Home again, home again

And before we knew it, our time was up (again) and it was time to head back home. Now, since D and I had preferred status at United Airlines, we had been allowed to bring more suitcases and at a heavier weight. Since we had had to pack for winter (meaning more and heavier items) that was a nice thing on the front end.


On the back end, however, packing and preparing to go home was a challenge. We actually had to do a packing dry-run because we were unsure if we were going to be able to get all our luggage into our car. If we couldn't, we had the plan of D taking me to the train with a couple of bags and then he would drive up, drop the car off and I would meet him at the airport. Needless to say, this was not an option we were excited to exercise. Thankfully, D channeled our good friend Ryan, who is an absolute genius at packing and using all available space, was able to get it all in - just BARELY. Needless to say, we prayed for God's protection as we drove to the airport, since we had little ability to see out the windows.


Even the front seat was packed with luggage. If you can tell, I have carry-on luggage on my lap, between my feet and a lunch bag in between us. Whew. Next time we come back, in May, we have GOT to pack lighter in weight and amount.

Salzburg and the Hof

Although all of the folks working in Europe with D and on the weekend get away were free to do whatever they wanted to, it was fun seeing things together as a group. Therefore, we wound up doing most activities together. We broke up in little groups (sometimes couples) but always came back together at least for dinner. It is a great group of people and it was fun to get to know them, and many of their spouses/significant others as well.

After the great castle tour, a trip to Salzburg sounded great, so we decided to jump on a train and head just south of the German border to this beautiful Austrian town.


Salzburg has many famous citizens, but the best known world-wide is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). He was born in this house (the helpful sign on the building announces it for anyone to see, incase they didn't know.) Mozart was a prolific and influential composer during the Classical era. He composed over six hundred works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.


Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. His birth place has been turned into a museum celebrating his life and achievement.


Salzburg is an ancient city. The first settlements at Salzburg were apparently begun by the Celts. Around 15 BC the separate settlements were merged into one city by the Romans. At this time the city was called Juvavum and was awarded the status of a Roman municipium in 45 AD. Juvavum developed into an important town of the Roman province of Noricum. Juvavum declined sharply after the collapse of the Norican frontier, such that by the late 7th century it had become a "near ruin."


The name Salzburg literally means "Salt Castle", and derives its name from the barges carrying salt on the Salzach river, which were subject to a toll in the 8th century, as was customary for many communities and cities on European rivers. The Festung Hohensalzburg, the city's fortress, was built in 1077 and expanded during the following centuries. It presides beautifully over the city and is well worth the energetic 20 minute hike up the mountainside to take in the view. Our view was blocked a bit by the blizzard conditions, but it created other lovely sites that we tried to capture on film (somewhat successfully.)


Once we made it down again, D decided that the Austrian/Bavarian style boiled wool hat was a great idea. (It was downright cold, and the idea of a nice warm, and stylish, hat sounded good.) His coworker had encouraged the idea when he purchased one, so I thought I would document their efforts to blend in with the locals.


Our last meal in Munich was enjoyed at the Hofbraeuhaus, and we enjoyed the experience as well as the food. The Hofbraeuhaus is actually a brewery (although now has a substantial restaurant as well), owned by the state government. The Hof (court) comes from the brewery's history as the royal brewery to the Prince of Bavaria. It is because of this royal connection that you will see the crown as a part of their crest. If you look carefully on the glasses in the above picture, you will see it. [One interesting aside about these mugs: if they look big to you, that is because they are. A glass like this is called a Mass and it is a full liter of liquid. If you go into the Hofbraeuhaus and order a beer, this is what you will get. You have to ask specifically for a small glass in order to get less. Also, this brewery has wheat beer, dark beer and pilsner, but they are all and only from this brewery. No options here.]


The Hofbraeuhaus is a perennial tourist favorite - it is almost synonymous with Munich, and no more so than in September-October time when they host the largest Volksfest (People's Festival) in the World. The original Theresienwiese festival grounds). Although there were other activities at the original Oktoberfest, it is predominantly drinking now in huge temporary "beer gardens" in the form of tents. I have heard that the line for the bathroom is not pretty.


