Up next is Clervaux (Klierf in Luxembourgish), another place swept up during WWII as the Battle of the Bulge was raging. It is about half an hour or so away from Wiltz.

Today it is a postcard pretty town that, for a few American tanks displayed almost as a war memorial, spills over hills in a very sleepy sort of way, making it hard to imagine that its heart, this medieval castle, was once in flames in December of 1944:

On another hilltop is the Clervaux Church that provides both sanctuary for the mind and eye:

Up and down the hills of this commune, there are charming houses wrapped around its slopes…

But I’ve been reading about the abbey that’s on yet another hill outside of the city center:

Unfortunately it is closed for renovation so exterior shots are all I have…

You know how after you’ve spent a few hours enjoying something, such as a fun dinner party or concert, and before you leave you take a slow look to review what you’ve just experienced–like a last mental snapshot to store the event in your head? That’s exactly what I’m talking about in these last two photos I take of Clervaux as the town disappears behind me…