Eleventh Weekend- Trier

The next day, we left Luxembourg and headed back into Germany. Our first stop was Trier, which is the oldest city in Germany, and some say the oldest city in Europe. (That's debateable!)
Trier was sort of the Roman Headquarters in Germany, and many of the Roman Emporers chose to live here rather than in Rome.

One of the very oldest sites in Trier, is the Roman "Black Gate". Actually, it was made of red sandstone, but it has blackened over time. We told the kids that this gate was built before Jesus was even born and they thought it was pretty incredible! Here we are out front:

Originally, the Romans built four of these gates around the city, but only the North gate remains. Apparently, they built a church and monastery around and above it, but when Napolean came he had everything non-Roman about it destroyed.

And my gorgeous kiddos on the other side!

We also went inside the gate -

We loved exploring inside.... since we weren't ambitious enough to head to Rome during our stay here, this was our opporunity to explore ancient Roman ruins...

You probably can't see very well- but this is a picture of the children and me inside the gate:

After thoroughly exploring the Black Gate, we headed over to the Market Square:

And then we headed to St. Peter's Cathedral, which is the oldest Church in Germany: As I mentioned in a previous post, it is common for churches here to tout their possession of some one-of-a-kind artifact. This particular church claims to have the "Holy Robe of Christ". One of the other interesting things about this church, is that the inside of the cathedral is lined with altars. Well, that part isn't really unusual- we have seen that in many of the churches we have visited. Usually, each altar is dedicated to a Saint or Apostle or sometimes there are just several depicting the Crucifixion. This church is different because all of the altars were built by individual Bishops who decided to use their money to build a little place of remembrance for themselves in the church building...

Here we are in front of the "Dom" , which used to be almost 4 times this size!

Our next stop was the Basilica, which was built as the Throne room for the Emporer Constantine. This is the oldest Roman Structure outside of Rome. Numerous Kings have inhabited it since then, and it has been a Lutheran Church since the mid 1800's.

The gardens just outside the Basilica:

Our next stop was the Ancient Roman Baths! As a lover of baths, I was particularly excited about this one. I must say that I do not love my bath enough to force slaves to work round the clock to keep my bath water at 120 degrees Farenheit. Constantine had quite the ego, didn't he?

We got to tour the tunnels and see the slave galleys and the pipe rooms- the kids just like the tunnels, but it was pretty fun!

Our next stop was the Roman Ampitheatre/Colliseum. Matt and Isaac, as lovers of fights, were particularly excited about this one! Okay, I'm mostly kidding, but they were excited about this one.

We marched our little crew back over to the market square and got some yummy lunch to eat! We were so hungry- we got four ice cream cones, bratwurst, fish and chips. We had french fries with mayo (European style) adn Ketchup, too (American Style!), I had a fish sandwich that was probably just mediocre but it tasted so delicious to me because I am so tired of sausage!! It was so hot that we ate our ice cream while we walked (so it wouldn't melt ) and then ate lunch in the car. The kids thought it was awesome that they got to eat their ice cream first!

And while we ate, we sputtered around Trier and finally located Karl Marx's house for a quick photo op! I suppose they aren't really proud that he was born there, but we wanted to check it out anyway!

And off we went- headed for Cochem!!

Eleventh Weekend- Luxembourg City

After we saw General Patton's grave in Luxembourg, we thought we would head into dowtown Luxembourg city. I have to be honest. I knew nothing about Luxembourg before we visited. I thought it was pretty fascinating. Once again, I was taken aback at how very ancient this city is. How cute are my boys? Who needs the scenery? I just love their smiles!

The most unique aspect of Luxembourg is the dramatic valley that runs through the centre of it, and the Pont Adolphe is one of three main bridges that connect one side of the city to the other. It was built between 1900 and 1903 and was the largest stone arch in the world.

There were memorials all over Luxembourg- I wish we knew more about the city so that I could tell you what they were all for....

We stopped in the middle of all our sight-seeing and had some dinner. The dinner part was unremarkable, but we stopped at a French Pastry Shop and had some delectable tarts! Super delicious! The Golden Lady Monument (Gelle Fra) was erected in 1923 to commemorate the Luxembourger victims of the First World War. In 1940 the monument was demolished by the Nazis, but later in 1984 it was reconstructed in its original apperance.

This is the plaque in front of the monument:

We also stopped at the Notre Dame. Wait a minute, we already saw that in Paris, right? Well, Luxembourg has it's own Notre Dame Cathedral, which was built in the 17th century.

This video isn't particularly exciting or cute, but you do get to see the interior of the cathedral and some footage of my children being the quietest I have ever seen them!! There was a sign when we walked in that asked for Silence as they conducted services. So we told our kids and they were actually very quiet. I was quite impressed with them. They looked around and asked questions... not too shabby for our rowdy bunch.

View from the Pont Adolphe

One of the coolest sights in Luxembourg is The Bock Casemates. They are part of Luxembourg City's Old Fortifications and are underground defense galleries dating from the 17th century. During WWII, Luxembourg residents lived in these underground tunnels. We found this little tid-bit of info particularly fascinating! We weren't able to check out the Casemates first-hand. It would have been quite a feat with a stroller. We did see them from a distance, however.

We also just headed out exploring what kinds of ancient buildings and fortresses we could find- like this monster fortress, constructed in 1050...

