American Military Cemetery

Unbeknownst to many Americans, there are 22 military cemeteries in foreign countries.  General George Patton is buried in the American military cemetery in Luxembourg.  The Battle of the Bulge was fought in Luxembourg as well as Belgium.  All over Europe there are memorials and monuments to the soldiers of our country for their service in both World Wars. 

At the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg, remains of 5,076 soldiers are buried, 101 of which are unknown.  My favorite inscription surrounds the mosaic on the ceiling of the chapel and reads:

IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THOSE MEN OF THE ARMED SERVICES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WHO IN THIS REGION AND IN THE SKIES ABOVE IT ENDURED ALL AND GAVE ALL THAT JUSTICE AMONG NATIONS MIGHT PREVAIL AND THAT MANKIND MIGHT ENJOY FREEDOM AND INHERIT PEACE.

Also an inscription set in the granite paving at the center of the memorial terrace from Eisenhower’s dedication speech:

ALL WHO SHALL HEREAFTER LIVE IN FREEDOM WILL BE HERE REMINDED THAT TO THESE MEN AND THEIR COMRADES WE OWE A DEBT TO BE PAID WITH GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR SACRIFICE AND WITH THE HIGH RESOLVE THAT THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY DIED SHALL LIVE ETERNALLY.

So on Memorial Day this year, please gratefully remember their sacrifice and resolve that the cause for which they died shall live eternally.

Luxembourg City market

Saturday morning was the Luxembourg City market.  In the old part of town at Place Guillaume, we bought flowers for our hostess that evening, olives, fruit, sausages and a baguette.  There were also cheeses, homemade jams and honey, fish, and lots of beautiful vegetables.

Versailles

Versailles at one time was as big as present day Paris.  It is still really really big.  The palace is big.  The garden is big.  The park is big.  Some day I will see more of it, but one day is not enough.  The hall of mirrors was undergoing rennovation last time we were here and so we made a beeline for it.

Travails

Ahhh Travels - some of our most memorable times have been the mishaps of getting to where we're going.  Usually I turn the wrong way from the start and spend a LOT of time trying to get either where I'm going or at least where I've come from.  This past weekend in Paris, I didn't bring the hotel address or map or directions, so we wandered in the direction I thought it was, asked a few times and finally made it.

Also, when planning the return trip every leg of the journey should be thought through.  Make no assumptions.  Here the bus and train schedules are reduced on Sunday, so on the way home from Paris we missed the last bus home in addition to missing one of our stops because the train made an extremely quick stop and the exit door in our car was out of order.  Even so, we still would have missed the last bus home.  Luckily, an innocent driver pulled into the gas station and was cornered and persuaded to drive us home.  People here are very accomodating.  Think about it - would the first stranger you saw at night be willing to drive out of his way to take a couple foreigners home?

It's Positively Medieval!

In the US, we have Rennaisance Fairs.  Well, that's just too modern for Europe.  They need to get Medieval! We went to the Medieval Market in Trier over the weekend and saw an owl, lots of soldiers, artisans, musicians and of course had some lager/beer/ale.