Trips

Mon., 7/14/14 –Luxembourg and Zell
       It did not rain today for our trip to Luxembourg.  It has rained some everyday for the last week.
       On our  1¾ hour bus ride from Zell on the Mosel, we were impressed with the high roadway bridges that spanned the valleys.  We also went underneath several wildlife bridges that were wide paths of vegetation to keep deer and fox off the highways.
       Luxembourg is half the size of Rhode Island – 70 x 42 miles.  It has 450,000 people but many French, German, and Belgian people commute to work there.  The cost of living in Luxembourg is quite high, but not as bad as Switzerland.  The steel industry and banking are its main economic businesses.  Luxembourg is ruled by a Grand Duke and has two legislative chambers.
       Our first stop was at the American Cemetery where thousands of Americans killed at the Battle of the Bulge are buried.  There were 87,000 casualties at the Battle of the Bulge.  Only 100 remain unknown although efforts continue to identify the remains through DNA testing in Hawaii and researching who was with a particular army division and where they were fighting at a certain time.
       The American cemetery has 52 acres that are impeccably maintained.  The markers for the unknown state: “Here Rests in Honored Glory A Comrade in Arms Known But To God.”  There are 22 sets of brothers at this cemetery and they are buried side by side.  Other than that, rank and age are mixed in every row.  General George Patton is buried at a single site separated from the other graves.  He requested to be buried with his men in Europe.
       Our guide was the superintendent of the cemetery and he gave us a lengthy, probably accurate, account of the fighting in the WWII European theater.

Flag of Luxembourg	License plate of Luxembourg
American Cemetery in Luxembourg
Grave of an Unknown	We stopped briefly at the German Military cemetery.  It is in a forest.  There is a large marker where 4300 unknown soldiers are buried.  There are also markers with the four names of the men buried in each common grave.  Many stones have “ein Deutscher soldat” – one German soldier – because the corpse was not identified.  It seemed like a forgotten memorial for 11,000 Germans.
German Military cemetery	Common grave for four soldiers
Single marker where 4300 unknown soldiers are buried	We arrived at the city of Luxembourg in Luxembourg in time for an included lunch at the Brasserie de Cercle and had Quiche Lorraine, wine, and flan.        We then had an 89-year old man take us on a city tour.  Luxembourg city was founded in 963 AD.  When it was granted independence from the Netherlands it kept the same red, white, and blue flag but the blue color is lighter than the Netherlands.         We walked from the large main square, Place d’ Armes, surrounded by cafes in 18th c. three- and four-story buildings to view a statue on a horse of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the Palace of the Grand Duke, and the two Chambers of the Legislature.   We poked our heads into St. Michael’s Church and then walked along the stone embankments of the old city and looked across at the ruins of the old fortress.  The Alzette River is far below as well as the house of Robert Schuman who originated the concept of the European Union.
Gelle Fra monument	Guillaume II - Grand-Duc of Luxembourg in the 19th century
Palais Grand Ducal	Street Scene
St. Michel Church	Modern Luxembourg
Roman ruins along the Alzette River	Alzette River
St. John Church
Neumunster Abbey - St. John Church and Fortress of Luxembourg - Old city walls	Next we went into the 17th c. Jesuit Church of Notre Dame.  It had some unusual interior decorations.  There were Spanish/Mexican columns below the rear half of a huge organ that has 5,000 pipes.  There are silk and woolen tapestries on the walls.
Notre Dame Cathedral	Notre Dame Cathedral
Plaque commemorating the liberation of Luxembourg by the US Army	“Let the Sun Shine In” - Umbrellas above the Rue Phillipe II
On the way back to our ship in Zell, Germany, we stopped along a ridge to look down at the scenic Mosel, two small towns, and hillsides of grapevines as far as we could see. They are building a bridge across a very large valley. It was interesting to see the very high piers and the beginning of the span.
New bridge construction	New bridge construction
Mosel River and a typical small town	When we got back to the ship we had about a half-hour for Rebecca to take us on a short walking tour of Zell.  Zell was settled by Romans and their watch tower is still on a hill overlooking the town.  The famous Zell winery is the Black Cat Winery.  There are two fountains in town with a Black Cat on a wine barrel.
Statue of the Black Cat	Old Roman watch tower
Bottles of Black Cat wine	Bottles of Black Cat wine
Street and vineyard scene	Sign for Black Cat wine

 Continue on next page