All year round, this famous brewery has a great traditional Bavarian band play on the ground floor bar (that serves limited food - bar snacks really). After we finished our fabulous German fare upstairs, we ventured down to embrace the true tourist experience. The band was great, the hall was CROWDED, and the most enthusiastic singing was done (when the band was on break and they had a CD playing) to The Beatles "Yellow Submarine." Good stuff.

After Christmas Christmas Party

D works for a fabulous company. Not only does he get to work with good people and they treat him well but they also provide many "perks" that are uncommon, especially in this somewhat troubled market. One such perk is a wonderful Christmas party. We have done such fun things as go on a river dinner cruise, go to a musical, and have a casino night. Since there are a lot of commitments in December, the last few years the company has made the party after Christmas, in January. We were going to miss it, obviously, because we knew that we were going to be in Europe. We discovered, however, that since there are enough employees in Europe, this great company decided that we could plan our own post-Christmas party/event. Hurray!


We were fortunate to have an extremely well traveled senior statesman here who steered us toward spending our kitty on a trip instead of a big dinner or something in Belgium. We weighed our options, voted and decided on a trip to Munich. Several of us had been there before, but it is such a fun city that we agreed that it would be a great host to our party. Upon arrival, we headed down to the center of town to catch the Glockenspiel show. At 11:10am every day the clock by city hall has wooden figures that come to life and put on a show for the tourists. We were able to get into town just in time for the show.


We proceeded to walk around town and catch the sites. Naturally, we had to go by and check out the Hofbraeuhaus, a perennial tourist must. We had plans to eat dinner there later in the weekend, so we just proceeded to walk around, do a little shopping, and enjoy Bavaria in the winter. [The crisp air and the snow added fabulous atmosphere, just what you would want in February in Bavaria.]


I loved this fountain and wanted to capture the humor of it. The head "spitting" is Bacchus, (the Roman god of wine, fertility and growth) and what I loved about it was that even though it was COLD outside, the fountain was still running. I loved the ice formation around the boy's legs. The marble bust, the boy in bronze with the ice all around just captured my imagination. What a fun sculpture.


The next day, we all boarded a bus to head out castle hopping. Viator is a online tour company that has all kinds of trips all over the world. It contracts with local providers and makes it easy for the internet tourist to book their activities with confidence. I had used them 2 years ago when I went to Munich with my mom to see Neuschwanstein. We all decided to take this tour, again for me, to view what is possibly the most stunning castle in Europe. This picture is of a small church on the grounds of Linderhof, the first stop on the castle tour.


Linderhof Palace is the smallest of King Ludwig II's castles and he used it primarily as a hunting lodge. It was built in the style of the famous Versailles palace partially because of Ludwig's admiration for Louis XIV, the Sun King. The symbol of the sun that can be found everywhere in the decoration of the rooms represents the French notion of absolutism that, for Ludwig, was the perfect incorporation of his ideal of a God-given monarchy with total royal power. Such a monarchy could no longer be realized in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century, a fact that was difficult for Ludwig to accept. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but as the outside shows, it is a lovely home with several innovations and comforts for the time. My favorite invention was the table in the king's bedroom that could be lowered down into the kitchen to be loaded up with food, raised for him to eat and then lowered again to clear it off.


Next, we continued on to Castle Neuschwanstein. Since I had been there recently, I had a plan that detoured from the regular activities. I had noticed, when I was there with mom, that there is a path on the mountainside that leads to a bridge behind the castle called Marienbruecke (which translates to Mary's Bridge). The most fabulous pictures of the castle I have seen have come from this bridge, and I was determined to go there and get them for myself. D was a terrific sport and agreed with the scheme. What this meant, however, was that we had to skip eating lunch at the scheduled restaurant and instead head straight up the mountain. Since I knew this ahead of time, I bought provisions so that we wouldn't go hungry.


As you can see from the pictures, it was a snowy day. It was pouring snow, if that expression translates from rain to snow. The reason why this is relevant is that the path to the bridge is very steep and not well traveled. That means that there was a lot of snow to slip on. It was a brisk 30+ minute hike and we didn't stop all that frequently. (We did have the occasional pause to catch our breath and admire the gorgeous view. It is fabulous in Bavaria in the winter - a real winter wonderland.) Finally, as we closed in on the end of our quest, we noticed a closed sign over the last bit of the path. There was a German couple there, who had clearly done the same thing as us, discussing options. I asked them if the closed sign meant the bridge was off-limits. They said they were unsure, but since they had come all this way, they didn't want to turn back without finishing the journey, so they jumped the fence and continued on. At this point, I turned pleading eyes to D and said that although I am very much a rule-follower, I really REALLY wanted to follow their example and jump the fence too. Gracious husband that he is, he agreed to the idea and off we went.


