Road trip to Friedberg

We spent today visiting with Tom's Uncle Joe, his Aunt Micky and her husband Helmut. Uncle Joe sure looks better than the last time we saw him. Check out the photos on Flickr

The one thing I really wanted to do was to see if the Wool shop in town was open (last time we visited it was closed). This time it was open so I scored yarn!!!

Yesterday we took our 1st USO bus tour. We took the “Luxembourg City” tour. At 7am we caught the bus and after 2 ½ hours we crossed the Germany border into Luxembourg. No border guards, just a bridge and we’re in the next country. The bus didn’t even slow down. No need for the US passports we brought with us.
Our first stop was the Luxembourg American cemetery. This is a WWII cemetery and Memorial about 3 miles outside the city. This is where General George Patton is buried. He wanted to be buried with his men that had given up their lives during the battle of the Bulge. There are so many headstones, over 5,000 Americans, including Jewish headstones and many marked Unknown. The chapel has stained glass windows with American unit insignia and a mosaic ceiling. It was very beautiful and very moving. It makes you realize just how much the citizens of Luxembourg appreciated the Americans who liberated them from Nazi occupation.
The next stop was Luxembourg City where we were met by our local guide, Millie Till. Millie lived through the occupation and she gave us a firsthand account of the occupation. She’s written a book about it, that I intend to read. During our tour she showed her appreciation of the Americans and General Patton. Did you know that Patton liberated Luxembourg twice from the Nazi? I didn’t know that but it’s true. After the first liberation, the US Army pressed on to liberate other areas leaving some behind to hold the county. The never expected the Nazi’s come back, but they did. When Patton found that out, he turned back and retook the country. For this the people of Luxembourg were and still are very grateful. Millie was very emotional as she told us of the things that happened to her country during that time. She was also sure we understood that the enemy was the Nazi’s not the Germans.
During our tour we saw some wonderful and beautiful buildings. The old area of the city was like walking back in time. We also had an “almost” encounter with the Duke of Luxembourg. We were in the middle of a courtyard when the Duke drove his BMW our of a government building. We had to move out of his way, Millie knew immediately who he was and nodded her head in respect. Us Americans just looked at the BMW not the driver. What a good photo op I missed!
After a two hour walking tour we bid Millie good bye and set off to discover the city on foot. Tom and I found a town fair in the middle of the city. So much food, so little time. I had a tasty Candy Apple, almost as good as the ones Tom made when the kids were little.
After hours of walking, we caught up with the rest of our tour group at the bus. Unknown to us, there had been some “trouble” in the city with demonstrators. We didn’t see them until we were leaving the downtown area.
Our next stop was at the Lux Mall. Since we didn’t really want to do any shopping we walked around and did some window shopping. Let me tell you, the prices are HIGH!!!!! Not sure how anyone can afford to buy anything, but the Mall was busy and people were buying everything. There’s even a grocery store in the Mall.
Tom and I were standing in front of a “Café” trying to decide if we wanted to attempt ordering. We do not speak the language of Luxembourg, not French or German (all spoken here). As we were trying to figure out what to do, 3 of tour group stopped. Since they were willing to give it a try, we went in. We sent the men up to get us something to drink and something sweet to eat. I found that the woman is a knitter, so we were quite happy to sit there and talk. After eating and talking, Tom wanted to go outside (he was too warm). This is where the story gets good.
We went outside and sat in front near where the bus would be picking us up. I had my camera in my lap planning on taking a few shots. I looked up and this boy (Teenager) came running down the stairs and just about threw himself into the flower bed next to us and seemed to be hiding something. Then here came Mall security running after him. One of the security officers grabbed the guy by his jacket. The teenager was fast; he pulled out of his jacket and took off running. By this time more guards had arrived. That kid took off fast with the security guards running after him, in the street, in the traffic and out of our sight.
Another American couple near us told the remaining security guard that the kid had hidden something in the flowers. He looked and found what looked like a credit card. Other Mall employees (looked like management) arrived. They were talking into walkie talkies and seemed very excited, and then they all run off toward the Mall. From the smile on their faces, I assume they got the kid. Such excitement and I didn’t take any photos! I got too caught up in the action. Guess I’ll never be a professional crime photographer.
Just about then, the bus arrived to take us home. I have to say something about the bus driver, Charlie. He was an amazing driver. He made turns that I wouldn’t attempt in my miata. Also just after we crossed the border back into Germany, Charlie had another chance to show his driving skills. I was looking at the cars passing us on the Autobahn, just checking out what brand car (BMW, Audi, Benz etc.). The cars all were flying pass us as the driver kept to the legal speed limit for buses. I watched as a small car started to pass us, I noticed that it was carrying two medal ladders. And you can guess the rest of the story. Yep, just as the car got to the front of our bus, the ladders slipped loose. They didn’t fall off, just slipped off and ended up like wings on each side of the car. How Charlie kept control of the bus as he dodged the ladder flying car, I’ll never know. Tom didn’t see the car at first, he only knew that the driver had made some fast moves on the road. We watched as the ladder car pulled in front of us (Charlie had slowed way down), then the car pulled off the road. I hope the driver of the car learned a lesson, if you are going to have ladders on your car (longer than your car), don’t speed on the autobahn.
An exciting trip all in all. I took over 200 photos (but none of the Mall incident and none of the ladder flying car). More photos on my flickr.