In the Footsteps of Heroes
By Chad Weisensel

Published Friday, August 17, 2007  | one comment  | Print  | E-mail

Final thoughts.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going on tour for so long to a place I had never been with 30 other complete strangers. Everything that I dreamed it would be came true and more. Everyone at Stephen Ambrose Tours went above and beyond what I expected. Yakir and Marigold were a pleasure to work with and I wish them nothing but the best and look forward to touring again soon. Ron and Judy Drez made everything we did even that much better. Judy had never been on this tour either and we shared many good talks on the bus. Ron, it was an honor to have been able to tour with you. Your insight to other things outside of the Band of Brothers is what made this tour special. Your willingness to listen to and help others when needed is something we all appreciated. I am just glad to have been able to help along the way.

Jake Powers, your love and passion for these men can be felt by all of us. You are what being dedicated to your craft is all about. I also thank you for allowing me to be part of this great tour. I hope to see you again and soon.

To everyone else that I had the pleasure of touring with I say thank you. Everyone was great in one way or another and I cannot say enough about all of you.

The tour was excellent and I want to do it again next year. I was nervous about certain things on this tour, how were the people going to be, the food, could I find Mt. Dew. I am a typical midwestern guy who likes burgers, pizza. chicken and fish. I was not sure how I was going to get along with the new culture and food I was going to experience. Let me say this, the food in general was excellent. Even though we had a set menu for dinner, I never left a table hungry. There were times when I wasn’t sure if I was going to like certain things. Sometimes I was surprised in a good way. We all agreed that the bread in many places was the best we had. At many of the restaurants we chose the food was excellent as well. Whether I was eating a Hawaiin pizza in Bastogne or Austria ( I know it sounds funny) or Mid Loaf (meat loaf) in Berchtesgaden the food was great. In general the people were very nice especially in Holland and England where we rarely had to pay for a drink.

Our bus driver was great as well, just clean your shoes before you get on and he is happy. It was amazing how he got that bus through the small towns in Europe.

I highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to see these battlefields and have a rewarding experience as well. There are other tours out there that can take you to many of the same places but nobody can deliver the passion in which Ron and Jake have for history. I only hope that someday I will be able to go on this tour again, I would do it in a second. To all my new friends on the tour, I miss you all and I hope that we can do it again someday.

"Currahee"

Chad
Armchair General Magazine Website staff

See the complete set of photos in the ACG Image Gallery here.

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