As you can see, the journey was worth it. There was a whole crowd of people at the bridge, which did make me feel a little better about the decision (families with little kids). This was good in that it gave us people to take our picture with the castle in the background. Isn't it wonderful? I was over the moon happy about getting this picture. After enjoying the view, we had to make our way down the mountain in order to climb it again, only this time in the direction of the entrance for the castle, so that we could make our timed tour of the interior. (We did notice that there is a path, a short-cut, from the bridge to the castle, but that was also closed and I had done enough rule-breaking for one day.)


This is a picture of the bridge from the castle. Impressive, don't you think? The original bridge was made of wood, but later replaced by a more sturdy metal version. The first time I visited this castle (in 1995), tourists were allowed to take pictures inside, but they have now forbidden it, which is a shame. King Ludwig was a huge Richard Wagner fan (the renown German composer) and he themed the castle's decor on the operas' of Wagner. The name even, which translates to the "New Swan's Stone Palace," is the name of the home of the swan Knight Lohengrin, of Wagner's opera of the same name. The many of the rooms walls are painted with scenes from the operas and there is even a grotto built in to a small passageway between 2 rooms. [For those that don't know, a grotto is "an artificial recess or structure made to resemble a natural cave." Yes, he had an artificial cave built into the interior. It is a bit weird entering the cave and then exiting it again. Sooooo unusual.]

The story of the castle is also a bit like a Wagner opera, with intrigue, mystery and even death. The conception of the palace was outlined by Ludwig II in a letter to Richard Wagner, dated May 13, 1868; “It is my intention to rebuild the old castle ruin at Hohenschwangau near the Pollat Gorge in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles... the location is the most beautiful one could find, holy and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world.” The foundation stone of the building was laid September 5, 1869 but it was unfortunately never completed.


Neuschwanstein was near completion when, in 1886, the King was declared insane by a State Commission under Dr. von Gudden and arrested at the palace. The King could hardly control himself as he asked von Gudden, "How can you declare me insane? You have not yet examined me!" Taken to Castle Berg, he was found on June 13, 1886, in shallow water in Lake Starnberg, drowned, along with von Gudden. The exact circumstances of his and von Gudden's deaths remain unexplained. It is generally believed that Ludwig's deposition was brought about by the Wittelsbachs (princes of Germany, in other words, his family members) in response to his extravagance with the dynasty's private funds on projects such as Neuschwanstein.

Ludwig did not allow visitors to his castles, but after his death in 1886 the castle was opened to the public (really, in just a matter of weeks, and in part due to the need to pay off the debts Ludwig incurred financing its construction). Since that time over 50 million people have visited the Castle. About 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer. The palace has appeared in several movies, and was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle at both Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Valentine's Day Weekend

D surprised me one day by coming home and asking if I would like to spend Valentine's Day in Paris. Well, does a girl have to be asked twice?! What a great invitation! I was thrilled, and it got better in that D had been sold by a friend that taking the train 1st class was a must. Since D made these plans at least a month in advance (such a good husband!), we were able to make reservations without having to mortgage the house. D had been looking forward to taking the high speed train, which takes you to Paris in just under 2 hours. D had done his homework and navigated the Paris underground exceptionally well and we were at our hotel in no time.

Since D was doing such a great job of taking care of travel, my job was to plan activities. Although we had been to Paris before, we are firm believers that there is so much to do in this wonderful city that there wouldn't be a problem of finding new adventures.

I was thrilled to discover that the Louvre is open late on Friday nights, and since the time is more restrictive, the price is reflective of that and is about half of the normal entrance fee. Once we dropped off our bags at the hotel and walked to the Louvre, we had about 1-2 hours to walk around and enjoy the sites. I had a short list of pieces that I wanted to see (and that I thought D would too) so we started with those. Winged Victory, pictured here, is just a beautiful welcome to the museum. I have great memories of being awed by it when I first saw it and wanted D to have that same experience.

