Team VanderPants: Grand Duchy or Bust

Luxembourg, officially titled the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is named so because it’s the world’s only remaining sovereign grand duchy, meaning it is ruled by a grand duke. This is where we spent Michael’s last set of break days.

Luxembourg is a country about the size of Rhode Island. So tiny! But it packs a big punch. We felt like the city of Luxembourg was by far one of the nicest cities we’d ever visited.

We didn’t know anything about Luxembourg prior to visiting, so I’m guessing we’re not alone in that.

Here’s some info:
Luxembourg touts the world’s highest GDP per capita. Impressive! They aren’t stingy either. Luxembourg ranked 16th among the top world donors of development aid to Afghanistan, with total aid of $1,488,399,000 as of 2010. In 2010 it donated $700,280 to the Afghanistan program, as well as $123,305 toward improving maternal and infant health in Kabul and Kandahar. It also donated $650,000 to help the flood victims of the tragedy in Pakistan in summer 2010. Those Luxembourgers, they seem like nice people.

They speak German, French and Luxembourgish. Luxembourgish? It’s like Spanglish, but a little more snooty.

OH, and the Luxembourg Army only has 2000 members. Wow!

We made three main stops: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg American Cemetery and Vianden.

**WARNING: We took a TON of photos. We loved this place...this post goes on FOREVER**

Palace of the Grand Dukes - the oldest parts date back to the 1500s.

This guy is one of only 2000 Army members!!! Oh, and he has a sweet chinstrap beard. blech.

Looking down at the city.

Much of the city was built into the landscape and the streets are very steep in some areas.

Rosie was a trooper and caught a ride with Daddy for the day. :)

We started the day with a self guided tour called the Wenzel Circular Walk. Because we pretty much never prepare for anything, we had no idea where it started and ended up doing the walk backwards (not walking backwards, just visiting the sites in reverse order, hehehe)

St. Michael's Church - these windows were gorgeous.

Did you know St. Michael is the patron saint of paratroopers?

Well, Michael does.

Even though he's a leg now.

The Bock is pictured to the left in the photo below. It was the castle's natural fortification and was rebuilt many times after successfully defending itself from attackers. Within the ruins are tunnels, pathways and caves called the Casemates. This was such an interesting place to visit and gave fantastic views of the city.

This view looks out over the Grund,

which is a portion of Luxembourg City's downtown and oldest area dating back to A.D. 963.

I love this pic of Michael and Rosie because there were some

Chinese tourists behind me taking pics of them as well. So funny.

The Grund. This downtown area is supposed to be really popular at night.

Our "night" starts and ends with Rosie's bedtime at 6:30p so we'll just have to believe the guidebooks!

Look Teri, a second hand shop! Wait, does that say Second-Hand FOOD & DRINKS. Eww.

We pictured half empty Coke bottles and partially snacked on croissants being sold at a discounted price.

Rosie took a little cat nap on the walking tour. And who can blame her?

If I could nap every time Michael got us lost and then snap back once we were on the right path,

I'd totally do that.

They did have some reconstruction projects going on. It seemed like they were really trying to keep the city to it's traditional self. Even though there were cranes on the horizon in a couple spots, they honestly weren't noticeable. It was no China!

Self-timer pic - with a sleepy baby!

End of the city tour, back where we started. Loved this city so much.

From the city center, it was off to the Luxembourg American Military Cemetery.

The cemetery was established on December 29, 1944 by the U.S. Third Army while Allied Forces were stemming the enemy's desperate Ardennes Offensive, one of the critical battles of World War II. The city of Luxembourg served as headquarters for General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army. General Patton is buried here along with several of the Band of Brothers soldiers.

The photo below was hanging in the cemetery's welcome center. The description reads:

"On a cold December day, veterans of the Battle of the Bulge reunite at the American cemetery in Luxembourg. Here, guarded by tall pines, rest the mortal remains of some 5,000 American boys who died fighting to liberate Europe. As the veterans reflect amidst the gently falling snow, their welling emotions confirm their often-stated belief: 'The real heroes never came home.' Here, they feel a presence, a warmth amidst the cold. Something tells them they are not alone and this silent reunion is not the last."

We were touched by the painting and the stories of the men.

If you want to read more about it, check out Valor Studios and scroll down to History Behind the Art.

While we were all at the cemetery, Rosie was less than reserved.

In fact, she was down right giddy with silliness.

We decided that a happy baby at a cemetery is certainly not the worst of things.

Monument as you enter the cemetery.

Crazy Rosie.

Look at those TEETH!

She's been making this funny scrunchy face recently. Love it.

Unknown Soldier's grave site.

Friends have commented in the past that it's nice we've visited so many overseas American Military Cemeteries (we blog about each of them), but in general the comment comes off more as a question, like why in the world are you visiting cemeteries on your vacation!? Without looking at the big picture, I can see how it might be confusing. But the reality is that these service members died in a foreign country fighting for our freedom and for the freedom of others. For the majority, their families have not visited their gravesides - not because they don't care, but because it's not financially or logistically possible. So if our little family can walk through and recognize even a few names, even for just a brief moment, I think it's the least we can do. They've sacrificed their lives for our amazing country. I'm so grateful to be a veteran myself and that Michael is safe right now on Active Duty. Hopefully one day Rosie, too, will understand the importance of these visits.