3.12.2008

Happy Half Birthday in Luxembourg!

Once upon a time, my friend Alana and I decided it would be fun go to Luxembourg for a day. So we did. It also happened to be my half birthday. (That really doesn't mean anything, it's just a random fact.)
Anyway, here's our story, in pictures...

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This is Luxembourg. The whole country is 999 square miles. (For those like myself who prefer a sense of relativity, that's smaller than the state of Rhode Island!) The population of the whole country is less than 500,000. We're talking small! It was so beautiful, though! Here is a view of about half of Luxembourg City from one of the bridges.





We went on a self-guided "City Promenade" that led us around the big sites to see. We may or may not have gone off track a number of times to explore. On one of those [many] expeditions, we found a pastry shop that looked incredible. We stood outside for a while, our noses and hands pressed against the glass. Finally, we mustered up enough courage to go inside. Several Euros later, we walked out with a chocolate mousse and an "opera" in hand.


Along the way of our promenade was a sweet church called the Cathedral to the Blessed Virgin. It was pretty sweet. It wasn't the oldest church in Luxembourg, but it was still pretty old! (1600's)


This is inside the Cathedral to the Blessed Virgin.



One of the coolest things all day was The Casemates. This is a series of underground caves and tunnels first built in 1644 when Luxembourg was under Spanish domination. It was called the "Gibraltar of the North." They have been open to the public since 1933.


Here's Roxy posing at the lightest spot of the Casemates.


Roxy and Alana inside the Casemates.



Luxembourg City is small. In addition to the Casemates, there is a castle and a moat. :)
Here's Roxy and the moat.



And here's the castle...



The highlight of my day was going to see the US Military Cemetery. It is located just outside of Luxembourg City. There is such a unique feeling at any military cemetery. I love it! The unique thing about this one is General George Patton is buried here. Luxembourg was his headquarters during World War 2. It is tradition for the commander to be buried among his troops. He is among the 5,076 buried there. It was truly an amazing sight and feeling to witness.

The cemetery was fairly small, but it was a humbling experience to be there.

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