Vianden, Luxemburg

With the rain gone and the nice weather back in town, we filled our long-held desire to return to Vianden, Luxembourg. Known for an impressive castle and equally charming village, Vianden is a great destination for any warm and sunny day.

The view from the Our river looking up to the Vianden Castle

The Vianden castle was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries on the foundations of the Roman's Castellum. It's history is rich with feudal residences through the Romanesque and Gothic periods in Europe. Originally the home to many influential counts of Vianden with close ties to the Royal Family of France and the German imperial court, the castle grew steadily even after it was passed by inheritance in the early 1400's to the House of Nassau. In 1820, under the reign of King William I, the castle was sold piece by piece and fell into a state of ruin. I have to admit this part of history amazed me. How does one sell a castle made of large, heavy boulders "piece by piece" in the early 1800's. The primitive roads and equipment to transport the massive pieces. Just think how far they had to travel to be delivered to their buyers. Amazing. Sorry.....where were we....oh yes, in 1977 the ownership was transferred to the state and the restoration process began.

Looking down to the village from Vianden castle

One of the many period pieces hanging inside The Festivity Hall

Banqueting Hall

The main bedroom

Looking down to the Our river

The Grand Kitchen

The village of Vianden offers an eclectic mix of restaurants, which is great because we worked up quite a hunger walking around. Following the recommendations from those who have visited before, we set out to find the Italian restaurant that apparently serves a mean pizza. Not only did the food taste great (at a great price) but bathing in the warm sun on the massive deck made for a fantastic experience.

With full stomachs, we took advantage of the path that parallels the Our river and walked away a few of the many calories consumed. The view was amazing:

We decided to forgo taking up the chair lift that delivers you high upon the hill overlooking the village. Apparently there are great hiking trails easily accessible from the top and I can only imagine the spectacular vantage points. Next time.......

Thrilling last game for FC Metterich

Our first sight after arriving to the game a few minutes after kick-off was a "Hail Mary" kick from near mid-field by SG Geichlingen II. No way is that going to....wait.....goal. A perfect high-arching ball that just ducked under the crossbar for a goal. Not a great way to start the last game of the season on our own home field. FC Metterich came back and answered with an equally impressive goal. Tied at 1, we could see it was going to be a tough match. SG Geichlingen took control of the remaining first half and scored two additional goals. Both looked more like shots from a cannon which made them nearly impossible to stop. Going into halftime with the score of 1 to 3, I admit we were nervous for the second half. There must have been a great speech at halftime because FC Metterich came out and scored two nice goals in the first few minutes to tie up the game. Then lady luck showed up and helped with two more goals: one coming from a "Hail Mary" penalty kick near mid-field and the other from the goalie not stopping the ball kicked back by his own defender. You could see the momentum shift to the home team as FC Metterich put up one more goal for a total score of 6. SG Geichlingen II was not going down quietly and the game became quite physical as evidence of the red cards for both teams. When the final whistle blew and the game was over, sportsmanship prevailed and everyone shook hands, congratulated each other for great play, and headed over for a season-ending BBQ. It was the perfect game to end the season and we are looking forward to the early fall when the 2010 season will kickoff. Thank you to all the players and others who make the weekly games so much fun to watch!


The game was very physical.......






One of the great goals during the 2nd half

FC Metterich setting up an attack

FCM kept the pressure in the 2nd half

Final whistle. Game over and so is the season....

....now bring on the food!!

Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial

Our visit to the American Cemetery and Memorial this past Saturday, May 8th was one we will never forget. Given the location (just outside the city limits of Luxembourg), we were debating to pay a visit now or wait for our next trip down. Looking back, I can't believe the decision to be made was either visiting the cemetery or doing our weekly grocery shopping. In the end, we decided to go through with the visit even though it was getting late. The plan was to simply find the location and scope it out for our next visit (how much for a tour, hours to visit, etc.). We pull up to the gate and were immediately greeted by a very nice gentleman that informed us that the cemetery normally closes at 5pm (it was 5:30pm at this point) but they were staying open for a special event. He explained that in celebration of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), a group of WWII veterans were coming for a special ceremony and if we limited our stay to their ceremony, we were welcome to come inside. Without hesitation we took him up on his offer.

