So much traveling! We went by bus, as a class, to Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Strasbourg (France... for now), and Trier (Germany) this week (18 October through 23 October). Again, we were able to see several important institutions, and the week ended with a special personal moment for me!
We left on the bus on Tuesday night for Luxembourg. In case you didn't know, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a small country southeast of Belgium. It is one of the most wealthy countries in the European Union, and is home to the Court of Justice of the European Union. We were able to visit the court and view a case regarding copyright issues in playing music on European radio stations. Later, we got a tour of the beautiful town of Luxembourg. A fun fact: children in Luxembourg learn four languages throughout their schooling: French, German, English, and a local language: Luxembourgish. We also saw an incredible American military cemetery in Luxembourg.
We traveled from Luxembourg to Strasbourg on Thursday. Strasbourg is in the Alsace region in France. For those of you who may not know the history, the Alsace has been controlled by both France and Germany many times over. The resulting culture is fascinating. Strasbourg is the place where the European Parliament must move once a month to hold plenary sessions, a move that sparks a lot of controversy within the European Union. It also hosts the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, two institutions we were able to tour.
After one night in Strasbourg, after our tours at the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, it was back on the bus headed for Trier! Trier, Germany is a city with a long and fascinating history. Its claim to fame is the Roman-era Porta Negra, one of the ancient Roman city fortifications. It was by far my favorite city, as there was a different era of history at every turn. The cathedral was spectacular - it incorporated the four major movements of architecture into one building! We spent two nights there and then headed for home.
On the way home, we made a few stops. The first was a stop solely for me. I had asked my aunt Janice if she could tell me any of our family history and where I might find our family history. She discovered the following: Jacob Nafziger, son of Joseph Nafziger and Magdalena Weisz, was born January 18, 1844, in Echternach, Germany. He came to America with his family when he was 2 years old. He married Mary Rychener in 1867, and they had nine children; the youngest was Charley, who is my dad's grandfather. I relayed the story to Jerry, my professor, with the added discovery that Echternach is actually in Luxembourg, not Germany. As it turns out, Echternach was directly on our way home! They allowed me to stop in front of the sign and get my picture taken in the town, literally on the border with Germany, that my great-great-great grandfather was born and raised. It was surreal to see. After Echternach, we stopped at a museum dedicated to the Battle of the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) and toured. We saw important battle sites and an enormous monument constructed to the American soldiers who fought, built and donated by Belgian citizens near Bastogne. Finally, we walked through a German military cemetery from World War II. The differences between it and the American cemetery were striking - the Germans were buried six to a headstone, and it looked like an ordinary graveyard. There were hundreds, possibly thousands of unknowns. It was tragically fascinating to see.
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