Wellenstein Winery

The last stop of the day (8/27) was the Wellenstein Winery in Luxembourg. The winery is located in a valley shared by Germany, France, and Luxembourg. The whole valley is covered in vineyards and is one of the most scenic parts of Luxembourg. The style of the buildings changes instantly as you cross the border into France or Germany.

Such an awesome view! :D

 After our lovely photo stop, we arrived at the winery and was given a tour of the facility. It was really interesting and the whole place smelled of wine!

Here is a few of the machines used in the brewing process.

At the end of the tour we were taken to the tasting room. All of us got to sample four types of wine brewed in the area. It was extremely delicious and I enjoyed every sip! The pinot gris was a little strong for me, my hands-down favorite was the grand premier cru.

 This is the cremant. It was my favorite!

After the winery we headed to a fun fair in Luxembourg City, where the bus didn't pick us up and we were 2 1/2 hours late to get home. Fun times...

Chateau de Malbrouck

The second stop of the field trip was at Chateau Malbrouck, an ancient castle on the top of a very steep hill. The Chateau was reconstructed after it became ruins and now has a cafe and several showrooms. It was very impressive and intimidating, I would never have attempted to attack this castle!

It was amazing. I wanted to live here for the rest of my life. For an ancient castle, it was surprisingly warm. With a new friend I explored the castle, happily skipping through the ancient halls!

 The tallest tower provided a wonderful view of the valley below. The wind was cold, but it was worth it. It was the most wonderfully green area, and I could see hills for miles. Wonderful :)

 

It is so pretty here!

 Anyways, after all the lovely sightseeing, it began to rain again. The students were ushered back to the bus, but not before we hit the gift shop. Things got a little weird...

On to the next part!

The Schengen Agreement

Today was a three part tour. The first stop was the place where the Schengen Agreement was signed. This agreement eliminated all borders between European countries, allowing free travel without a passport. The agreement was actually signed on the river, which allowed officials to be in three countries at once: Luxembourg, France, and Germany. The town itself was still very small, which made the experience that much more enjoyable.

 It really was beautiful here. Too bad it kept raining!

There were two very important monuments on the river. The first was a marker of where the agreement was signed on the river. It was impressive, but still very humble. It wasn't too overbearing or made into a tourist trap, and I really appreciated that. There seemed to be a decent amount of people visiting, and the museum came complete with a fancy bar.

The other monument was a piece of the Berlin Wall. The Schengen Agreement, even though it was signs a few years before the wall was removed, was instrumental in the removal of the Wall. It was slightly odd being surrounded by so much history. As it began to rain my group was sent back to the bus, where we prepared for our next stop of the day...

The Cemeteries of WWII

Hello! I am safe in Luxembourg! I have done so much in so little time! Last Thursday, the 25th, a group of students (including me) traveled to an American and a German cemeteries in the area. The American cemetery was where many soldiers from the Battle of the Bulge are buried, along with General Patton. The entrance of the cemetery was decorated with gold trim and looming monuments.

The whole cemetery seemed like a golf course: perfectly manicured, in beautiful condition with bright green grass. General Patton's grave stood alone, but his cross was no different from the others in the field.

As impressive as the American cemetery was, the German cemetery seemed much more...natural. More calm. There were trees and natural rock monuments, none as large as the American counterpart. Instead of each soldier having their own tombstone, each tombstone was shared by four men.

In the center of this cemetery was a mass grave. I'm not for sure why they chose to have a mass grave, whether it be German efficiency or a lack of room, but it seemed very unobtrusive, like the American cemetery. On top of the mass grave was several plaques with the names of the soldiers buried below, along with a tall cross.

As odd as it was, it seemed very peaceful at both places. To me, being able to see a piece of history like this will be something I will remember for a very long time. More posts to come!

First Post-Michigan City, Indiana

   These past few weeks I have worked 3rd shift so that I could have some extra spending cash for my upcoming trip to Luxembourg. After about 6 weeks of throwing boxes and making little plastic parts all night, I decided that I had enough money and it was time to relax. With less than 20 days until I leave to study abroad, my parents and I left for one last mini-vacation in the glorious little town called Michigan City...in Indiana.

   It was a nice little town with pretty beaches and quirky shops. Lake Michigan was wonderful and smelled much better than Lake Erie, but some things about the surrounding area were slightly creepy. Nearby were the Indiana Dunes which feature a sand dune hill called Mt. Baldy. This hill moves over 5 ft. a year towards the heart of town. It has already consumed four houses and has murdered countless trees. The town is shadowed by a huge factory of some kind that looks like it houses several evil lairs. This is not helped by the huge nuclear facility next to it.

The creepy factory is on the other side of the plant.

   All of this is topped by the storms that come off Lake Michigan at lightning fast speed. At one beach I walked into the bathroom with the sun shining, only to emerge to a sandstorm and a huge lightning storm that formed hail. 

 Honestly, I was pretty impressed. This town was growing on me. The next day my family traveled to another beach that featured some decent sized waves. The beach was closed to swimmers due to undercurrents, and it was pretty scary when a random wave would almost take your feet out from under you.

I almost died.

   Overall, it really was a nice little town. Artsy vibe with good food, good beaches, and close to some good shopping. I had a nice, relaxing time with my family before I head overseas. I also now know where to get a secret lair if things as a psychologist don't work out. Oh, and there was no beach glass on any of the beaches, even though I looked for pieces with vigor.

Artistic depiction of my face while hunting for glass.