The Luxembourg-Trip Picnics

Many of you know how planning a vacation is sometimes half the fun.  Watch Astrid and you'll see how true this is for her!

Our 4-day-long weekend trip to Luxembourg a month ago was a planned trip with lots of leeway for spontaneous exploration.  That's why Astrid was dreaming how the cool-box could be used optimally for at least 2 picnics while we were out-n-about.

After our first day in Trier, Germany, with an overnight nearby, and then our second day in Luxembourg City (2 posts yet to be done!), we drove to our B&B in Jucken, Germany, just north of the Luxembourg border.

It's one of those places where if you blink you've already passed through it.

2.39 sq. miles with less than 200 inhabitants.

But the B&B stays busy because it's only 65 km from Luxembourg City.
The church across the street reminded me of an old one-room school house.

Speaking of inhabitants, here's one of them.  And one who used to be, I assume.

And just a short walk from her our first morning, life was already in full swing.

But I digress...because that first evening in Jucken, after a long day in Luxembourg City (with a nice noon meal in that delightful capital), we decided to have our first picnic.  But where?  We were in the middle of farm country!

We hopped in the car, after checking in at our B&B, and drove a mile or so to this spot off a dirt road.

See the blue cool-box?  I had never seen one before moving here, though I assume they're "old hat" now.

You hook them up to your car's cigarette lighter to keep the contents cool while you travel.

And see the picnic basket?  €5 at one of our first open-harbor flea markets here.  HA!

At the golden-hour time of the evening, this was as close to heaven as it gets.

We had purchased the loaf of bread at a superb bakery in Luxembourg City earlier.

Anyone could have lived on it alone!

And did you notice how our fold-up chairs match Granny Towanda.  :)

Picnic #2 happened the next late afternoon when we were out-n-about, going from here to there, and wanting to find the waterfalls of Irrel, Germany.  Like the painted church in Eschfeld we had seen on our B&B brochure, we had also seen a blurb about the Irrel waterfalls and covered bridge.

With all the signs we saw, you'd think it'd be easy-peasy to find!

But, NO, it wasn't.  We had to stop and ask!

When we finally saw 500m, we knew we were there.

As waterfalls go, this one is teeny-tiny...but in such a spectacular location.

When water levels are high, it's a popular spot for canoe sporting events.

And the covered bridge is the best seat in the house to see the cascading rapids over the boulders below.

Astrid and I crossed over the bridge to the other side to find a picnic spot, if possible,

not knowing if/what was available.

When we found this vacant bench, I stayed to "hold" it while Astrid walked back to the car for our supplies.

What a trooper!  And 2 old geezers in the middle of the woods with a river running through it!

Did I ever say this was as close to heaven as it gets?  

So, as you see, Astrid's pre-trip planning and dreaming really paid off.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Totally changing gears...

We spent 2 lovely hours this past Saturday in nearby Arkel sharing koffie with dear friends Thelma and Siem, something we try to do at least once or twice a year.

 It so happens granddaugher Sophia, age 1 1/2, was visiting while her older sister and mommy 

were at swimming lessons...something all Dutch kids "have" to take.

OMG.  A D O R A B L E.

And then BOTH of my camera batteries were dead.  What the?

But not to worry.  Astrid's camera was working just fine, with her images above.

Thelma, who recently turned 76, was telling me all about her iPad.

She's Indonesian and moved here when she was 18...and then married Dutchman Siem, 77.

Almost 50 years of wonderfulness, with 3 children and 5 grandchildren.

 They have a HUGE yard and garden area.

These are Astrid's images (and collage) of Thelma's craftiness.

You learn a lot about someone by what they make, don't you!

So, with that added inspiration, I'm off to process more of the Luxembourg trip....

BELGIUM: Bastogne and La Roche-en-ardenne

Continuing on with our Luxembourg long-weekend trip...following our time in Clervaux, Luxembourg (last post), we drove into Belgium on our way home to the Netherlands.  It was a day full of sights, in 3 different countries!

After Clervaux, we stopped in Bastogne, Belgium, in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes.  Doesn't that all sound absolutely romantic!

Along the way from here to there, we took the back roads and got to see the things I love:

the church steeples, the roadside shrines....

...like this one!  It's the biggest one we saw, just outside of Bastogne.  It even had a love padlock!

Southern Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium are all heavily Roman Catholic areas of Europe, 

in case I didn't mention it before.

Why Astrid wanted us to see Bastogne was because of the Mardasson Memorial...

in memory of the 76,890 American soldiers killed or wounded during the Battle of the Bulge.

The Germans had launched a surprise attack on the Allied forces in the forests of the Ardennes nearby.

It was one of America's costliest battles in WWII.

The memorial is from 1950, in the shape of a pentagram, listing the 48 contemporary states.

Notice how Astrid captured me above my namesake...and my state of birth!

(she also took the top and middle left images)

The Latin inscription on the center memorial stone says,

"The Belgian people remember their American liberators – 4th July 1946."

Remember how I have said before that Europe really thanks the Americans for their part in the World Wars?!

It felt appropriate to pass by St. Peter's Church (11th-16th c) as we left town.

Who was it that said "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars!"  (Mark 13:7)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

After Bastogne, we drove 28 km to La Roche-en-ardenne, also located in the province of Luxembourg in Belgium.  (It gets real confusing if you're not paying attention!)  Astrid had been there many years earlier and wanted to see it again.

 Along the way from Bastogne...notice the cyclists!  This is Tour du France area.

It happens to be one of the most famous tourist spots in the Ardennes, a small town (5K pop.) lying beside the bend of the River Ourthe.  In fact, Astrid said the town had become too touristy from how she remembered it.  She didn't even want to stay.

 But the town's medival castle rises above, from the 9th century, and was worth the stop.

This town, too, suffered severe damage during WWII.

And so it was appropriate, again. to visit another roadside chapel,

the Chapelle Sainte Marguerite, from 1600, nearby the medieval castle.

Our Granny Towanda (car) was proud to stand in front of her.

And at that point, we drove the highways back home!

That means in upcoming posts I will backtrack to what we did the previous days.  To be continued....