While waiting for the veterans to arrive, we toured the impressive monuments and Operation Maps that outlined the movement of the troops for the Battle of the Bulge. This cemetery covers over 50 acres and is located in a beautiful wooded area. It was established in December 1944 by the U.S. Third Army while the Allied Forces were battling in the nearby Ardennes region (as part of the Battle of the Bulge).





Looking out at the field of gravestones. There are no words that can accurately describe the feeling you experience standing there looking at the 5,076 headstones.

One of the many unknown soldiers buried here


The cemetery is perhaps most famous for the grave of General George S. Patton

Once the veterans arrived, we joined them on the promenade to pay tribute to those buried at the cemetery. There were about a dozen veterans, a General, and a very nice woman that said some very nice things to the crowd. We learned after the fact that this nice woman was the granddaughter of U.S. General George S. Patton. Part of the ceremony included the veterans, General, and General Patton's granddaughter walking up the steps to the Memorial Chapel and laying a wreath inside the Alter room. As they arrived and stood at attention, the song 'Taps' was played. It was an incredibly special moment that neither of us will ever forget.

With the ceremony officially concluded, the veterans walked out to the cemetery and placed US flags at the base of headstones for the friends buried there.

The Operations Map that outlines the movement of the different Divisions during the battle.

While looking at the Operations Map, we were fortunate to have two of the veterans come over and point out their specific Divisions on the map.

Noticing our obvious eavesdropping, they included us in their story-telling. One of the veterans shared his story of how he arrived to the war. It was a few weeks after the Normandy invasion and in order to get to the main staging area, you had to climb a steep hill. At the top of the hill was the cemetery where the fallen soldiers from D-Day were buried. At the ripe age of 19, coming off a boat and seeing the mass graves, this was his first view of the war.

It was time to officially end the ceremony and the representative from the cemetery asked one of the veterans if they could help him retire the US flag. This was another special sight that neither of us will ever forget.

Leaving the cemetery, we were both awestruck of the experience. It is a unique opportunity to find yourself in a famous cemetery on VE Day with a group of veterans that fought and served with those buried there. The decision to visit the cemetery was another reminder to us that our time in Europe will be best served by taking chances and not hesitating to put off things like shopping for groceries.

Luxembourg, take 1

We took our first road trip to Luxembourg city, Luxembourg this past weekend. The drive only took about 45 minutes....which I know we can shave down to 20 minutes driving a new Audi designed to take full advantage of the Autobahn speeds. Why bring up the new Audi again? Because expensive cars are EVERYWHERE in Luxembourg city. This brings us to the first observation of Luxembourg: there is no shortage of money. Anywhere. Going in, we knew the reputation Luxembourg holds for being the one of the wealthiest cities in the world with a deep lineup of banking and investing institutions. Reputation confirmed. Our first stop was the D'Coque Center National Sport and Culture. This state of the art facility has an amazing aquatic center that includes seven pools, diving tower and pool, an Olympic-sized pool, and a Turkish bath. We sat in the bleachers (seating capacity 650) and watched as several people took to the diving tower. Most jumped from the 5 and 10 meter platforms and performed some amazing dives. Unfortunately we did not see anyone attempt the 15 meter platform.

Heading into the heart of the city, we parked at the MUDAM Museum of Modern Art and continued our tour by foot. Heading down JFK Avenue, we crossed the bridge that offers a great view of the Pfaffenthal valley and the Vauabn Towers. I should point out that the option to walk from such a distance was more by accident than planning. Parking is hard to come by in Luxembourg and after a few "scenic tours" of downtown, we took advantage of a near empty parking structure on the edge of the city. Another option for touring the city is either by a tour bus that drives around pointing out the sights and explains their significance or by bicycle. For a few Euro's, you can rent a bicycle and peddle around the city at your leisure.


We appear to be building a knack for visiting cities while some major event is taking place given the carnival in Williams Square on our visit.


Ahhh....nothing makes a person feel at home like McDonalds.


Eating in Luxembourg is expensive, so bring plenty of Euro's. We found a great Mexican restaurant right in Williams Square after "one of us" vetoed the idea of getting a Big Mac to help us "feel at home". Looking back it was probably a wise choice. It's never a good thing to get a Mcstomach ache walking around a new city.

