Luxembourg & Trier

On Saturday we traveled up to Luxembourg and then onto Trier. While in Luxembourg this time we had the opportunity to see the American Military Cemetery. The cemetery is actually on U.S. soil given to America after WWII. It is a beautiful, awe-inspiring site. Again we have been reminded of the great sacrifice so many have made for our freedom. We are so blessed to have men and woman fight for the inherent rights outlined by our forefathers in the U.S. Constitution. There are over 5,000 soldiers buried in the Luxembourg American Cemetery and most of them died in the Battle of the Buldge. General George S. Patton Jr. is buried there as well. His grave sits at the head of the memorial almost as if he still stands in front of his men, leading them on. Some of the graves simply read, "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God." There is also a wall with a list of soldiers whose bodies have never been found. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to be a family member to one of these lost servicemen. Again, we are so blessed by the sacrifices of others!After seeing the Cemetery we went on to Luxembourg, Luxembourg. You may remember my previous post on our trip to Luxembourg so I won't repeat the information I've already written. Jessie and Tally had never been to Luxembourg and we had a great time showing them around. After eating a much needed Chinese lunch we went on to tour the city. It's such a beautiful, clean city that we really enjoyed seeing it for a second time. There was a music festival going on and we listened to some gospel music being performed. I guess it was the New Orleans music day. There was even some traditional American fair foods like hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy being sold as part of the festival. Speaking of food, we had the most amazing pastries and chocolate at this little bakery in Luxembourg. Mike and Tally had ochos (figure eight pastries with pudding in the middle) and I had the most incredible fruit tart. We all shared a few delicious chocolate truffles. Even Jessie and Tally commented that they had rarely tasted chocolate as good, even in Switzerland. We might return to Luxembourg again just to go back to the bakery!After visiting Luxembourg we drove on to Trier. Trier is known as the oldest city in Germany, founded in 16 B.C. Some Trierians actually claim the city was founded in 2000 B.C. by Neanderthals. While there is some evidence of ancient peoples in the area there is nothing that suggests it was a true settlement until 16 B.C. When we got there it was raining cats and dogs, if you don't mind the expression. We wrapped the babes up in warm clothing, stuck them in waterproof strollers and headed out. Jay wasn't happy about the situation at first but both he and Kelsey were asleep within minutes. Luckily the rain started lightening up and we enjoyed our stroll around the town. There were plenty of Roman ruins to see in the city. Living in Europe really shows you how vast the Roman empire was. Every country we've been to has historical sites dating back to that great kingdom. We saw "la porta nigra" which is a large Roman gate so named in the Middle Ages by the darkened color of the stone. We also ventured into a large Catholic Cathedral which we later learned dates back to Roman times. Claims by the Catholic church suggest this Cathedral houses the Holy Tunic of Christ, a seamless robe possibly worn by Christ during the Crucifixion. In John 19:23 - 24 we read of how soldiers cast lots to determine who would have this robe after Jesus' death and in so doing fulfilled the prophesy in Psalms 22:18. Of course it is impossible to know if the tunic inside this Cathedral truly is the Tunic of Christ scince no Scientific study has been done to determine even the age of the garment. It is quite sacred to the Catholic Church though as the robe is only exhibited every 10 - 20 years. The last viewing took place in 1996 when over 1,000,000 pilgrims came to glimpse it.After seeing the Cathedral we toured through the rest of the town. We saw a hideous pink building, the Kurfurstliches Plais (Electoral Palace), which might have been beautiful had a different color been chosen. It just looked too much like Barbi's dream house. We then saw the Roman imperial baths which are the largest baths outside of Rome itself. Once we had seen the baths we decided to head back to the car. Of course on the way we had to stop for hot chocolate. We didn't end up finding Karl Marx's house or the Roman amphitheater but since the city is only an hour away from us I'm sure we'll be back.