Memorial Weekend

For the long holiday weekend, we thought it would be nice to take a road trip to visit our good friends near Frankfurt. Their village, Bernbach, was hosting a celebration in honor of the community choir reaching 100 years of existence. Of course in Germany, any good celebration is filled with great food and beverage and lasts several days. We opted to wait out the large crowds and take in the festivities on the last night, Sunday. It was fun to watch the competing choirs celebrate after battling for first place......and reminding us on how the pop 80's tunes remain a popular request at such festivals. Bring on the Bryan Adams!


On this Memorial Day we opted to spend the day with friends having great conversations and making fun memories. Since our visits to Bastogne and the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg, we felt the need to honor our troops privately and think back on all that we have seen thus far. When you visit a memorial over here that represents a historical event from WWII, it is easy to think how long ago the events took place and how times have changed. I do it all the time. Unfortunately, the world is not that simple. We learned that barely a week goes by in Germany without unexploded bombs from WWII being discovered on building sites. A brief history. After WWII, with most of the cities destroyed, the lack of resources and time did not allow for a thorough search of unexploded bombs. As a result, more than 2,000 tons of American and British aerial bombs and all kinds of munitions ranging from German hand grenades and anti-tank mines to Russian artillery shells are recovered each year in Germany. Since bomb removals are so common, they rarely make the news. Ironically, and very sadly, just two days following Memorial Day, three German bomb disposal experts attempting to diffuse a bomb found some 7 meters in the ground on a construction site were killed when the bomb exploded unexpectedly. The scars of war last much longer than the official dates recorded in history books.


To all those that have served their country and for those that have paid the ultimate price, we thank you for your selfless service and will never forget the sacrifices paid by so many.