We had a blast in Luxembourg- it was fun not feeling pressured by the opening hours of tourist sites and just being able to take our time. We had lots of fun just being together and exploring the city. After lots of hunting through the city and trying to decipher the cryptic directions given by the GPS, we decided to call it a night. We headed back to our hotel in Luxembourg and settled in for the night!

Eleventh Weekend- American Military Cemeteries

For our Eleventh Weekend here, we sort of compiled a hodgepodge of sights to see. Matthew, my navigator, found a route we could take and knockout several important sights in one weekend. We covered three countries and five cities on our tour. Our first stop was St. Avold, France.
Lorraine American Cemetery is the largest American world War II Cemetery in Europe. The cemetery houses the graves of war heroes from WWI and WWII, and covers 113.5 acres of land.


Above you can see Isaac and Daphne outside the chapel building. Below you'll see photos from inside the chapel.

I don't think you quite get the feel of the place with only the still pictures, so I have included Matt's video of the interior of the chapel. There is no footage of the children in this one, so if you are looking for that, try the next video down. This video is purely to give you an idea of the layout and sacred nature of the Memorial's Chapel. The entire space was so solemn and beautiful.

Matt heard about this memorial from some of his co-workers. When he told me he wanted to see it, I said, "Sure", feeling somewhat apathetic about the adventure. I wanted to see these sites, but I'm not certain that I would have made it a priority without Matt's nudging.

I am so glad we went. I cannot imagine our trip without this experience. We have seen sites of devastation from WWII and seen museums commemorating the loss of European and Jewish life here. But to see the graves of the Americans who gave their lives to this cause was a deeply moving experience. I suppose such an experience cannot be re-created in the blogosphere, but I want to remember what we saw and felt that day, so I guess you'll have to endure my detailed account.

This section was particularly moving to me. The wall memorializing those whose bodies were never recovered or found- those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and whose families have no headstone to visit... As you leave the chapel, you walk down these steps and see the sea of crosses- each marking the body of one our Nation's fallen soldiers. I knew 10,000 was large amount, but seeing it in such a capacity was heart-breaking and so meaningful. I know my words are a pathetic attempt to describe the experience... I wish I were more eloquent, but maybe the picture shares more:

My family. Free. Living in the most blessed country on this earth. Free to worship as we please. Free to work and live and die and find happiness. Free to walk through Europe with no fear of harm. Free. Thank you. Thank you.

After we walked through the cemetery portion, we arrived at the actual monument. You can see this part behind Matt and the kids.

As we walked up inside the monument, we saw these inscriptions on either side:

You can look out past the eagle's head to the cemetery. So beautiful.

Matt and I were both very impressed with how well-kept these memorials were. One thing we have noticed in Europe is that (with the exception of the gorgeous gardens) the lawns are sort of willy-nilly. The yards or open grassy areas are often just as much weed as grass. As soon as we walked into the official American Cemeteries, we noticed the beautiful lawns and gardens. The care of these spaces is clearly meticulous and thoughtful. It seemed as though each space was perfectly trimmed and green. We both felt that it was a lovely service and way to honor these soldiers.

You can see from the inscription- we visited the Cemetery 70 years and 1 day after the cavalry left this site to join the battle.

We left St. Avold, France and headed toward Luxembourg, Luxembourg. This city is the site of another American Cemetery, not as large as St. Avold.

The actual memorial is a small chapel, seen here.

Inside the chapel was so peaceful- so tranquil and beautiful. In both chapels there were places reserved for prayer and meditation.

We were particularly touched by the inscriptions on the walls:

Especially the next one. I posted something previously about freedom; more specifically about how I was sad that some German Protestors were using their freedom of speech to spout hateful things about our country. Certainly, they were free to express their opinion, just as I was free to express mine in rebuttal. I suppose the issue that saddened me is the perception that our country is somehow evil for being involved in the war in Iraq.

That quote is so poigniant. I think somehow, those of us who believe that America is trying to accomplish good in Iraq become portrayed as people who support war, or who do not understand the tremendous sacrifice and horror that comes out of war. Please make no mistake: I abhor war. I wish that it never had to happen. But I do believe that there are things in life worth fighting for. In the words of Captain Moroni:

In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—

One of the things that I think is so noble about our country is that we make no peace with oppression. Peace is a noble cause- it is a beautiful ideal. I pray for peace. But peace is not achieved by turning a blind eye to the oppressions of others.

The ceiling is a remarkable mosaic, depicting the Holy Ghost as a dove being held on a cloud by four angels:

Next we were able to walk out and visit the grave of General Patton. He requested to be buried here in Luxembourg with the rest of his troops. A short time after his burial, his body was moved to the head of the cemetery, placing him symbolically in command once more.

The cemetery at Luxembourg was much smaller, half the size of St. Avold, and houses the remains of 5, 076 American Military dead, including one female Army nurse.

In 22 instances, two brothers rest side-by-side in adjacent graves.

We tried very much to convey to our children the sacred nature of the cemetery, but reverence is not easy for children at any time, let alone when they have been driving in the car for hours! They enjoyed the visits and were good sports- trying to listen and learn.

On our way out, Victoria had to get her bottles. She is the first of my children to refuse a pacifier, and I'm afraid that the bottle has sort of taken that place for her. She seemed quite content with two bottles here:

We left these monuments feeling deep gratitude and humility. We feel so blessed and grateful to have been born in a country that is free. We know that our freedom was earned at an immeasurable cost and I hope that visiting these sites will inspire us to show our gratitude more freely.