We took the freeway through Belgium and again learned how stupid the Belgiums are - bad roads, ugly buildings and confusing highway signs. We went through the Ardennes to Bastogne and into Luxembourg. The landscape had changed to large rolling hills and we went through small villages every few kilometers. Each village had buildings painted bright colors of red, orange, blue, and yellow and I do mean bright (of course no pictures).
Our first stop was just along the road to take a break and have a drink! The woods are thick and lush and Luxembourg is said to be the land of the fairytales.
The first village we stopped at was Esch-Sauer. It is built along cliffs and is absolutely beautiful!
There was a river that wound through the village and a castle dating back to 927 AD on the top of the hill that you could hike up to.
The castle is in ruins but you can climb up the turrets and have a great look at the scenery. The kids found a cat that blended in with the rocks and liked watching it run around. Preston also had to try to throw rocks into the river way below and was successful a couple of times before Jip found the sign that said no rock throwing. But we just stupid American tourists, that only speak English, right?
Another look from one of the torrets. There is lots of hiking trails all over the country and lots of people camp also. You can see why with all the forests and hills. My kind of place!
When we got to Luxembourg City, we were in awe at the beauty around us- lush green trees, amazing buildings, a small river, everything neat and clean and still a bright blue sky. We loved the city as soon as we arrived!
We had barely been out of the car and the kids were already acting as though they had walked forever!
We got there just in time to take a tour of the casements that are under part of the city. They were used for hundreds of years to defend the city by the people of Luxembourg, the French, the Spanish, the Dutch and the Germans. Luxembourg's history is filled with them being conquered by some other country. We had to walk up and down over 400 uneven stairs through the casements.
When we reached the bottom we went out where the river is and there are beautiful walks along the river. This is a picture of the largest stone bridge in all of Europe.
Here Preston is pretending that the sound of the cannons is deafening which it would have been. The close quarters would have been terrible to have to fight in, especially with the smoke and noise.
Anita and I had a great time trying to get the timer to work on my camera, which it eventually did.
Notice the reflection of the clouds in the river below the abbey.
After having Preston sneak back and but more more money in the meter (they monitor the parking pretty closely and we were only allowed 1 hour because parking is at a premium), we took a break in the main center of the city and had a drink or ice cream and can you believe that we went to McDonald's!
After our rest, we just wound our way around Luxembourg City and went wherever it looked interesting. This little street had a Gothic arch across it and was so narrow, it was hard to believe cars could go down it.
We eventually found the oldest part of the city that has been designated a historical site by UNISCO. The kids were worn out with walking, so Anita and I marveled at the beautiful sites around us and went to all the places along the old wall you could look out.
Eventually we talked the kids into coming and looking at the gardens down by the river and the reflection of the abbey into the river. I don't think they were too impressed though.
We walked around the wall until we got back to where we'd parked the car. It was so beautiful and Anita and I hated to leave but the time had expired on our meter again so we thought we should leave.
After one more drive around the residental area of the city, we headed home - the fast way on the freeway. Poor Anita had to drive the whole way and was completely worn out by the time we got back to her aunt and uncle's house.
4 comments:
Remember my sixth grade report on Luxembourg? I've always wanted to go visit... sigh. We can't all be as spoiled as Preston.
Hey--I just wish I'd been born as the youngest Drain kid. Everything looks soooo beautiful. I do hope you are enjoying every minute.
Hey, I just noticed that you have a blog. Looks like you had a great time! We love to travel just like Scott and Lonica. We have been to almost all of the states, but now we can't wait to do some international traveling when we are finished with this schooling. Looks like the trip you just took would be a great place to start. I cannot believe how much preston has changed since I have seen him last. He is a little hottie. Tell Garth I said hi.
Nice to hear from you Kandra, I hope all is continuing to go well with you pregnancy.
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