Monday, October 13, 2008

Luxembourg and Trier in a dash

Traveling with a two and a half year old is tough. Traveling with two 2 year olds and a 5 month old will test the limits of reason. But what else is there to do in life but to be unreasonable some days. Our most recent adventure took us south to Luxembourg City, Lux. What a beautiful place- full of parks and coffee shops, there is little else to want on a chilly Saturday afternoon. (Well maybe a nap)

A map is not required to see the city; it is full of pedestrian walks and signs that point you to where you want to go. After wandering around the shops and eateries we strolled on over to the Gëlle Fra monument which shares one of the most magnificent outlooks in the city. Being October, all of the leaves are starting to change, and for me, it was heaven to see. As I mentioned before, we were traveling with small people, and we not able to stay long in the city- but we know now how long it takes to get there, and what we want to visit when we come back.

Being associated with the armed forces does have its advantages. One of these is the benefit of being able to stay at the temporary lodging facilities on the bases in Europe. Where a night in a local hotel would cost you € 80, a night with the army will only be $25. This makes traveling for us very reasonable- AND the facilities are very nice...

The next day we did some shopping at the American stores on base- sometimes it's hard to find what you really want around here- and then headed out to Trier. Trier is a most wonderful city situated on the banks of the Mosel River neighboring Luxembourg. The countryside is well known for their wines and the city it's self boasts a history that is over 2000 years! Once called the Roman capitol of the north, you can still see evidence of Roman occupation in the amphitheater, the ruins of Roman baths, and the Porta Nigra, the best preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps. There is so much more to see in Trier then the ruins of the Romans- Trier like most large cities has a beautiful cathedral that is worth a trip to see. And if the cathedral doesn’t impress you, then the shopping and gastronomy is sure to do the trick. Even the children we brought along seemed to like this place.

Europe is a fun place to visit, and I am so glad that we have all of the opportunities that we do, and we look forward to seeing more with some gusts- so come over, the beer is great here!

PS: So being overwhelmed as I was with small people, the camera did not make an appearance on this trip- BUT it did make the trip with us... resting the whole time in it's bag where it did lots of good taking up valuable car space.... SO, there are no photos... sorry!

PSS: W. started kindergarten last week- actually speilgruppe, and she is fast on her way to learning more German than I!

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