Day 5 1/2-Rothenburg ob de Tauber and visiting a friend

The last stop on our trip was to a town called Rothenburg ob de Tauber in Bavaria. It is a beautiful and well preserved town. Towards the end of WWII US soldiers took a white flag there and told the German army placed to defend it that they had three hours to surrender or the town would be bombed. No one on either side wanted to see it bombed so the German leader in charge surrendered. We were short on time so we only saw a small portion of "old town".

My main motivation was visiting the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas store. I like to collect Nativities and found one I loved. (That wouldn't break the bank) :)

On the way home we stopped at my friend Maureen's place outside the military base. Although she's from Utah we met in Mississippi while our husbands were in pilot training. Her husband is an F16 pilot and this is their first assignment. Our friends the Cecils and Sperbers are stationed in Germany at other military bases but the stars didn't align for us to see everyone. 

After that, it was time for me to Ausfart. (Exit) I wish Mike was with me to navigate security and customs, but I survived on my own. Barely. ;) This was a trip of a lifetime for me and I'm incredibly grateful my parents were able to watch our kids so we could make it happen. Hopefully I can follow Mike to another cool place someday.

Day 5, Monday- Nuremberg Nazi Museum and historical sites

On Monday we woke up early so we could fit in as much history as possible. We visited the Nuremberg Nazi Museum and some of the historical sites in the city. We took an audio tour, but were so short on time we skipped more than we wanted to. There was SO much to ingest and I learned things I didn't know before.

Each card on this set of railroad represents 100 Jews that were killed. If each person had their own card the tracks would stretched out for a long distance. (I wish I would have blogged this earlier because I forgot)

This is the famous Nazi Stadium where Hitler rallied his troops and gave speeches.

.

Day 4 1/2- Casemates and our night in a castle

Before heading east we visited the Bock Casemates in Luxembourg. The original towers date back to the 8th century, but the underground tunnels were started in the 17th century. It was pretty cool to walk through them, although it made me grateful for arrows and maps. They used to hide entire armies inside. I felt bad for the soldiers that had to live in rock tunnels. (Maybe it wasn't too bad since castles were cold lumps of rock) ;)

We had a 4+ hour drive east ahead of us, so we opted for Colmberg Castle where we could stay for around the same price as a hotel. We arrived after 10PM, which seemed to bug them, and since it was a castle and not a Holiday Inn we didn't get any food. Germany doesn't have gas stations on every corner like the US, so we went to bed hungry. I was a little "hangry" when Mike reminded me we were staying in a castle. The breakfast was good and put me in a better mood so I left satisfied. :) Now I can say I've slept in a castle. 

Day 4, Sunday- Church and Luxemburg

Sunday was one of the best days of the trip. First up, we attended a branch (congregation) near the base. The service was mostly in English, but one boy got up to share his testimony in German and a missionary translated it for him. I'm guessing most of the members were military members and their families, but there were some Germans. One sister shared her testimony about being a "recovering perfectionist". It was perfect. I took a picture of the outside of the building and posted it on Facebook and one of my friends, Nicole Barnett, served her mission in that branch. Just a small world.

Our next stop was at the US WWII cemetery in Luxembourg. Being here was an incredibly humbling and sobering experience. This is just one of many cemeteries, and yet there were so many young people buried here. Mike commented on all of the lost generations this represented, which really made me think about that one aspect. We both had grandfathers that served in WWII and had they not come home, none of us would be here. I know that is kind of a "Duh" statement, but imagine all of the lost generations this war created. We spent a while just walking around around the grounds and seeing all of the monuments. It was very peaceful.

Where some of those buried here were from

There are 22 sets of brothers buried here :(

General George S. Patton, one of the great military leaders of WWII, died not long after the war ended and was buried at this cemetery per his request.

A woman at church told us to make sure we also visited the German WWII cemetery about a mile away. We hadn't heard of it before so we looked it up and found the Sandweiler German War cemetery. It was so different from its US counterpart. It was set back a ways with trees lining the way. Everything about it was darker. Most of the men buried here were buried by the American War graves service during the war. There weren't enough grave sites, so there were usually four soldiers to a headstone, two on each side. I know that the glory goes to the victor, but it made me sad for these soldiers since most were probably pawns in a war they didn't ask for. 

Behind this cross was the "Comrade's Grave" where 4,829 German soldiers, 4,014 of which were identified are buried in a mass grave.

There were numerous wreaths laid down recently. These men were just as loved as their allied counterparts.

Inlaid laurel wreath