, giving him a thorough service, and getting some additional fuel cans and loading up on $2 gallon gas at the AAFES gas station to minimize the amount of $5 French gas I have to buy.
It's off season, so we found some cheap hotels along the way to stay in; my lovely bride only camps when necessary.
I'll be sure to document the trip here, once we get going.
After 90 days of working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, we finally have next weekend off. So we are planning a "bucket list" trip to the beaches at Normandy, which is about 1300 km away.
Once there, we're going to spend a couple days to hit a few museums, including a chance to view the Bayeux Tapestry. Then we are going to come back through the Benelux area and tour the Hurtgen Forest.
Back in the late 80s, I used to give battlefield tours of The Bulge and the Hurtgen Forest, and have always been fascinated with the latter. One of the best kept secrets of WWII, is that the US Army fed three Divisions into Hurtgen that were basically destroyed. The forest is extremely dense, dark and beautiful, and was known as "The Green Hell" by many who survived it.
Battle of Hürtgen Forest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I plan on cleaning up Marjan, giving him a thorough service, and getting some additional fuel cans and loading up on $2 gallon gas at the AAFES gas station to minimize the amount of $5 French gas I have to buy.
It's off season, so we found some cheap hotels along the way to stay in; my lovely bride only camps when necessary.
I'll be sure to document the trip here, once we get going.
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