Clervaux is a real Medieval town. It is laid out on the base of a hill, on which there is a castle, a church, and an abbey, and it is surrounded by a moat. It seemed to be something of a tourist destination, though not for American tourists.

There was, however, a monument to the divisions of the American armed forces that had liberated Clervaux in World War II. (Clervaux is not far from the site of the Battle of the Bulge.) It was moving to see admiration for Americans in Europe, where I have generally seen only the results of Ugly American Syndrome.

Around noon, after waiting out a morning threat of rain, Stephannie, George, Melinda, and I started a loop ride that was to take us north into another part of Belgium which was the site of the Battle of the Bulge. We headed out of Clervaux up a slow, steady 15k grade to the village of Holler. From Holler, we worked our way across farmland to Hautbellain.

We got into Hautbellain around 2:00, and decided to look for a place to have lunch. We asked around, and were directed to a cafe that was closed. The woman at the cafe said we could find something a couple of kilometers further off our route in Basbellain. It turned out that nothing was open there either. At this point, we decided to keep going on this new route to Troisvierges, which looked to be a much larger town, and then complete this loop back to Clervaux. We were able to find a grocery store in Troisvierges and have an impromptu picnic, during which a sandwich truck pulled up in front of us, right after I had uttered the magic phrase: "I wish I had a sandwich."

From Troisvierges, we rode through forests, past the village of Cinqfontaines, and across high fields. Within an hour, we met back up with the road that we had taken out of Clervaux, and we were on our way back.

<<

European Biking 2000

>>

---