Many of you who are new to my blog
might question, “Why Luxembourg?” And who are Mike and Ernest?
Well, just to give you a quick synopsis: twelve years ago, I began searching for information on Marty's uncle
who went Missing in Action in February of 1945. My persistence in
attempting to find some closure for his family led me to Ernest
Kirpach in Luxembourg. Ernest was willing to devote time and energy
to help me with the numerous questions that I would send to him. I
don't want to go into too many details here, but I welcome you to
take a peek at my website which describes the years of effort that I
put into this search.
Mike used to work for the Museum of
Military History and he is the “hands on” man who has actually
unearthed several German soldiers while searching for military
artifacts for the museum. I contacted the museum curator about four
years ago, asking if he could put me in contact with Mike. I'll
never forget the e-mail: “It's me. How can I help you?”
Well, that was the beginning of an
interesting relationship, and Mike and Ernest have been working
together since, in the hope of locating Marty's uncle's remains. My
years of research, in combination with the help from these guys, led
to JPAC sending a search team back in September to analyze the
situation. Believe me, that never would have happened without these
guys actively working on my “dream”.
Marty and I visited with these guys in
May 2010, but we only stayed 2 days in Echternach. So, we decided
to come back and visit this beautiful country for a week this time.
Both Mike and Ernest were excited to hear of our plans, and we have
been having a blast since arriving. I have to admit that it has been
interesting watching the two of them come up with ideas of things
that we need to see here in Luxembourg. We've had some great laughs
at some of the suggestions.
On a serious note, we do plan on going
back out and visiting the crossing site, since Mike seems to have
come up with some new information. I'll keep you posted on that.
In the meantime, today found us back at
the Museum of Military History in Diekirch.
I forgot how huge this
place was, and Ernest told us today that it holds an original of
every single piece of World War II military equipment from American
and German forces. It is primarily devoted to the Battle of the
Bulge and believe me when I tell you that it bursting at the seams
with military items.
There are numerous dioramas set up in
the museum, and what is really interesting about each of them is that
they are accurate interpretations of particular events that occurred.
Every one of these dioramas features a scene that was either taken
from an original photograph, or it was put together under the
direction of one of the soldiers who would have been in the scene.
Every piece of clothing that is worn, and every item in the diorama
is original to World War II. There are no copied uniforms.
Ok, so
the turkey in the Thanksgiving scene isn't original, but you get my
point.
Here you can see this famous photo looking out over Echternach:
And here is the diorama that features the photo:
And, let me share just one more thing with you. The museum has a photo of St. Willibrord's Church in Echternach taken in 1945:
Amazingly, here is how the church looks today:
I still get chills when I think of what the civilians must have endured during this difficult time.
After several hours of walking through
the museum, we lunched at the Grille in Diekirch. The meal was
fabulous, and we were all very full when we left the restaurant.
After a quick walk through the main
plaza in town, Ernest drove us off to Vianden to see the restored
castle there.
Upon approaching the town of Vianden,
one comes around the bend and suddenly this beauitufl structrure
comes into view.
Amazing, don't you think?
Ernest parked the car and we walked
down into the town only to realize that the entrance to the castle
was in the opposite direction. But, I was glad for the detour
because the town is enchanting, and except for the high traffic along
the road, I enjoyed the sheer beauty of this town.
Once at the top of the castle, we
realized that there was a lot more going on than what we had
anticipated. Apparently there is a Medieval festival going on, and
believe me when I tell you that there was just way too much commotion
going on.
The castle opens its doors to vendors
selling their wares, and although they attempt to maintain an aura of
the medieval atmosphere, I didn't enjoy the crush of people or, as
Ernest put it, the “made in China” items available for sale.
So, the castle in itself, was a bit
disappointing, but the day as a whole was, indeed, remarkable.
This evening, Marty, Amy and I took a
walk around this lovely village of Echternach.
Yep! We sure had a great time!
I enjoyed your commentary and all of the photos. But that last one is just too precious not to acknowledge! ;-) xoxo
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