Weekends in Belgium & Luxembourg

One of the Troc Stores we visited

On the weekend of May 5^th and 6^th Ryan and I made a spur of the moment weekend trip to Belgium with another couple. This was my first visit to the beautiful countryside of Belgium. We spent most of our Saturday going to Troc stores in and around the city of Liège, which is just across the German border. Liège is the third largest city in Belgium and a two-hour drive from our home. Ok…. So what is a Troc store? These are Europe’s second hand stores. You can find anything from lamps to couches and antiques to modern furniture. We found several pieces for great prices. One of our best purchases was and antique cabinet we purchased for €20 or $25 USD. 
 On Sunday we made our way over to the city of Tongeren. This is the oldest city in Belgium where we could see the old Roman wall around parts of the city. Here we walked thru an antique flea market. This flea market runs every Sunday year round. We enjoyed looking at all kinds of neat items and even made a couple of purchases. One of our purchases was an antique buffet made of solid Oak. We spent €60 or $77 USD on this piece of furniture and found it to be in excellent condition. The only problem was we found it to be too large to fit in our car. We were able to make arrangements with the seller to hold it for us until we were able to come back and pick it up.

Gate to Henri-Chapelle Cemetery

On our way back to Wiesbaden we stopped and spent sometime in the Henri-Chapelle American WWII Cemetery.  The Cemetery and Memorial spans 57 acres and has 7,992 graves of soldiers who lost their lives during WWII.  This was Ryan’s first visit to a military cemetery and a first for both of us to visit an American military cemetery on foreign soil. On the west end of the memorial we were able to enjoy an overlook with an excellent view of the rolling Belgian countryside. One would never know this countryside, now covered with lush grass and farms, was once a battlefield.

Henri-Chapelle Cemetery

Henri-Chapelle Cemetery

 

Our view of the Belgian countryside from the memorial

 On the weekend of May 11^th and 12^th we made our return trip to Tongeren to pick up our furniture. This time we took a different route and made the trip into more of a sightseeing adventure. On Saturday we drove through Luxembourg, which is a new country for both Ryan and I. Outside the capital Luxembourg City we stopped at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. This American cemetery spans 50.5 acres with a burial area containing 5,076 soldiers whom lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge. The city of Luxembourg served as the headquarters for General George S. Patton’s. Per his request General Patton is buried in Luxembourg Memorial Cemetery.  After visiting the American cemetery we explored a German WWII cemetery, which was in close proximity to the Luxembourg cemetery. We noticed a huge difference in the two cemeteries. The American cemetery had neatly manicured landscape and each soldier has a white cross marking his or her gravesite. In the German cemetery all of the stones are dark and military looking. The gravestones mark the graves of 4-5 German soldiers’. 

Luxembourg Cemetery

General Patton's grave

German WWII Cemetery

Gravestone marking several German Soldiers

After leaving the cemeteries we headed for a city named Dinant, Belgium. The city’s landmark is the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame with foundations dating back to 1227. In the city of Dinant we toured the Leffe abbey, which was, founded 1152. Like many monasteries across Europe, the monks of the abbey brewed ale. Using knowledge passed from generation to generation and ingredients found in the wild near the abbey, a unique ale developed and brewed only at the abbey. We enjoyed learning the history of the abbey. On Sunday we made our way back to the Tongeren flea market to pick up our furniture. After spending some time at the flea market we made our way back home.

Leffe Abbey and Brewery

Dinant Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame

Our Belgian Purchases

Visit to Observation Point Alpha

On Wednesday, May 1^st  Ryan and I went with the group of soldiers to Observation Point Alpha. OP Alpha was a Cold War observation post between what was East and WestGermany. The Post overlooked the “Fulda Gap” which would have been a prime invasion route for Soviet forces had the Cold War erupted into actual warfare.  In 1965 Responsibility for border surveillance at OP Alpha was turned over from the German BGS to the US Army. The Post was abandoned by US military troops in 1991 and today a memorial commemorates its 40-year existence.

Looking into the "Fulda Gap" (East Germany)

OP Alpha sits atop a 411-meter hill, lying in the center of that section of the NATO defense line. US troops kept 24-hour monitoring of activity on the roads leading into the town of Geisa. At the first sign of an invasion the OP Alpha crew would have withdrawn. Due to its exposed position this observation point was referred to as “the hottest spot of the cold war.”

US OP Alpha Tower

In 1968 the first observation tower made of wood was established, replaced in 1982 with a steel tower and again in 1985 with the current concrete structure. This location also became the base of the US 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment. In 1972 the US 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment or "Blackhorse Regiment" assumed the post. Approximately 40 soldiers were stationed for 4 weeks at OP Alpha.

