Battle of the Bulge Cemetery - Luxembourg

Day 12 - We docked in Traben-Trarbach and disembarked for a tour of Luxembourg. This tiny nation comprises less than 1,000 square miles. It is a constitutional monarchy located between Belgium, France and Germany. A little history now before I go on.

German forces occupied Luxembourg in May, 1940 and its liberation (primarily by American troops) began in September, 1944. The Battle of the Bulge began with Hitler's desperate attack through the Ardennes in an attempt to drive out the Allied forces. The resulting battle, called "the greatest American battle of the Second World War" by Winston Churchill, raged here from December 16, 1944 to January 28, 1945. The US. suffered 8,447 killed, 46,170 wounded and 20,905 missing or imprisoned. The Germans suffered 10,749 killed, 34,439 wounded and 32,487 missing or imprisoned.

We arrived at the cemetery to beautiful gates adorned with golden eagles and wreaths. This land is bequeathed in perpetuity without payment or taxes to the American people to honor their dead. Our flag flies above it.


There is a large tower that contains a carillon that played America the Beautiful, Amazing Grace, Battle Hymn of the Republic, etc. and set a somber and overwhelming tone for the visit.



In case you can't read the inscription, it says:

1941-1945
In proud remembrance
Of the achievements of her sons
And in humble tribute
To their sacrifices
This memorial has been erected by
The United States of America

Maps showing the European theater and the Battle of the Bulge were mounted on slabs that contained the name of thousands of Missing In Action military men.





There are two Medal of Honor winners buried here, one of which was this young man from Indiana.


The most visited grave is that of General George S. Patton, Jr. Though he was killed in an automobile accident, he had requested he be buried here with his men.



The entire trip was worth the visit to this cemetery.

Our next stop was in stark contrast to the beautiful grounds we had just left. We were driven to a parking lot and walked through the woods to a German cemetery. Bodies of soldiers were gathered from all over Belgium and brought here for burial. While our soldiers were buried in bronze caskets in their own plot, the German soldiers share a cross with several names on it. They were buried in burlap bags. There is one common grave of over 4,000 soldiers. Because the German government contributes only 6-7% to the maintenance of this cemetery, Luxembourg refuses to fly the German flag.



We had a group lunch in Luxembourg City and then had some individual time to look around. We visited Notre Dame Cathedral and I took a picture of this sign requesting silence in French and German. Ruhe is a family name on my mother's side. This magnificent Gothic structure was constructed between 1613 and 1621. It holds the royal family vault and the huge sarcophagus of Count of Luxembourg John I of Bohemia ("John the Blind"; 1296-1346)



We stopped at a beautiful overlook on the return to the ship. This is one of a very few pictures of the two of us on this trip.

Trier, Part of the Holy Roman Empire

Day 11 - Trier is the oldest city in Germany. There were settlements here in the third millennium before Christ and the Roman Emperor Augustus founded a thriving city in 15 BC. We visited the remains of the palatial imperial baths. This complex consisted of hot water baths, a huge hall housing a semi-circular pool and two smaller pools. In the basement, a vast labyrinthine network of corridors were constructed to provide access to the heating system by those manning the carts bringing charcoal. The last photo shows an opening where the hot water flowed into the pools.








It's amazing that they had engineered hot running water and then the skill seems to have been lost for centuries. We saw homes with hot water and floor heating in Medira, Spain, also part of the Roman Empire, when we visited there in the early 90s.

We continued our walk and viewed Porta Nigra, a towering Roman gateway built around 200 AD. It is the largest surviving city gate from ancient Roman times. We also visited the Trier Cathedral (St. Peter's) where the seamless robe of Christ is housed. According to one tradition, Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the seamless robe in the Holy Land in the year 327 or 328 along with several other relics, including the True Cross. The robe is normally kept folded in a reliquary and cannot be directly viewed by the faithful. We also viewed the Prince Bishop Palace that is now used as a government building. We were glad to learn the ancient history of this city.

Next Stop Bernkastel

Day 10 - We started our day with a stroll around Bernkastel, one of the most picturesque towns in the Mosel Valley. Then we went to a wine cellar (literally) to taste riesling wines. Bern is bear in German, thus the bear fountain. The castle ruin of Burg-Landshut overlooks the river, thus the name.



The doors open into the cellar under the vineyard hills. It was dark, damp and the perfect temperature for storing wine. We would have loved to bring wine home but with the liquid restrictions on aircraft it's impossible. Some people bought some and said they would wrap it in their clothes, but if it breaks ... what a mess you would have.