Not having enough time to follow the suggested walking tour route, we opted instead to walk around and take in a few historical sights. Our first stop was the Gelle Fra Memorial in Constitution Square. Also known as the Monument of Remembrance, it is dedicated to the thousands of Luxembourgers who volunteered for service during World War I.

The view from Constitution Square is amazing. Here we are looking down at the Adolphe Bridge that crosses the Petrusse Valley.

You can also see the Bank Museum accross the way

A small but pretty cool church we stumbled upon that dated back to the 1300's

We decided to cut our visit to the city short so that we could drive out to the American Cemetery and Memorial (see next entry). There is still much to see and do in the city and we are looking forward to our next visit. One of the attractions we are looking forward to is touring the Bock Casemates: an extraordinary network of underground galleries that at one time sheltered thousands of defenders with their equipment, horses, artillery, weapons, workshops, kitchens, and bakeries. With such a labyrinth tunnel system, it only makes sense we pick up a Big Mac and shake of the month to fight off our McHunger.

FC Metterich comes up short against Preist

It was a tough match this week as FC Metterich traveled to the village of Preist to play a tough opponent on a dirt field. FCM scored their first goal within the first 15 minutes of play after a great pass from the outside forward back to the middle which resulted in a great shot past the goalie. It was a beautiful attack and evidence that FCM came to win. SG Preist answered the goal with a great shot five minutes later however. Tied at 1, both teams played hard for the next goal. The day seemed to belong to SG Preist though as they capitalized on the home field advantage by scoring 3 additional goals before the final whistle. FCM fought hard but the day simply belonged to SG Preist. The last match of the season will take place this Saturday evening at our home field in Metterich, which is sad. What will we do without the weekend soccer games this summer? We will worry about that later......we first must see FCM to one more win before we call it a season.

FCM beats rival village

FC Metterich battled through the tough elements this past weekend to beat their rival team SG Pickliessem by a score of 3 to zero. Soon after kickoff, the weather turned downright nasty by raining, then pouring, then hailing. It was so bad that at one point they stopped the game for concerns of safety. Coming out for the second half with the score tied at zero, the clouds rolled away and the sun began to dry us off. The weather must have sent a spark to the bulls of Metterich because they charged down and scored a goal within the first 5 minutes of play. The goal was the result of a well-coordinated attack where great passing allowed the outside forward to send a missile to the far post just beneath the goalie's outstretched arms. The second goal came within 2 minutes of the first when a breakaway down field mixed with great passing yielded another great shot past the goalie. Metterich continued to have scoring opportunities, but fate seemed to intervene each time. Not that I'm complaining. Beating your rivals by 3 goals is a great day's work. As the season winds down there are but just two more games remaining. This next week we head out to Priest and then back to the home field for the last game of the season. With luck, both will be wins.




The third and final goal of the game

One of the many shots that nearly got past the goalie

This header nearly missed going in

Bloomsday 2010

This past Sunday we kept the tradition of running the Bloomsday Run. Although we did not travel to Spokane, WA, we were able to participate by running at the same time as our "wave": 9:30am in Spokane, or 6:30pm in Metterich, Germany. Bloomsday is a very special run for this family for many reasons. First, Andrea's father Jim has run 32 of the 33 Bloomsday races...missing only the first year. Then there are the many childhood memories of Andrea running with her family and friends. And finally, we have made attending this race a tradition since we began dating way back in early 2000. Keeping our tradition of running this race was a great time and we look forward to next year.

Our special poster announcing the 1st Annual Bloomsday from Germany


We thought of keeping true to some of the well-known traditions associated with running Bloomsday, but it was too cold to stand outside in the street knocking around a beach ball, and we thought our neighbors might find it weird when we threw our outer layer of clothing into the branches of the surrounding trees.

Bloomsday is known for it's tough hills. It seems either you are running flat or running straight up or down. Around Metterich, there are many hills and it seems that you are NEVER running flat. I'm sure it was an easier 12K than the real thing, but the "fresh" smell in the air of fertilizer added to the degree of difficulty.

Our version of Doomsday hill: about a mile long and seemed to never quit.


Although there was no bands playing along the way nor free shirt at the end, it was a great race. Maybe next year we can bring in a German polka band to play at the finish line and who knows, maybe we can recruit some people from the village to help us knock the beach ball around before the race.