[The statues proper name is The Winged Victory of Samothrace or Nike of Samothrace and was carved in marble in the 3rd century to represent the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). The statue is rendered in white Parian marble. The figure originally formed part of the Samothrace temple complex. It stood on a pedestal of gray marble representing the prow of a ship, and symbolized the goddess as she descends from the skies to the triumphant fleet.]

Other highlights included the Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa, winged Babylonian Bull sculptures, the Coronation of Napoleon and Liberty Following the People paintings. Good stuff. The Louvre has so much it is good to have parameters to prevent death by museum.


Off to bed we went so that bright and early the next morning we could head to the Eiffel Tower and make the trek up it. We got there at 9:30am, right after it opened, and were happy to see that the lines weren't bad yet. We decided to climb as high as we could not only so that we could avoid crowds, but we felt we could appreciate it more if we worked for it.


The views are fantastic and we took our time and lots of pictures on the way up. We were blessed with a sunny day, and liked the climb. Everyone is required to take the elevator up the last third of the way, and we were able to purchase the tickets for it on the first and second floors, which saved us waiting in line on the ground (and money). We decided to take the stairs on the way down as well since by the time we were done with the climb and views it was close to lunch, and the crowds were out. Thankfully, the stairs were still empty.


Next we moved on to the Rodin Museum. Since D had appreciated The Thinker in the sculpture gardens at Stanford University, it was a real pleasure to enjoy the original. Thanks to my sister and the education she gave me on Rodin, I have come to really like his work. I remember visiting this museum with Susie and Chris a long time ago and Susie educating us on the person and work of Rodin and his students. I love the size and variety of work, both in medium as well as subject. I would have loved to have purchased a replica, but even the small ones were way too expensive.

I fell in love with this piece by Camille Claudel, one of Rodin's students. It is entitled, "The Waltz" which makes sense. There aren't that many pieces of her work here, but from what I have seen, I really like her work (I may even prefer it to Rodin's work). There is something really elegant and romantic about them that appeals to me. Also, she used some beautiful stone to augment the pieces, jade and onyx and the like, that gave them a flare and uniqueness that is hard to put into words.

We finished up with a late Valentine's Day dinner that started with Champagne, of course, and had its fair share of fois gras (fat geese liver, really, literally that is what it means) because this IS France. I had a lovely veal and D had an enjoyable duck. Overall, a wonderfully memorable weekend in which D gets huge husband credit forever for planning and executing. I feel like a pampered wife and a special valentine.

London: An Addendum

Several people had recommended experiencing the London Eye on our trip. I was aware of it, but I wasn't excited about it. We have a friend who is English and he sold it so heavily I was afraid of really missing something special, so we booked tickets online and made the trek for Sunday morning.

[For those that don't know what the London Eye is, it is effectively a big ferris wheel that has enclosed capsules that fit about 15-20 people instead of a car. It was built for the millennium change and was originally going to be torn down, but proved to be so popular that the city kept it. It is a widely known and visited tourist attraction because it provides a fantastic view of of the Thames and many of the famous and lovely London sites.]


I have to say, despite my reservations, I found it a cool experience. We retrieved our tickets from nearby kiosks and only had to wait in line for a few minutes. I can imagine that at the height of tourist season this is a long wait and can be crowded. The capsules are climate controlled which meant that we had a lovely warm room to go into and enjoy the scenery.


It moves slow enough that you really don't feel any movement, but you notice it by the change in scenery. Big Ben and Parliament make the best view because they are close and it is nice to see them together and from a bit of a distance. You can see Buckingham Palace from the capsule as well, but you can't get a picture that is defined enough to make it worthwhile.


We enjoyed our last few hours in London walking around and enjoying the sites. We had a lovely lunch at a take-out only restaurant tucked into a nook right by our favorite perfumery, Jo Malone. We had to stop in and get a little something as a souvenir. I had fallen for the Pomegranate Noir sample that I had received with a gift for Dane a year ago, so I decided now was a good time to get the scent. It was lovely.