Bernkastel is famous for Doctor Wine that goes back to a fable about the wine from this region curing a king. This painting on the wall tells the story.



The rest of the photos are just shots of the half timbered houses in the area bedecked with flowers.

The afternoon was spent cruising the colorful Mosel valley with all the leaves on the vineyards starting to turn. We especially enjoyed the color change because we don't get that in Texas.

Cochem and Reichsburg Castle

Day 9 - We turned south onto the Mosel River with our first stop at the village of Cochem. The entire Rhein and Mosel Valleys are dotted with picturesque villages that are so wonderful to wander through. The smells in the bakeries alone are worth the walks. It's hard to describe the charm of these small cities with their stately cathedrals and churches, buildings hundreds of years old, cobblestone streets and friendly citizens. This is Reisling and Piesporter wine country. Vineyards (or win-yards as Peter says) line the hillsides. There was still harvesting going on and we saw many workers picking the grapes.






However, we had the Reichsburg Castle on the agenda today. Perhaps one of the most visually impressive castles of Germany, along the banks of the Mosel River of western Germany, the Reichsburg Imperial castle’s cone roof spired tower stands above the walls like a jewel in a crown, perched on a steep sloped hilltop. The original castle was first built around the year 1,000. It was destroyed in the Palatine Wars of Succession in 1689 and seized again by the French under Napoleon in 1794. The castle has been the property of the town of Cochem since the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo and the castle in its current form was reconstructed as a revival of neo-gothic fervor in the 1870’s.

Bonn and Bruhl

Day 8 - This morning while others took a walking tour of Bonn, I chose to stay behind to catch my breath. Being up, dressed, had breakfast and ready to walk each morning by 8:30 or 9:00 can wear you out. Ted did go into Bonn on the walk and took these pictures of the home of Beethoven.





In the afternoon we traveled to Bruhl to visit the Augustusburg Palace. This is a horseshoe-shaped palace, a masterpiece of rococo architecture. It was built for Clemens August of Wittelsbach, the powerful Prince-Archbishop of Cologne. It's amazing what a little tax money and church donations can build!



We were not allowed to take pictures inside which is unfortunate because there was beautiful craftsmanship throughout the palace.

What we did not have an opportunity to see was Schloss Falkenlust, a smaller castle that served as a hunting lodge with an exquisitely landscaped garden modeled after Versailles.

A Bridge Too Far

Day 7 - It's late 1944, and the Allied armies are confident they'll win World War II and be home in time for Christmas. What's needed, says British general Bernard Law Montgomery, is a knockout punch, a bold strike through Holland, where German troops are spread thin, that will put the Allies into Germany. Paratroops led by British major general Robert Urquhart and American brigadier general James Gavin will seize a thin road and five bridges through Holland into Germany.

This is the trailer for the movie "A Bridge Too Far." The bridge "too far" is in Arnhem but one of the other bridges is in Nijmegan, the Netherlands oldest city, and was the site of an important battle in WWII - Operation Market Gardens. The operation did not succeed and I recommend you read a book or see the movie to understand the entire history of this failed attempt. Here is our ship docked with the Nijmegan bridge in the background.



In the afternoon we went to the National Liberation Museum which covers the period preceding WWII, the Netherlands' occupation and its rebuilding following liberation. Being in a precarious geographic location, the Netherlands suffered greatly during the war. What I found interesting was the attempt to tell people what led up to the war. The only picture I took was of a memorial that listed Ancel D. Mullins' death on the date of Ted's birth.



However, I want to share a few things I read on plaques.

Facism and its characteristics

The state or the party control all segments of society and enforce obedience with secret police.

Blind faith in the leader that thinks and decides for the entire population.

Heirarchy among races.

All citizens are continuously immersed in party ideology.

Emotions, not rationality, of the average person on the street, are addressed.

Causes of Fascism in Germany and Italy

Severe poverty and unemployment due to the economic crisis of 1921 and 1929.

Fascist leaders use modern media to exploit mass psychology and thus influence large masses of people.

There was also a poem I'm sure most of you have heard at one time or another but I think it bears repeating here.

First they came for the communists
And I did not speak up
Because I was not a communist

Then they came for the social democrats
And I did not speak up
Because I was not a social democrat

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak up
Because I was not a trade unionists

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak up
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for the Catholics
And I did not speak up
Because I was a Protestant

Finally they came for me
But by then there was no one left
To speak up for me