A day in Luxembourg

After a week of mostly the same old busy stuff like cooking class, german class, Travis' golf clinic, hanging out with friends, riding bikes etc, etc...  We finished out the week with a fun day trip over to the small little country of Luxembourg.   I will get to that later but first a few pics of the rest of our week.
This week in cooking class it was the famous and much anticipated "Schnitzel Class".  Yes, I have finally learned how to make this very german and very yummy dish.  It is basically a pork cutlet, pounded very flat and then sometimes breaded (mit Paniert) and sometimes not.  Then it's pan fried and served with many different sauces.  This is our instructor, Karin, pounding out the schnitzel.

Our internet is working awesome and so is the phone.  I am still trying to find the best time to call back to the states.  The time difference is a killer for that!   You are all in bed by the time I am up, have Travis out the door and I am ready to call.   Then I sit around all day waiting for you guys to wake up. Then our evenings are always so crazy and before I know it, it's bedtime!  I will try harder to make contact with my "previous life" this week :)    

Here's a gem of a photo showing the amazing technical skill and attention to detail we have found some of our German technicians employ when installing complicated and intricate wiring systems here in Germany.  This is our command center on top of the downstairs fridge in the laundry room.

It must work though because instead of it taking up to 5 minutes to load each picture for this blog, it now only takes 5-10 seconds!!

On Thursday my fearless friend, Karma, invited me to go for a bike ride through the German countryside with her. She is a pro bike rider but obviously likes to help out the less skilled and trained by doing a "mercy ride" once in a while.  She rode from her village to mine (about 2 1/2 miles), picked me up and we rode about 8 miles and then she rode home.  That is a breeze for her, but I barely made it home. There weren't even any hills!!  I did have a really fun time and I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be.  I can't wait to go again!

Notice the Big Bertha seat on my bike...hey, it really helps!

Now on to the fun day trip to Luxembourg.  We had been wanting to go here for a while now and the stars were finally aligned perfectly, so we woke Travis up early, jumped into the car and off we went.  It's about an hour and a half northwest of here.  Luxembourg is one of the tiniest countries in Europe.  It has one major city, the capitol, Luxembourg.  So we went to Luxembourg, Luxembourg.  It was a bit chilly and drizzly.  So they have the same springlike weather as we do in Germany.   Here is a photo of T.J. and Mike at the adorable outdoor cafe McDonalds. 

We parked and then walked into the old part of town and to the pedestrian shopping mall and main square.  They were having a Saturday Farmer's market.  It was beautiful....lots of colors and smells!

                                                        FLATS AND FLATS OF BEDDING PLANTS

THIS IS ONE OF THE CHEESE VENDORS.  WE ALL TRIED THE SAMPLE YOU CAN SEE ON THE CORNER.  IT WAS REALLY GOOD!  THEY JUST HAVE THESE BIG WHEELS OF CHEESE AND THEN THEY SLICE OFF WHATEVER SIZE YOU WANT.

Travis was hungry for something and spied the roasting chickens.  He had half a chicken and some fried potatoes.  Just when we are getting used to speaking German and knowing how to say "please, thank you, you're welcome etc..  We found ourselves feeling out of sorts again because most of the people in Luxembourg speak French.  We did figure out "Merci" by the end of the day.

We wandered around a bit more taking in the sights.  It is such a charming city.  

On the right is the Palace of the Grand Dukes.  It had an armed guard at the guard shack.  

We walked a couple of block to the Bock Casements. They are a series of tunnels and rooms 23 km long that were carved into the huge rocky embankment that forms a horseshoe shape around they city.  There is a deep gorge and the city was built around it and around a fortified castle in 963 A.D.  The Austrians excavated the Casements between 1737 and 1746.

 In 1867, after a war the military withdrew and 90% of the fortress was destroyed.  They tried to destroy the casements as well, but couldn't do it without demolishing the city,  so they sealed them up.  In 1994 they became a UNCESCO World Heritage Site. 

We paid about 3.50 Euro each to do a self guided tour of the casements.  It was very interesting.  Mike and Travis really liked exploring up and down winding staircases and down long dark tunnels.  It's amazing how much work must have gone into it.  

We finished the day with a stop at the Luxembourg American Military Cemetery.  This is where Gen. Patton is buried along with  5,076 American military dead, including a woman Army nurse.

There were only about 5 other people in the entire cemetery, so it was a perfect setting to reflect on the great sacrifices so many made for their country and to bring freedom to those of other countries.  I couldn't help but feel so close to these heroes as I looked across the sea of white grave markers and out into the woods where so many of them died.  


Happy Easter to everyone!  The church bells have been ringing for 15 minutes straight!  What a great way to celebrate this holy day.  You know how much I love hearing the church bells!!

Mike and Travis are going to the general Priesthood broadcast at the church at 11:00, then we are going to have dinner at McGraths with some other friends as well.  We will watch a couple of sessions of Conference on our computer this evening at 6 and 10 pm.  Easter seems strange this year, just like every other holiday we have had here.  We feel out of sorts without our big extended family to celebrate with.  Have fun without us..we know you will!


Good news, Bad news:  The good news first...We leave on Saturday for our Spring Break Cruise to the Mediterranean!!!   The ports are Savona, Italy; Naples, Italy; Sicily, Italy; Tunis, Tunisia(Africa); Barcelona, Spain; Mallorca, Spain and Marseilles, France.  We are going with 4 other families and it is going to be a blast!!
Bad news (well it could be good news depending on how much these blog entries bore you) ...There won't be one for the next two Sundays.   I will try to do one on the Monday after we get back though, so don't forget to come back here and see what adventures we've been up to.


love and miss you all,
-corri