Thankfully, we got out of town right before the snowstorm hit. Snow rarely falls in London, and a snowstorm of several inches came in right as our train was leaving. We saw the results on the countryside the further from the city we went, and were so grateful that we didn't get stranded there. The news reports showed that all transportation in the city - Tube, tram and buses - shut down because of the weather for a couple of days. Whew, close one.

[Incidentally, this last photo is one of my favorite pictures yet. Love it!]

London Calling

Thanks to some favorable currency prices (meaning, the dollar was worth more against the pound than it had been in a LONG time) we took the opportunity to visit London. We took the train over, through the chunnel, which was a fun and slightly bizarre experience. It only took about 2 hours, so it was quite convenient. We decided to splurge a little and got a hotel in Notting Hill because it was close to a Tube station and was in-between the diverse activities we had had planned. It was in a lovely neighborhood with great restaurants close by. After a long day of work and travel, we found our hotel and walked around the block to find a bite to eat. We found a lovely north African restaurant and enjoyed a hot meal before heading to bed.


Now, in our hotel in Belgium, we are blessed with a couple of English-language TV stations. Two of them are BBC 1 and BBC 2 (British Broadcasting Company). I have been enjoying several British shows. Judging from what they put on TV, the British love home-improvement (who doesn't?) and antiques. I have seen many different formats surrounding these two themes, but I have my favorites. One of them is called Bargain Hunt. The basic plot of the show is that it takes 2 teams of 2 people, gives them each £300 to spend at an antiques fair and then sells the items purchased at an auction. Each team gets an expert to help them pick "bargains" so that they can hopefully make a profit when selling the items at the auction. The winners are those that either make the most profit, which they get to keep, or lose the least money.

Portobello Road is a well-known open-air market on the weekends. For those My Fair Lady fans out there, this is where Eliza Doolittle sold her flowers. It is a huge market, broken down by sections: antiques, food, and new items. Portobello Road was only a few blocks from our hotel, and after watching all these Brits find bargains, I decided that I wanted to try and find one of my own. (Thankfully, D was game.)


I was excited to be at the market and was just getting the courage to go into shops when I spotted the tell-tale blue fleece jackets. I clawed D's arm when I saw David Barbey, in the picture here with the camera man to the left, and started literally jumping up and down telling D that we had stumbled upon a Bargain Hunt episode. (I had had a caffeinated drink for breakfast, which might be part of the reaction, but I was seriously excited.) I was thrilled to shake David's hand, who was so gracious to the over-excited, crazy American, and wished the blue team good luck. I was trying to come down off my cloud when I spotted Tim Wonnacott.


Tim Wonnacott is the host of Bargain Hunt and is an incredibly gregarious, colorful man. His personality is as colorful as his clothes (I LOVE that he has different glasses to match his different bow ties and outfits.) I begged D to take a picture of me with him and then patiently waited for him to finish his conversation with a producer. I look a little star-struck, which is kind of funny to me. I never thought of myself as a being susceptible to TV/Movie star-power, but clearly that is not entirely true. I was a bit amazed that no one else seemed to realize who was there, (this was BARGAIN HUNT!), or not really care, which was equally shocking. My whole weekend had been made and it had just begun.


I was afraid to tell D of the item that I really wanted to find at the market, but I wanted to make sure he wanted it too. We had looked for a mantel clock when we moved into the house because we have a lovely mantel and a great clock store in town. However, we didn't realize how expensive they were, so gave up. But, having seen on TV so many clocks sold in the UK for seemingly little, I had hope we would find it. I finally found a shop that had smallish clocks that were lovely, but the price was outrageous. Thankfully, the dealer pointed us in the right direction (just down the street from him) to this fantastic man. He is the ultimate clock man. The prices were great and the clocks were lovely. We were excited to find a clock we both liked : an art deco model with a Westminster Abbey chime that was made in London. PERFECT! Our dealer did a great job of wrapping up the clock for us as well and educating us on care for it. And, since we bought it just blocks from our hotel, we were able to drop it off before heading off to our next stop, Westminster Abbey.


