Hechingen, Germany (Burg Hohenzollern)

(Photo from www.burg-hohenzollern.com)

We went on an impromptu trip to Hechingen, Germany today to check out the Castle of Hohenzollern. The castle is the ancestral seat of the Prussian Royal House and of the Hohenzollern Princes...and does not disappoint!  Even in foggy, cold weather!

Verdun, France

After paying our respects at the Lorraine American Cemetery, we headed into the village of Verdun to see the historic battlefields.  The number of people who died here and the devastation caused by the battles are incomprehensible.  The area was so destroyed after the war (and full of leftover munitions) that the battlefield was declared a "Red Zone" and the nearby villages were unable to be rebuilt.

Our first stop in Verdun was the Douaumont Ossuary.  There is a very large (free) parking lot near the monument and it was easy to get to.  Inside you can visit the war museum and watch a video presentation (in English). However, they were closed during our visit (most everything is closed here in January).

Saint-Avold, France (Lorraine American Cemetery)

Today we had a quick day trip planned with some amazing friends of ours. Our first stop was the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France to pay respects to our many fallen comrades from WWII.

"The Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in France covers 113.5 acres and contains the largest number of graves of our military dead of World War II in Europe, a total of 10,489. Their headstones are arranged in nine plots in a generally elliptical design extending over the beautiful rolling terrain of eastern Lorraine and culminating in a prominent overlook feature. Most of the dead here were killed while driving the German forces from the fortress city of Metz, France toward the Siegfried Line and the Rhine River. Initially, there were over 16,000 Americans interred in the St. Avold region in France, mostly from the U.S. Seventh Army's Infantry and Armored Divisions and its cavalry groups. St. Avold served as a vital communications center for the vast network of enemy defenses guarding the western border of the Third Reich. 

Lucerne, Switzerland (Mt. Pilatus)

Today started out much better than yesterday, which was good because we had a fun day of sledding Mt. Pilatus on the books!

Lucerne, Switzerland (Glacier Gardens & Chapel Bridge)

We started this trip off with EVERYTHING seeming to go wrong.  Our alarm didn't go off, we were almost two hours behind schedule, we hit a horrendous traffic jam (thanks, Garmin), we had to rush, rush rush to get to our hotel and get downtown to see the museum and monuments we wanted to hit before they closed, almost missed our dinner reservation (which was an expensive, massive fail)....it was just...craziness.

But, we had FUN!