Old Posts - Februrary Trip to Germany, Luxembourg and Battle of the Bulge

Hello hello! This post has been sitting on my computer for weeks, and I’m just now getting around to posting. Yes, I am aware that I am a giant slacker. Forgive me. So, I guess I’ll treat you to some old blog posts about what I have been up to in the months since I’ve posted.

In February, our group, 22 students and Jerry, headed off for a whirlwind trip about Luxembourg, Eastern Belgium and a little bit of Germany. We spent Wednesday night and Thursday in Luxembourg, which is tiny and beautiful. I don't know if you have been following European weather, but it has been a little chilly in this region of the world. Since Luxembourg is higher than Belgium (really not hard to be higher than Belgium), it was very cold and there was about 3 inches of snow!! Since it had been raining in Brussels for 2 weeks, snow was a very nice change.

There was an academic reason for our program to visit Luxembourg. At the beginning of the EU (back when it was still the European Coal and Steel Community) all of the organizations were based in Luxembourg. Today, only the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance are left. On Thursday we went to the ECJ, reviewed the basic structure and how it operates and then we sat in on a case. It wasn't very interesting because it was highly technical and involved a lot of Italian labour legislation, but it was very cool to be able to sit in the courtroom while the hearing was taking place. In the ECJ, hearings are really just formalities, but there is still a lot of pomp and circumstance involved which is pretty cool. We also stopped by the European Investment Bank, which wasn't quite as interesting since it involved a lot of economics and banking stuff. However, they did give us tea and the building was pretty, so not all was lost.

On Friday morning we got up and drove to Trier, which was once a capital city of the Roman Empire. There are a ton of Roman ruins around the city, including a gate, baths and a coliseum. In addition to the Roman ruins, Trier is known as a fairly good wine region. It is also a very student friendly city, so after we walked around all the sites we headed out for some German food. Unfortunately I was under the weather, so I spent the rest of the night in my hotel room watching German television.

My illness on Friday night was just a prelude to Saturday, so I spent Saturday fighting a fever while we drove around the sites of the Battle of the Bulge. While the subject was very somber, the scenery was beautiful. Lots pastoral landscapes and quaint villages. We saw the Siegfried line, which was a German defensive line designed to stop the allied offensive. Finally, late in the afternoon, we got out of the bus to walk the front lines near Aachen. There was about six inches snow on the ground, so you couldn't even tell that it had once been the scene of a horrendous campaign. I took lots of pictures of all the snow covering foxholes and the other trappings of war. What struck me most about our visit to the front lines was that all the carnage seems to have been swept away by time. It isn't even eerie to walk along the road, in fact lots of people use it as a hiking trail. I think I will always remember that I stood in the forest where one of the bloodiest battles of World War Two took place thinking how pretty the scenery was, not about the fact that thousands of brave young men on both sides lived and died there. Today, the hills and fields that were once battlegrounds have reverted to their original purpose, and the people who remember what happened there are dying, leaving nothing more than distant memories. To me, that is a tragedy. The war that changed Europe, and the world, forever, should be remembered. Not just for the men who died far from home, but for what they died for. Maybe if we learn that lesson, we can stop using weapons as negotiation tools and start talking to those who oppose us.

We spent Saturday night in Aachen, the home of Charlemagne and he is buried in the city. Aachen was a beautiful city, with several lovely squares and a very nice little shopping district. I think I fell in love with the basilica, mostly because of the breathtaking mosaics on the ceiling. I took several pictures that turned out well, but they can't compare to walking into the building and looking up. My jaw literally dropped. The ceilings reminded me a lot of the ceilings in St. Mark's cathedral on the Piazza San Marco in Venice – lots of gold and royal blue, incredible renderings of people and incredible attention to detail. Charlemagne is also buried in the basilica, in a very small gold box that is tucked away in the far back. It took us a while to figure out where exactly he was buried, as there are three magnificent gold boxes in the basilica, and Charlemagne is buried in the very smallest one.

After touring the city a little, some friends and I headed out for a nice Italian dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day. While not quite as commercialized as in the US, it seemed to me that every little shop window had a display with hearts set up. There were also lots of decorations for carnival, which is this weekend, so Aachen was extra festive.

On Sunday morning, we got up and headed back to Belgium. Along the way we stopped in at the American cemetery at Henri-Chapelle. The cemetery is very moving, and the director took us on a small tour, telling us stories about the men who are buried there. I have, of course, been to Arlington National Cemetery and seen the acres and acres of white headstones lined up in neat rows. Seeing death laid out like that is always so stark and moving, but the most incredible thing about the cemetery at Henri-Chapelle, is that the director knows the men who are buried there. He told us incredible stories about their lives, about their deaths, and about the families who still remember them. When we were leaving, he told us one final thing that he wanted us to remember. The men who are buried in the American cemeteries did not die of old age. They will forever be 19, 20, 21 - my age - and we should remember their lives and why they died. So, after we left the cemetery we headed to the aptly named Remember Museum. The Remember Museum is run by a Belgian couple that has actively tried to preserve the memory of what the Americans and the allies did during World War Two. They have collected an incredible amount of artifacts from World War Two, and put them on display in their own home so that veterans, their families and individual people can come and see, or remember, the lives of the people who fought in the Second World War. If you ever find yourself in Easter Belgium, it is certainly an interesting museum, crammed full of history and run by a dedicated, compassionate couple.

So, that was our little jaunt around Western Europe. It was educational, sometimes emotional and very fun. I took A TON of pictures, which I would love to share with everyone, so I am working on setting up an online account so you can all see what I've been up to. Once it is up and running, I'll post a link here on the blog so you can check it out if you're curious.

Back on the Brussels front, things have been going well. School and work are keeping me very busy but I love every second of it. I have more stories to update you all on - my trip to Berlin, spring break in Turkey and life around Brussels. I'll get to all of it - expect lots of posts in the next couple days. Miss you all, hope things are going well.