The Stoic Guard
This morning we spent our time cruising the Moselle. We found that it is also spelled Mosel so we don't know which is right, but we are sticking with Moselle. Anyway, we thought we would tell you about the scenery along the river. It is lushly green and the daily rain showers probably explain that. Winter this year was a little long so the trees and grape vines are just beginning to get their leaves. Both sides of the river have steep, green hills coming up from the river dotted with lovely little towns along the banks. Each town has a church steeple rising above it.
The most interesting feature along the river, besides the small towns, is the vineyards. There are miles and miles of them and they go very steeply up the hills. We wonder how the growers can climb up and tend the vines. Vineyards can be very labor intensive, so it can be challenging to manage them. Some of the vineyards have little carts that are powered up the hills to bring the grapes down, but not many. Almost all of the grapes are Reislings. They might grow a few others but not many do. There are also many graceful swans on the river adding to its charm.
After lunch we all boarded buses for our trip to Luxembourg.
Our first stop was the American Cemetary which has the remains of 5,000 plus servicemen who mainly fought in the Battle of the Bulge. It is also U.S. soil and the graves were marked with the same crosses as the cemetary in Normandy. General Patton is buried there. Our guide gave us a very informative discription of the battle. We found it to be a beautiful and peaceful place - a sharp contrast to the atmosphere there in 1944-45.
Next we drove to Luxembourg City. We had a narrated bus tour and then we got out and did a walking tour of the old city section. We stopped at the Grand Duchy Palace. The Grand Duke doesn't live there and it is used for diplomatic purposes. A guard was posted outside and every few minutes he snapped his heals and marched from end to end, very stocic as they do. After stopping at attention at his post, a small child climbed on the chain rope between him and the public (it was no higher than 2-3 feet). Although the guard was supposed to stay very serious without a smile, he had trouble trying to keep a straight face, and finally couldn't hold back and smiled. So much for keeping serious!
Luxembourg is a big financial center plus a center for a lot of administrative activities for the European Union, so there is a big modern section of the town. It was a holiday today so the traffic was good but the shops were not open. We ended our tour in the main square where they had a nice orchestra playing while everyone sat at the tables of all the cafes. We grabbed some pastries and enjoyed the square before heading back to Trier, where we are moored until tomorrow afternoon.
Before reaching Trier this morning, we went through 2 more locks. The locks on the Moselle are only 41-ft wide and the River Queen is 37-ft wide, so it's a tight fit. Tomorrow we'll do a tour of Trier before heading to our next stop.
The most interesting feature along the river, besides the small towns, is the vineyards. There are miles and miles of them and they go very steeply up the hills. We wonder how the growers can climb up and tend the vines. Vineyards can be very labor intensive, so it can be challenging to manage them. Some of the vineyards have little carts that are powered up the hills to bring the grapes down, but not many. Almost all of the grapes are Reislings. They might grow a few others but not many do. There are also many graceful swans on the river adding to its charm.
After lunch we all boarded buses for our trip to Luxembourg.
Our first stop was the American Cemetary which has the remains of 5,000 plus servicemen who mainly fought in the Battle of the Bulge. It is also U.S. soil and the graves were marked with the same crosses as the cemetary in Normandy. General Patton is buried there. Our guide gave us a very informative discription of the battle. We found it to be a beautiful and peaceful place - a sharp contrast to the atmosphere there in 1944-45.
Next we drove to Luxembourg City. We had a narrated bus tour and then we got out and did a walking tour of the old city section. We stopped at the Grand Duchy Palace. The Grand Duke doesn't live there and it is used for diplomatic purposes. A guard was posted outside and every few minutes he snapped his heals and marched from end to end, very stocic as they do. After stopping at attention at his post, a small child climbed on the chain rope between him and the public (it was no higher than 2-3 feet). Although the guard was supposed to stay very serious without a smile, he had trouble trying to keep a straight face, and finally couldn't hold back and smiled. So much for keeping serious!
Luxembourg is a big financial center plus a center for a lot of administrative activities for the European Union, so there is a big modern section of the town. It was a holiday today so the traffic was good but the shops were not open. We ended our tour in the main square where they had a nice orchestra playing while everyone sat at the tables of all the cafes. We grabbed some pastries and enjoyed the square before heading back to Trier, where we are moored until tomorrow afternoon.
Before reaching Trier this morning, we went through 2 more locks. The locks on the Moselle are only 41-ft wide and the River Queen is 37-ft wide, so it's a tight fit. Tomorrow we'll do a tour of Trier before heading to our next stop.
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