I had been to London several times, but had never been able to make the time to visit Westminster Abbey. It is a beautiful church and so steeped with history. I liked that the audio tour was included in the price of admission because I would never have appreciated the small (and big) details without such a guide. It also helped provide a good flow. If one area was crowded, you'd just type in that number combination in later and skip over it. Unfortunately, it is not allowed to take pictures inside, because the tremendous variety of style and decoration - the stain glass, the wood carving, the royal paraphernalia and the stones marking the burial places of famous artists, not to mention the caskets for royalty, were breathtaking. It was a remarkable place. I think my favorite (or perhaps most memorable) item was seeing the throne that English kings and queens had been crowned on since the 1300's. It is surprisingly simple. No jewels or stone or fur on it, it is just a big wooden chair. Now, it is beautifully carved and has gold leaf on it, but it wasn't what I was expecting. D and I especially liked the fact that in the courtyard outside, they had a little stand selling soup by the cup. After a long walk and a chilly day, it was the perfect lunch.


We had to hustle to make it to our next activity. D and I love soccer, and it has been a desire to actually attend an English Premier League game for several years. We didn't think it was something that would actually happen, though, because tickets can be very expensive and difficult to obtain. Chelsea tickets were outrageously expensive, we couldn't even buy Arsenal tickets because you had to purchase a club membership card to even have the option to purchase a ticket, and Tottenham Hotspur was similar. However, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Fulham was not only playing at home, but also had reasonably priced tickets. We got there just after the game started. We were amazed at how many other people were outside either hanging out or coming to the game a little late too. We saw a huge police presence, which turned out to be good since we also witnessed a fist fight. Ahh, hooliganism up close, for the full English football experience.


We were also excited to cheer on an American player on Fulham's squad, Clint Dempsey (in the middle of the preceding photo). We were sitting behind a couple who were wearing University of Iowa gear. Turned out they were indeed from Iowa. It was nice to see and chat with other Americans for a bit.


As you might be able to tell from this photo, the weather was COLD. We were in the corner of the stands and the wind whipped fiercely between the bleachers. I am so impressed that the Premiership runs through the wintertime. We had been told that this was the coldest that London had been for close to 40 years, but still, I have seen soccer games on TV where they had been playing in the snow. We enjoyed the game but once the score hit 3-0 for the home team, we decided to beat the crowd and left to catch the Tube. We had to hurry to back to the hotel in order to change for our next event, going to the West End (the British version of Broadway) to see the show Wicked.


When D and I had come to London last, almost 10 years ago, we had seen a show on the West End that was not very good, but the experience was enjoyable and we wanted to give it another try. My brother goes to London on a more regular basis, and since his wife loves musicals, I learned from my last experience and asked his advice about what we should see. He steered me to Wicked and I am so glad he did. It is a fun story with great music, and we had a particularly good cast. It was funny and entertaining and we loved it.


One of the things I love about the English theater is that although they have a concession stand in the lobby, like in the States, they are unique in that they allow you to take your drinks and candy back to your seat. I had wanted to have some good English hard cider while in London, and thought that this would be my only chance to have it. It was so nice to sit with D and enjoy our drinks for a few minutes before the show began. It had been such a nice day, it was lovely to sit and reflect on it with a nice pint of English cider in my hand.

Vianden: A Breathtaking View

Getting to Vianden was a bit harrowing since it consisted of a twisty mountainous ride after a snowfall. We only had one day that we knew we could go, and God blessed us with sun, so we jumped in the car and started the 2 hour hike down (and over) to Vianden. It is located on the eastern border of Luxembourg and was well worth the effort.

Vianden Castle is a medieval castle that had its foundations set in Roman times. It is one of the largest and most beautiful feudal residences of the romanesque and gothic periods in Europe. It was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries. Until the beginning of the 15th century it was the seat of the influential counts of Vianden who could boast their close connections to the Royal Family of France and the German imperial court.



It was further developed until the 18th century but with the departure of the Counts of Luxembourg to the Netherlands combined with the effects of fire and an earthquake, it slowly deteriorated. The final blow came in 1820 when William I of the Netherlands sold it to a local merchant who in turn sold off its contents and masonry piecemeal, reducing it to a ruin. Attempts to restore it were hindered by problems of questionable ownership.



Finally, in 1977 the Grand Duke of Luxembourg ceded the castle to the State, which then made it possible to undertake large-scale work, most of which has now been completed.



