Let the Adventure Begin

Friday January 7, 2011 & Saturday January 8, 2011

The first three days at MUDEC are designed to help us adjust and acclimate to Luxembourg and the culture. Friday morning we were at school, we had another couple meetings and continued to complete paperwork to officially register with the Luxembourg government. After lunch we split into three groups and went on tours of Luxembourg City.

My group first went to Luxembourg City. the city is divided into two parts by an extremely deep gorge (~100 meters) which is known as the Alzette. We went to the side that has the majority of the old buildings. We started at the national cathedral, Cathédrale Notre-Dame Luxembourg. 

Cathédrale Notre-Dame (1613)

This is a plaque that was hanging in the rear of the church. It translates to " In remembrance of the horrible years of occupation and the will of the Luxembourg people."

plaque inside cathedral

Next we went to the Government District and the Clairefontaine Square where we saw the Palace of the Grand Duke, the parliament buildings, and residence of the Grand Duke. An interesting thing with Luxembourg is that there is not the same threat/protection from terrorists attacks around national landmarks & federal buildings. For example I was within 5 feet of the front door of the national palace and could of touched the front door of the prime ministers house if I had wanted to. It was really cool and kind of weird to realize that I was that close to them! 

Government District: White buildings on left government, building with the brown tower is the Prime Minister's Personal Residence and the dark brown building in the background is the Cathedral. 

Palace of the Grand Duke

 Next we left Luxembourg City and traveled a couple miles outside to the American and German Military Cemeteries from World War II. The majority of soldiers in both cemeteries were killed in the Winter of 1944 & 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge. It is also where General Patton is buried. 5,076 Americans are buried here, there is also two monuments commemorating the 371 soldiers who were killed in the region and who's bodies were never recovered. 

Wall commemorating the 371 Americans who's bodies were never recovered.

The American Cemetery (my panorama was accidentally blurry this is about a 3rd of the cemetery.

The Grave of General Patton

 We then traveled less than a mile to the German Military Cemetery which is less than a mile away. It could not have been more different. The American cemetery is impeccably maintained (a man was even working on the grounds in the pouring rain while we were there!) The German one however was down an unpaved road (which was very muddy!) Also the American Cemetery is significantly bigger than the German one as the land was donated to the US by the Luxembourg government while the Germans had to buy the land -- and thus it is much smaller. Over 10,000 Germans are buried here (most are under the age of 18 as the Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive attack and thus basically any man left was used in it. Because of the small size, each grave contains four bodies, while in the rear of the cemetery there is a mass grave of over 4,000 soldiers. Because it was raining really hard and there was some snow still on the ground it was really foggy -- it was really creepy being here.

German cemetery, 4 bodies per grave

Mass grave of 4,000 German soldiers.

I really enjoyed going to the cemeteries as it helps to establish the size and magnitude of WWII and the scars that still remain in the region 70 years later. It is something that was never taught or communicated while in school.

We then returned to Luxembourg City, this time to the Old Town. First we visited the Ruins of the original fortification of the city which was built in 963 (the first recorded year of Luxembourg history). I of course found the ruins and the entire area around completely fascinating. The Old Town is comprised of really old buildings... many surviving from as early as the 11th century although the majority are from the 16th - 19th centuries. As it was getting late and dark we walked through this area quickly although I can not wait to return and explore even more! There were all kinds of stores and cafes tucked into these tiny winding pathways. 

On the ruins of the original fortress built in 963. (not sure what the building directly behind me is I'll ask someone at school on Monday).

The ruins. Note the flooding of the river.

The coolest part of town, 12th century building... adorable... pictures can't really capture I'll try a video next time.

 The  phrase below was adopted by the people of the Luxembourg people during German occupation when the Germans attempted to convince the people of Luxembourg to join them. It roughly translates "We Want to Remain Who We Are". It has subsequently become the national motto and remains popular as the country struggles to maintain its national identity with the advent of the EU and globalization.

The "national motto of Luxembourg" adopted during German occupation.

We had a little while to wander around the Old Town and a group and I went to a cafe to have coffee which was really, really good! 

It was great to go to Luxembourg City (even though it was raining) because it gave a nice sampling of the amazing country and go me excited to explore it more in the future. I also learned a lot about Luxembourg and Luxembourg City. Luxembourg was one of the original 6 members of the European Union and an important part of successfully implementing it. Therefore it is the location of a lot of European Union offices. Additionally 100,000 people live in Luxembourg city and an additional 130,000 commute daily from Germany, France and Belgium (which is just bind boggling when you consider it!)

Outside my window this morning... it wasn't raining which was really exciting! Take at 8:30 am (note that the sun has not yet completely risen).

Outside my window... not raining!!!!

 Today we left early from school and traveled to the northern part of the country. We visited the middle school/high school (which with its recent renovations puts Montgomery High School to shame.) Miami has had a relationship with this school for nearly 20 years (in particular the school of education). We had lunch in the cafeteria which was of course delicious are Europeans capable of making bad food? We then split into our 3 groups again, one group went to where the Battle of the Bulge was fought, another went to a  castle  and my group got to go to a dairy farm! I wasn't originally thrilled but I decided that over the next four months I am going to see plenty of museums and castles but I probably won't choose to go to a dairy form. It is the only dairy producer in Luxembourg (Lux-Lait or Lux Milk). The new factory and observation was just opened in the last year... it was pretty interesting. 

We then left to go Wine Tasting... yes, my school which 4 weeks ago sent out a letter for my 21st birthday which expressed the dangers of alcohol organized wine tasting. Which was of course a lot of fun. It took us a while to get there because of all the flooding and most of the western part of the country is severely flooded.  When I first arrived on Tuesday there was 6 inches of snow on the ground and it has subsequently poured ever day since then. While on our way to the school the river banks were incredible. We finally got to the Moselle region which is right along the German border. Grandpa you probably would have really enjoyed the tour of the wine cellar and explanation of how wine is made. I particularly enjoyed the tour as it was led by a little tipsy 70 year old Luxembourg man who looks a lot like the character from UP! 

wine cellar of the largest winery in Luxembourg. (this is only one room of the wine cellar, apparently they lost a 3 year old boy once on a tour it took them over an hour to find him in the maze of the cellar.

 We then returned to Luxembourg... where I have been writing this blog post while my host mom has been watching Criminal Minds in German which is just bizarre and is starting to give me a headache so I think I am going to go to bed. Tomorrow is our free day, I know we are having "dinner" aka lunch with a couple other families who live on our street and have host kids.  Starting school on Monday, which is going to be weird as so far it kind of feels like I am on vacation. 

Love you all, 

Katie