France and Germany

Since Luxembourg isn't exactly the biggest country on the map (unless your map excludes every country on the planet save for maybe Malta, Monaco, Andorra, Liechtenstein and a few tiny island nations) there is subsequently not a whole lot of geographical area to be explored. While this is not to say that we have seen every square inch of the country, you can only pack so many exciting adventures into one tiny nation. Because of this, yesterday we stepped (or, more correctly, rode a train) across international borders into France, and today into Germany.

In France, we visited a town called Metz. This was located in the once German region of Lorraine, and is a remarkably historical city. I believe, if my memory isn't completely incorrect, this is the region from where part of my family (the Selles) are descended --Grandma, if you're reading this, correct me if I'm wrong. The town itself was gorgeous, and the Gothic architecture was remarkable, especially in one particular cathedral with what I have been told sports the most extensive collection of stained glass in all of Europe. We also saw a museum dedicated to a host of ruins from the area and a contemporary art section to blow your mind, including one of the coolest sculptures I have ever come across (pictures will be posted as soon as my technological incompetence stops impeding my ability to get pictures onto this computer). Later in the night, Keith and I took a trip down to a small English pub in a valley called the Grund to watch the Champions League final, FC Barcelona vs. Manchester United, which was an awesome game with an exciting crowd, just an overall good time.

Today, we did the same thing, only to a town called Trier in Germany. This was perhaps one of my favorite things so far, as it just so happened to be the birthplace of my --and everyone else's-- hero, Karl Marx. We had the wonderful opportunity to visit his house, and the entire thing was awesome, I learned so much I had never previously known. It was a really great exhibit, although there were some interesting flaws in some of the information provided that were clearly intentional --i.e. the contemporary applications exhibit failed to mention that Salvador Allende's 1973 overthrow by fascist right-wing paramilitary soldiers led by Augosto Pinochet had been U.S.-backed. I also had another fun time at a small restaurant we went to while we were there; the waitress was from Spain, and so only spoke Spanish and German. As I can only speak Spanish and English, it has been frustratingly difficult at times to communicate with many of the locals. It provided me the first real opportunity of the whole trip to communicate with someone in a foreign language. Robyn had done the exact same thing at a small restaurant in Metz the day before (only her performance was far more commendable, even trying to pronounce those French syllables is way more of a challenge than I am willing to tackle), and got a pretty friendly response from the waitress we had.

Only one more day left in Luxembourg, and then it will be on to Brussells (or Bruxelles as they spell it here, which is infinitely cooler) for us. Keep checking back! Pictures soon... for real this time.