Model showing the fence and "dead zone"

One of the East German border fences.

GDR Watch Tower

We learned that it was not just a fence built between East and West Germany, but a series of fortifications. The complexity of the border system increased steadily until it reached its full extent in the early 1980s. When trying to escape from East to West Germany one would first reach the edge of the “restricted zone”. This was a closely controlled strip of land 3 miles wide, running parallel with the border. The signal fence was about 500-1,000 meters from the actual border and was lined with low-voltage electrified barbed wire. This wire activated alarms when touched or cut. Beyond the signal fence was the “protective strip” lit by floodlights and lined with guard towers, bunkers, and dog runs. Next the escapee would come to a control strip often referred to as the “death strip”. Tripwire-activated flare launchers were situated at various points to help the border guards to pinpoint the location of an escape attempt. The last and most formidable obstacle was the outer fencing. In some places there were multiple parallel rows of fences, each up to several meters high, with minefields in between. These fences not electrified but were booby-trapped with directional anti-personnel mines at intervals of 10 meters. Finally, the escapee had to cross whatever natural obstacles were on the western side of the border fence as well as navigating a strip of cleared ground that was up to 500 meters wide. While crossing this outer strip, the escapee would appear in clear view and shooting range of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) border guards before reaching the safety of West German territory.

Anti-tank ditch used to keep cars from escaping East Germany

During our visit to OP Alpha we were lead through a museum by an English-speaking guide who grew up in West Germany during the time Point Alpha was in operation. Following some lunch we went on a 10K hike through hills and along various points along the boarder. Our guide took us to a farm that was built on the boarder and separated by the wall.

WWIII medals created by the Soviets. This shows how close to WWIII we really came. 

Looking toward GDR Tower from OP Alpha

Enjoying our view from the OP Tower.

Border marker

The actual borderline between West and East Germany was marked by granite border stones 20 centimeters square with the letters “DDR” carved on the west-facing edge. Our Tour guide took us to a farm divided by the border. Half of the farm was in West Germany and the other half (including the well) was in East Germany. The GDR refused to move the border around the farm. Soon after the wall was built the GDR destroyed the section of the farm built on East German land. The family soon abandoned the remaining buildings on West German land due to the constant surveillance and fear of the GDR.

Remaining foundation of farm in East Germany

Other Half of farm in West Germany

Zurich and Northern Italy

On Tuesday, March 19 Ryan and I returned from an 8-day trip through Northern Italy.  Our journey began on Monday, March 11 with a flight from Frankfurt to Zurich. We had a 5-hour layover in Zurich, which allowed us to take a train into the city and explore. This was my first train ride since our move to Germany. 

largest clock face in Europe

We walked down Bahnhofstrasse and enjoyed the Swiss shops.  We meandered through old town and enjoyed some picturesque views of the city. We walked passed St. Peter Church, which has the largest clock face in Europe. After visiting Fraumünster church we took some time to enjoy lake Zurich. Unfortunately it was hazy and we were not able to see much of the Swiss Alps around the lake.  On our way back to the train station we stopped at Sprüngli to enjoy some delicious Swiss chocolate. Before we knew it we were back on a plane and headed for Venice. It was dark by the time we landed in Venice, picked up our rental car, and drove to our hotel in Vicenza. That evening we met a very friendly Italian who took us to a local restaurant and introduced us to lots of delicious Italian foods. We sampled mozzarella di bufala, pizza, bread, and pasta with duck. 

Houses in Zurich

Zurich

Delicious Swiss Chocolate

Mozzarella Di Bufala

On Tuesday Ryan spent the day working, while I tagged along. He was able to meet local people and visit the sites for his progressing Vicenza projects. Tuesday evening we met up with our new Italian friend, Flavio, and his family. We enjoyed another wonderful evening of Italian cuisine. 

Gondola in Venice

 Wednesday morning we headed to Aviano, Italy where Ryan has more projects. Here Ryan was to meet up with engineers from the Corp who had flown in from Omaha, except the engineers were stuck in the Frankfurt airport because of a snowstorm in Germany. We took the afternoon to visit a nearby city called Pordenone. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city, sampling gelato (Italian ice cream), and visiting an Italian grocery store.

On Thursday the engineers from Omaha were finally able to get a flight and make it to Aviano. Ryan spent most of the day discussing projects and answering questions. I was able to wander around the Aviano Air Force base shopping while he was working. After Ryan said good-bye to the Nebraska team we headed back toward Vicenza. On our way back we took back roads and stopped in a little canal town called Sacile.

