Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

On Saturday, we left Germany and headed into neighboring Luxembourg. Although it's not too far away (about 1 1/2 hours), we had never ventured that way before. The natives speak French and Luxembourgish. I've found if people don't speak English, they will usually speak German, thank goodness!
Our first stop in Luxembourg was to the Bock Casemates.
After we found a place to park, we realized that we didn't have any cash. I have no idea why we always start a trip with no cash. We even say how we need to stop at the ATM, but then forget. Most places only accept cash and this place was no different. So, we walked into the city center to look for a bank. This turned out to be a great detour. From the Casemates, we couldn't tell the city center was as bustling as it was. There were so many cute, quaint shops, and we got a couple of pictures from this walk. We passed the Mexican restaurant with its silly put-your-face-here poster.
We found a souvenir shop and bought something with "Luxembourg" written on it. I like to get little steins or miniature mugs of the places we travel to.
We returned to Bock Casemates and started our winding underground maze adventure. The first casemates were built in 1644. It was expanded over time to 23 km of underground galleries. Luxembourg City was called the "Gibraltar of the North." We didn't walk all 23 km, but we did walk up and down many stairs. There were places to look out. At one hole we could see the bridge. I took a picture of the bridge, then when we went over the bridge, I took a picture of the lookout hole.
There was also a tunnel that went under the road, parallel with the bridge. We had so much fun exploring the area and laughing at the old carved-out rock stairs that were sometimes so narrow and slanted that we had to hold on to both sides of the wall so we wouldn't fall.
We had a fun time in the casemates.

On our way back to the car, we saw a large group of motorcycles that were turning around. We stopped to watch them.
Our next stop was to Cathedrale Notre-Dame. This church is nearly 400 years old. It was a nice church, but not one of the coolest we've seen in Europe. Still, it was near the city center from the opposite side of the casemates, so we took in some of that.
There is another casemates called the Petrusse Casemates. These two casemates served as protection to soldiers during WWII. Together they can hold 35,000 people.
We didn't tour the Petrusse Casemates because there was something I really wanted to do instead, before it got too late.
It took us about 10-15 minutes to drive to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. This is a beautiful cemetery. The site was liberated on Sep 10, 1944. It was established as a temporary military burial ground in December of that year, and was since granted permanent burial ground use by the Grand Ducal government. The US did not have to pay for the land or taxes. I find it very honorable that they donated the land for our fallen soldiers.
The gate is beautiful. The laurel wreaths are an ancient award for valor. Eagles stand guard on each of the pillars.
The most famous soldier buried here is General George S. Patton, Jr. He was the commander of Third U.S. Army that served triumphantly in the European theater. His grave stands at the head of the cemetery, between two flagpoles.
The cemetery was very nice. There were enormous placard maps that showed the occupied territories and military movements during WWII. There were also two memorial pylons with the names of those whose bodies were never recovered or are in unknown graves.

There were a few fountains that all looked the same. It is said that the bronze dolphins and turtles symbolize, respectively, Resurrection and Everlasting Life.
There was also a very little church that could fit 8 people uncomfortably. It was nice though.
After we left the cemetery, we got back on the freeway and headed north into Belgium. Our directions were wrong, so we took a detour to SHAPE, which is a 16-nation NATO military base. The hotel there was a dive and we were happy we were in the wrong place. It took about and extra hour to get to where we were supposed to be--the smallest US Army post I and Jer have ever seen--Cheivres Air Base. This is a little confusing to those of us in the military because it is an Air Base, but mostly Army works there.
It has the nicest, brand-spanking-new military hotel I've ever stayed in. It was a nice place to stay.
And keeping up with the cursing on my blog, this (last picture on the right) is a bus we saw while driving in Belgium. Jer says there's a reason they say, "Pardon my French."
So ends day 1 of our little driving vacation.

Bitche

About a month ago, we traveled to Bitche, France. It's a small town with a big name. There have been many discussions about how to pronounce it, but after asking many locals, I've come to the conclusion that it should be pronounced like the swear word.
We mounted our bikes (mine is the red one) and headed south, along with Jer's 1st Sergeant. The ride was nice and it was the first really warm, sunny, spring-like weekend. We rode for about 50 miles, then right as we came over a hill, we saw the amazing citadel before us (look at the first picture to the left on top of the hill, you will see the road we came over). It sits with such grandeur atop the town's hill. We rode through the streets to the parking area at the top.
The long walkway up was beautiful and offered stunning views. There was a miniature pony that I fed grass to. There was also a miniature something else that I did not feed.
We paid our fare and entered the citadel with headphones as our tour guide. They worked by proximity, so as we moved further into the citadel, the narration would change. We saw a door that was 18 inches thick with gashes where men with axes tried to forcefully enter so long ago.
We went underground and saw the biggest well I've ever seen. The buckets and rope were so large and heavy that they made a 2-man hamster wheel to bring the buckets up and down.
We watched a movie (that played in English on our headphones) that was definitely French-made; a little weird. It was a reenactment of the history of the Franco-Prussian war involving citadel. They were able to throw some nudity in there, though it didn't really fit. There was a naked lady running down a hill covered in stage-blood. It looked like a joke more than real. I think they put that in there just because they can. Really, why was this woman naked? My take on it: the bad guys stole her clothes while she was showering, she ran away but slipped on dead bodies on the ground, getting herself bloody, and ran down a hill. Despite this, the film was somewhat interesting, but mostly because I never really knew this part of French history.
There was also a church with a secret water storage beneath it. Enormous! As much volume as a small house!
It was a cool place to see and a great day trip. On our way out we stopped for some very fitting pictures. This day was Bitche'n!

