Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone!!!!

What an interesting day for all of us here. We have oma and grandpa Nedry visiting us...although both are sick with the stomach flu. Then we realized that we had a bird caught in our chimney. We listened to it banging around all day and weren't quite sure what it was. Then late this afternoon Mark could see yellow feet hanging down the flume, but the bird was stuck. We called the management company for our apartment to have the bird removed, and were told to call the fireman! So we did. How many firemen does it take to remove a bird from the chimney? 5!!!!! They just kept coming through our front door. But thankfully they got the bird out alive and released him off our balcony. Mark was just very relieved not to have had to deal with this one on his own and with a different outcome than we all were expecting, including the firemen!!

Bastogne Belgium: The Battle of the Bulge

On Sunday we drove about an hour from Luxembourg to the small town of Bastogne Belgium. This area is known as the site of the Battle of the Bulge of World War II. This was Hitlers last great offensive against the Americans. The battle began on December 16, 1944 and is called the Battle of the Bulge because this is the shape the front line took as the Germans attempted to push through the area. There were 7x the number of casualties here than at Normandy- nearly 81,000 Americans. The Americans were able to defeat the Germans despite being outnumbered, and this was the major turning point in the war.

When you visit this region and the huge memorial it is an amazing experience. You have a much greater appreciation for the sacrifices made here during World War II. Mark and I have learned more about history in the short time that we've been in Luxembourg than I think we ever remember learning in school. However, it is when you visit these regions, overlook the battle fields, walk through the museums and see the documentaries that you can't help but become a much more humbled and educated individual.

Carnival Parade in Arlon Belgium

On Sunday we drove about 30mn outside of Luxembourg city to Arlon Belgium for their Carnival Parade. There are many carnival celebrations throughout the month of February. The weather was beautiful and the girls had a good time and behaved throughout the whole 3 hour event!! The atmosphere was more crazy than our typical parades back home. People watching the parade and participants in the parade throw confetti at one one another and shoot silly string. The floats use machines to spray confetti all over the crowds as well. There was confetti everywhere...we are still cleaning up confetti we keep finding in our apartment. It was in Lauren's diaper, Mark's jeans and stuck in all of our hair! In addition, they throw candy out to the kids as well.

There was lots of music, floats, marching bands, and other acts to entertain everyone. There were live geese as you can see from one of the pictures posted that we still don't know how they kept them moving and prevented them from flying away. Ericka and Lauren were amazed by it all!

February 10, 2008

Itwas a beautiful weekend in Luxembourg...sunny and about 50-52 degrees. We went down into the old town (The Grund) of Luxembourg on Sunday. You can walk along part of the wall of the old fortress that surrounded Luxembourg. The pictures of the girls are taken along here.

The last picture is of the Buurgbrennen festival. This is an annual tradition where they light big bonfires to officially say goodbye to winter and welcome in spring. The big brush pile and cross in the last picture were lit on fire after dark. (We did not stay to actually see this as the girls needed to get home! ) This is a social event for families with food and events taking place all throughout Luxembourg within the city and the many smaller villages.

Sites of Luxembourg

We were busy this weekend learning more about the country that we are calling home for 2 years. We went on an english speaking guided walking tour of Luxembourg city on Saturday through the American Women's Club. The first three pictures show some of the sites. You can see the remains of the wall of the old fortress in the first picture. Luxembourg was actually a fortress in ancient times and the city was within the confines of these huge walls. This wall dates back to the 14th century. The second picture displays an ancient abbey with its orignal gardens and vineyards, and finally the third picture is of "old town" or more properly called the "Grund".

On Sunday, we drove about 30km outside of Luxembourg city to see the Berg castle which is home to the royal family of Luxembourg. The current royal family includes Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Theresa and their 5 children. This castle was built around 1400 and stands 210 feet high and has 200 rooms. This castle has served as the residence of the Grand Ducal family since 1911. No visitors are allowed inside the castle. The last picture is of Berg castle. This was as close as we could get to see it. We were told to visit it in the winter time when all the leaves are down to get a better view.

Lauren's First Haircut

Lauren had her very first haircut last week. We found an english speaking lady who cuts hair out of her home named Tekla. She is icelandic but actually lived in Wisconsin for 10 years. Lauren was pretty cooperative through the whole ordeal.

Yesterday Lauren got another haircut from her sister Ericka while mom wasn't looking. Ericka has been using kid scissors to learn how to cut things out. While mom was cleaning the mess up and throwing stuff away in the kitchen...Ericka decided to try out her scissors on her sister's hair! Thankfully it was just one spot up front, and as you can see from this close up shot it's not too terrible!! We're sure this won't be the first time that Lauren will serve as Ericka's guinea pig for something.

Pictures of the Girls

Here are some more pictures of the girls as requested by many of you as we have not posted anything new since Christmas. We haven't really done anything too exciting since Christmas as the weather has been cold and rainy. Not cold by Minnesota standards...but cold and windy for here!!

Ericka really enjoys pushing Lauren around on her little car that "santa" brought for her. Lauren is not tall enough yet to reach the floor to push herself around, however she doesn't seem to mind when everyone else does the work for her!!!