Piazza San Marco

 Friday we were up bright and early to catch the train from Vicenza to Venice. Ryan and I were both extremely excited to explore the famous water city. In Venice we spent the day walking and riding the waterbuses trying to take in as much of the city as possible. We walked through the famous Piazza San Marco is the primary public square of Venice. In The Piazza we admired St. Mark’s Basilica with its Byzantine mosaics and multi-colored marble pillars and grand mosaics. This cathedral has been a status symbol for Venetian wealth and power from the 11^th century. Next to the Basilica is Doge’s Palace, which is an excellent example of Venetian Gothic style architecture. Although under renovation we were able to get some great views of St. Mark’s Campanile is the bell tower of St. Mark’s Basilica. The tower reached its present day form in 1912. Lightning and fires have been the cause several renovations throughout its history. 

St. Mark’s Basilica

View of Church of San Giorgio Maggiore

Doge’s Palace

We were able to step inside Santa Maria Della Salute. This Roman Catholic Church and minor basilica is one of the “plague-churches”. In 1630 Venice experienced a devastating outbreak of the plague. The church was built and dedicated to “Our Lady of Health”.

Dome of Santa Maria Della Salute visible in background

Inside Santa Maria Della Salute

Rialto Bridge

We enjoyed views from and a walk over the infamous Rialto Bridge. This is the oldest bridge spanning the Grand Canal. The stone bridge was completed in 1591. Interesting fact: The engineering of the bridge was considered so audacious it was predicted future ruin, but the bridge has defied critics and is one of the architectural icons of Venice.

Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs is another famous bridge in Venice that we were able to discover. This enclosed bridge made of white limestone connects the prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge’s Palace. The bridge was built in 1602 and received its name as a suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the bridge window before being taken down to their cells. These are a few of the many sights we were able to enjoy while we were in Venice. There was so much to see and do we could not have possibly taken in the whole city in one day.

Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge

Balcony From Romeo and Julie

 Saturday Ryan and I made a short road trip to Verona. This city was made famous because it is the setting for William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We did the tourist thing and went to Juliet’s house to take pictures of the famous balcony from Shakespeare’s play. 

Verona Arena

Our favorite attraction in the city was the Verona Arena.  The arena is a Roman amphitheater famous for its large-scale opera performances. The building was constructed in 30 AD and could host more than 30,000 spectators. After an earthquake in 1117 the structure’s outer ring was almost completely destroyed. Today the arena continues to house opera performances and multiple rock concerts have been held here as well. This structure is the 3^rd largest coliseum in Italy and is one of the best-preserved ancient structures of its kind. 

Inside Verona Arena

After leaving Verona we drove to the stunning Lake Garda. To give you an idea of the size of Italy’s largest lake it is 10 miles wide, 32 miles long, and 1,135 feet deep at its deepest point. Intrigued by the massive lake we drove along its southern shoreline and explored several lakeside cities. One of the cities we visited was the ancient fortified town of Sirmione. We were drawn to the picturesque Scaliger castle dating from the 13^th century. The city itself is situated on a small peninsula that juts out into Lake Garda. The castle was built as a port fortification for the Scaliger family fleet. We enjoyed meandering around the exterior of the castle taking in the views, watching the ducks swimming in the moat, and walking over the drawbridge into the rest of the city. 

Scaliger Castle

Lake Garda

Villa Capra “La Rotonda”

 Sunday our plan to explore the city of Vicenza was challenged by cold, rainy weather and a race that blocked our entrance to the historic downtown area. Despite these roadblocks we were still able to take in a few of the cities historic gems. The Villa Capra “La Rotonda” is a Renaissance villa designed by Andrea Palladio. The home was built in 1567 and was to be a retirement home for Vatican Paolo Almerico. The design of the building was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome and is one of Palladio’s best know legacies to the architectural world. The design of this villa has been the influence for buildings in England, Palestine, Poland, and our very own White House.

Church of St. Mary of Mount Berico

The Church of St. Mary of Mount Berico is a Roman Catholic and minor basilica, which stands at the tope of a hill overlooking Vicenza. This church was built in 1428 during a terrible plague. Construction of the church was completed in 3 months with the belief the Madonna would rid the city of the plague if the church was built in her honor.

On Monday we set out for the Venice airport to return the rental car and catch our flight to Zurich. Once we landed in Zurich we had a 3-hour layover before catching our final flight to Frankfurt. After boarding the plane we learned the engine would not start ultimately canceling our flight and causing us to spend the night in Zurich. We were redirected on the next flight leaving early Tuesday morning. We finally made it home around 9:00 on Tuesday morning. 

Canal in Venice

Gelato

Pasta with duck

Venice with Bridge of Sighs in background