This model shows the condition of the castle prior to the renovations. D and I were interested in visiting this castle after seeing a picture of it in a Benelux tourist guide. Not surprisingly, this Castle is the 2nd most visited site in Luxembourg, following Luxembourg City.



This is simply one panel of a greater door in the castle which I found stunning. It is difficult to imagine the time (and patience) invested in creating such a lovely, functional piece of art.



There were so many beautiful angles to this castle, I wanted to share them all, but had to limit myself to my favorites. It is an impressive landmark.



One of my favorite things about touring in off-season is seemingly getting to tour by yourself. I am not a big fan of crowds, and from what I understand, Vianden gets crowded in the summer (especially when they host their Medieval Fair - THAT would be fun to attend, but unfortunately it is after we leave). We were able to take our time and really enjoy the sites, not having to jockey around hundreds of tourists trying to do the same thing. The view was gorgeous. The renovations on the chapel were really stunning and it was striking to me standing there, how different worship is practiced today versus then.



Another thing about it the chapel that was striking was how different it was in appearance from the rest of the castle. The room was painted several different and vibrant colors. Nothing else in the castle was painted, which is why it stood out. Obviously this was intentional, but it makes me curious about why and how this was the case. Interesting.

What's so wonderful about Waterloo?

Waterloo is a small town in Belgium that D and I have been intrigued to visit mostly because of the unique and interesting memorial commemorating the battle fought there between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Alliance of the Seventh Coalition (which included the UK, Austria, Prussia, The Netherlands and others).

The memorial is a man-made mountain (ok, really a big hill) that was commissioned and built by the King of the Netherlands, King William I, to commemorate the place where his son William II, the Prince of Orange, was knocked from his horse by a musket ball to the shoulder during the battle. It is called Butte du Lion and it is visible from one of the primary roads we use to get into Brussels. We had seen it multiple times and were curious to see it up close and visit this historical site. More about the memorial later.



So why is this small Belgian town remembered for this battle? Well, it is the final act of the grand and exciting play that was the Napoleonic rule of France. Napoleon seized power in France in late 1799, which is generally believed to be the demarcation point ending the French Revolutionary wars and beginning the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon's desire to rule all of Europe through domination was clear by the use of mass conscription and aggressive military activity. Fast forward several years and a lot of French military success (including the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and Spanish Empire), Napoleon mistakenly invaded Russia in 1812. The overextended logistic lines and harsh Russian winter decimated Napoleon's army and ultimately resulted in his abdication and exile to the island of Elba.

However (and this is where Waterloo comes into the story) less than a year later, Napoleon escaped his prison and returned to power in 1814. This is when the Seventh Coalition formed to fight Napoleon and the decisive blow came at Waterloo. The prussian general Bluecher and british Duke of Wellington successfully routed Napoleon, recapturing him and exiling him to St. Helena, where he died in 1821.



Now, back to the memorial. Its construction was ordered in 1820 and it was completed in 1826. The mound was constructed by using 514,000 cubed yards of soil from the battlefield. The lion, which bares the personal coat of arms of the monarch of the Netherlands, symbolizes courage; its right front paw is resting on a sphere, signifying global victory. It weighs a whopping 31 tons.



There are 226 steps leading to the statue and observation area at the top. Orientation maps documenting the battle are on plaques overlooking affected areas. It is a remarkable site. There is a huge diorama in an adjacent building painted in the early 1900's by a frenchman that helps give perspective on war techniques and tools of the early 1800's. The movement of calvaries and cannons is almost unimaginable today. The human cost of the battle was tremendous. Although the dutch Prince survived, 60,000+ people lost their lives in this battle. Major W.E. Fry described the scene like this, "This morning I went to visit the field of battle, which is a little beyond the village of Waterloo, on the plateau of Mont St Jean; but on arrival there the sight was too horrible to behold. I felt sick in the stomach and was obliged to return. The multitude of carcasses, the heaps of wounded men with mangled limbs unable to move, and perishing from not having their wounds dressed or from hunger, as the Allies were, of course, obliged to take their surgeons and wagons with them, formed a spectacle I shall never forget. The wounded, both of the Allies and the French, remain in an equally deplorable state."



Belgium really has experienced so much death and destruction in the past 200 years. It is easier to understand their love of peace when seen through the eyes of the impact war has had here.