Holland! (Part 2)

The second half of our Holland trip was spent at Keukenhof Gardens. This is where the famous tulips of the world are planted and raised--over 7 million bulbs every year are planted by hand! There are so many different varieties; there are so many different styles of gardens. The grounds were enormous with plenty to look at.
I must say, when we first walked in, we were all a bit disappointed. Where were the bulbs? They hadn't bloomed yet? But as we walked further in, evidence of the 7 million bulbs stared brightly at us. I am of the opinion that not all flowers bloom at the same time--even early spring flowers like tulips. Just like people, some tulips may be super-early bloomers, and others bloom a little later. If we had gone a month later, we might have missed out on the earlier bloomers. Tit-for-tat.
The gardens offered different pathways to follow as well as other varieties of early spring flowers and flowering trees. The further we walked in, the more beautiful it became.
We saw several stone figures: a frog, dancing bears, cute baby elephant, hippy hippo, hugging bunnies... Then we came across this larger-than-life wooden dog, wearing the collar of shame. It was quite random and there was nothing else like it (that we saw) in all the park. I'm not shocked by such oddities anymore, as they seem to pop up now and again, but I still find humor in them.
There was a windmill we were able to tour. We climbed up and could see the fields where tulips were cultivated for use in the annual tulip parade. I tried over and over to get a picture with the windmill's blade in it. It was turning so quickly, the best I could get is what you see.

In front of the windmill was a dance performance by the cutest little 4- and 5-year-olds in pink tutus and tights, and many parents. You could sort out the parents from the rest of the audience by their enthused faces. Also, they were the ones sitting in the chairs.
Around the bend, we found Fred Flintstone's car. We had fun getting pictures, then playing the part of photographer for others.
We stopped for some hot chocolate. It wasn't cold, but the weather was cool enough that the leisurely walking around outside did not generate enough heat to keep us completely warm. The hot chocolate was quite rich and I couldn't finish it, but it did warm me up.
The next sections of the gardens were my favorite. Hundred-year-old trees lined the walkways. I could almost feel their wisdom as they looked down upon me. I tried to soak some of it up. But we soon got distracted by stepping stones that took us out onto a little lake. There were no handles here, so a tiny slip would mean a very wet, cold, uncomfortable ride home. Nonetheless, we did enjoy feeding the ducks (I had Teddy Grahams in my bag) and trying to get them to come closer. There was no sign to prohibit feeding them, so I didn't feel guilty.
The time was drawing nearer to meeting back at the bus. We didn't get to meander the rest of the way through the gardens, but still enjoyed the beauty as we walked with purpose. I insisted I stop (arguing with myself that the bus could wait 10 extra seconds) to get a couple of pictures. I'm glad I did as two of my favorite pictures came from this walk (the last two pictures of this post).

At the entrance/exit there was a water fountain that was cool looking; so I took a picture. Jer pointed out that it looked like a dandelion. I had missed that, but can see it clear as day now. I guess I was still trying to sort out all the wisdom imparted me from the trees.
We weren't late for the bus, but made it right on time. All in all, it was a fabulous trip. I hope to do it again some day.

Holland! (Part 1)

It has been a couple of weeks since we took our trip to Holland. I had so many pictures, thinking about blogging and sifting through them was slightly overwhelming. So, I've decided to break the trip up into two parts.
Matt & Christina, Lisa, and Jer & I all boarded the bus at 1:30am Saturday morning. These first 3 pictures are of us on the bus after "sleeping" for a few hours. Not the best of any of us, but we are real people and don't have a makeup and costume department. I personally love the pictures (even though I look like a corpse!).
It started out a very foggy morning but as the sun rose higher, the fog burned off.
Our first stop was to a hotel in Holland for breakfast. Upper class! I have blogged about food before, and I'm sure I will blog about it again. I don't believe anyone has experienced truly deliciously wonderful food until he has been to Europe. Wonderful all-you-can eat buffet. Yes, I did try the salmon and cheeses on a roll. Much better than I ever thought it could be--and even for breakfast! They also served a mean breakfast omelet! Christina and I were the only ones to try this out. They are made to order right in front of us. So delish!
After breakfast we boarded the bus again. I took a lot of random pictures from inside the bus while we were driving. The countryside is so interesting!
Next, we visited a cheese factory. We learned how cheese is made and aged. The lady was funny and had a quick wit. There is a picture of cheese taking a salt bath. Then the cheese sits on the shelves to age. They are moved up and down according to their age. We got to taste lots of different cheeses. I LOVE CHEESE!

We then went over to the wooden shoe factory. The guy giving the demonstration didn't have the same knack for holding my attention as the cheese lady. Maybe because his demonstration wasn't edible. But it was still interesting to see how the shoes were made. Wood chips were flying everywhere! There was a plexiglass window that separated most of the room. After the demonstration, we went into the shop. I tried on some wooden shoes in my size. I was surprised that they were more comfortable than I thought they would be! They even had arches!
The only thing negative I really have to say about them is that they squished my pinky toes a bit. I'm sure if I wore them for any considerable length of time my toes would hurt.

We had fun.
We all boarded the bus again, with our newly-bought treasures. We headed to a great photo-op spot. A windmill! I think no trip to Holland would be complete without seeing a windmill up close.
Next stop: Volendam, Holland.
This little town is charming, fun, and beautiful! I want to go back! We had free time to wander and explore. We first headed out to the water and the dike. It was quite windy and cold near the water.
We went in a lot of different shops. I love the delft!
It was soon time to meet back at the bus for the last part of our trip. It had already proven to be fun, but more was to come!