Dinant was the closest city to our house, about 9 km away. As with many European cities, Dinant also enjoys a long and colorful history featuring several changes of the flag, and the usual stuff like the conquerors killing all the men in very interesting ways, such as tieing them together two by two and throwing them in the Meuse (this occurred circa 1550). The rocky promentories allowed citadels to be established every 30 km for defensive purposes. These worked well even into World War II, when German and French soldiers fought hand to hand combat at Dinant. Total population is about 14,000.
This particular day was the warmest of our trip. It actually got to about 72 F (24 C). We even sweated a bit and were able to wear short sleeve shirts. Wow, what a concept for July 1st. But, not to worry, it rained some the next day and high temps declined into the 60s. But, really, we all agreed that the cool temps were preferable to the alternative, East Coast summer weather of high humidity and air pollution.
