Trier, Germany and Luxembourg

On our way from Munich to Luxembourg, we stopped in Trier, Germany for the afternoon. Trier is right on the Germany/Luxembourg border and was once an important Roman settlement.

We saw the Porta Nigra, or the "Black Gate", built by the Romans.

This is Jason standing in front of something built by the Romans that still stands today. Pretty cool, right?

And here I am with a cute elephant. Trier and Luxembourg both had these elephants all around the city center, each one decorated in a different way. We later learned from our friends that a business, group or individual will decorate the elephant, the elephants tour around the world, and then they're auctioned off for charity.

This is a picture of the city center in Trier. I don't think you can find a more picturesque German town than this one.

Besides having some really cool Roman structures, Trier is also known for being the birthplace of Karl Marx. Note Jason standing in the lower left of this picture. He refused to turn around for the picture.

This is a bridge originally built by the Romans and still in use today. While I'm hopeful work has been done on it to keep it structurally sound, it's amazing that it's being driven on by cars in the 21st century! 

Getting from Munich to Luxembourg is not the easiest trip. We had a couple different transfers and it was our longest train ride yet. 

But it's made much more difficult when you're trying to visit friends who live in a tiny village that no one working in train stations has ever heard of. 

And the person in the trip center at the train station can't understand very much English. And your German, while good enough to order food, understand billboards and read Harry Potter, is not adequate to explain that the automatic ticket/trip planner machines don't have your friend's village listed as an option. 

Ah, good times. 

 We made it to our wonderful hosts' home, the Hurst family, (with yet another train transfer between Trier and the village) and were met by them at the train station. 

We had a fabulous home-cooked dinner (with at least 5 different types of meat- Jason was excited) that tasted WAY better than any of the food we'd had so far on the trip.

We stayed up much later than we were used to because who wants to go to sleep when you can talk to friends you only see once every few years? 

And the next day, we had the best tour guides in all of Luxembourg.

We saw the castle at Vianden...

That we rode up to in a chair lift because who really wants to walk all the way up that hill? 

Those two girls are Moira and Megan Hurst. For those of you who don't know, I met Megan and Moira when I went to Luxembourg on a missions trip in 2005. We've kept in touch and visited each other and Megan was even the maid of honor in my wedding.

This is us with the castle in the background...

Me with Megan (left) and Moira (right). 

Of course we had to try out the stocks in the castle. 

I think Jason looks pretty comfortable there.

We left the castle, had lunch, and then drove to Luxembourg (the city). Megan and Moira showed us around and pointed out their favorite places to get macaroons, ice cream, coffee and hang out with friends. It made me wish we had a "city center" to hang out in...but we really don't have anything comparable. 

Luxembourg has a royal family...not a king/queen, but a grand duke. This is Jason and I in front of the palace.

Jason and I with part of the city of Luxembourg in the background.

Megan, Moira and I.

Jason actually took good pictures with me in Luxembourg...I think it was because there were other people with us and he didn't want to make a fuss! Megan and Moira, you should have traveled with us the whole time! 

We stopped by the American cemetery in Luxembourg and walked through the graves a little bit. It's amazing how immaculate the cemetery is...the grass is absolutely perfect, the crosses are completely white...it's incredible.

General George Patton, a famous WWII general, is buried in Luxembourg.

Later that evening, Jason and I went for a walk along the Mosel river (forms part of the border between Luxembourg and Germany) with Megan and her dad, Graham. There are vineyards planted all along the banks of the river...this is a picture of a cluster of grapes.

This is Jason and I standing in front of a vineyard, with more vineyards in the background. The river is down in the valley somewhere.

The next day, Sunday, we went to church with Megan and her mom, Cecille, and I was able to see a few of the people, including the pastor and his wife, whom I've kept in touch with over the years.

We had a quick lunch with the Hursts and then Megan and Moira took us to the train station. It was so hard to say goodbye...but we were off to more adventures in The Netherlands!