Verdun, Our granddaughter comes to France for a visit.

Our granddaughter came to France for a visit.

We had so much to share with her in a short period of time.  Our first stop was Verdun and the Ossuaire de Douamont.  This memorial contains the skeletal remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun in World War 1.

One whole wing of this Ossuaire contains windows where you can view bones of soldiers that were poured into the building.

In each little window just above the ground you can view the many bones buried here.

Another angle of the Ossuaire de Douaumont

The National Cemetery of Fleury-devant-Douamontr contains the remains of French soldiers killed in the fighting that took place in the Verdun area from 1914-1918, and in particular the battle of Verdun.  The cemetery contains over 16,000 bodies in individual graves as well as multiple bodies buried together.  In the distance you can see the Muslim memorial commemorating the 529 Muslim graves. 

After visiting the Ossuaire it was time to see the battlegrounds and Fort of Douaumont.  It is estimated that 400,000 French lost their lives and 350,000 Germans.  Estimates range as high as one million men perished in the battle that lasted 10 months.

The fort had cannons such as this one which could pop up and down with the cannon swiveling around.  The gunner was guided by a soldier in another covered area.

We toured the inside of the Fort.

This is the mechanism inside the fort controlling the cannons.

Inside the fort is this memorial to a group of Germans who died inside when the fort was attacked.  This is considered German soil.

 

Chateau de Lutzelbourg, Jacques Bockel Chocolate Factory, Chateau de Hohbarr or Haut-Barr, Chateau Grand-Geroldseck, and a revisit to the Saint-Lewis-Arziviller Inclined Plane

We returned to the Chateau de Lutzelbourg to walk the grounds and explore the ruins

This beautiful old vehicle was in the entrance to the chocolate factory in Martelberg


Lovely old chocolate molds at the entrances to the chocolate factory

At the chocolate factory we indulged in chocolate and ice cream

The chocolate factory was busy

There was the visit to a glass factory and store

Exploring the Chateau de Hohbarr a medieval castle above the city of Savern, first built in 1100.

The Chateau de Hohbarr was built on sandstone rock.  On several occasions it was expanded by the bishops of Strasbourg

A hike with my brother and sister-in-law through the forest of the Chateau du Haut-Barr

The tower at the entrance to Chateau du Grand-Geroldseck

The ruins of Chateau du Grand-Geroldseck

This is the first telecommunication network in the world and was a revolution in the field of communication in 1793

We passed by this church the Eglise Notre-Dame de-l'Assomption in Phalsbourg

Going up the Saint-Lewis-Arzviller Inclined Plane.  Beautiful views of the valley as we ascended

This inclined plane is on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin which allows the canal to cross the Vosges Mountains.  This is accomplished by counterweights.  There are two electric moors which drive the inclined lift.

 

From Strasbourg to Saverne, France

We only had a day to visit Strasbourg but there's always time for ice cream while admiring the Notre-Dame Cathedral

Tom finally gets a french phone number

Surrounding the Cathedral is the beautiful Place Kleber square filled with half timbered buildings.

The Kammerzell House is one of the most famous buildings of Strasbourg. It is the most ornate and well-preserved medieval civil housing projects done in late Gothic architecture in the areas formerly belonging to the Holy Roman Empire.  It was built in 1427.

Russian Orthodox Church we passed as we left Strasbourg

With our pilot house lowered Tom is navigating as we cruise past the European Union Headquarters

Cruising in spring the scenery is spectacular.  Brilliant yellow fields of Coza, which is used for cooking oil, crisscross the landscape.

We returned to the charming town of Saverne.

The Rohan Castle is an eighteenth century neoclassical palace that was one of the residences of the Archbishops of Strasbourg

Inside the church in Saverne

There was a carnival in town with stomach churning rides.  It was popular with all ages.

The carnival came to Saverne

A crazy ride going up and down and all around

A little street art with a sense of humor. These were placed at sidewalk level, so we never noticed them the first few times we walked by. 

More street art

Saverne's flower pots were a riot of spring flowers.

Everywhere there was a profusion of color

I'm not sure what the significance was of these chocolate bugs, but they did look delicious.

The Taverne Katz with a statue of Belgian singer Jacques Brel.

Twice we've had excellent meals at S'Zawermer Stuebel

An old building with what looks like a guard tower incorporated into the exterior wall.

Charming window decoration at someone's home.

Walking along the canal outside of Saverne is serene.

My brother and sister-in-law joined us for their 7th (?) visit to Rabelo.  We always eat well.

 

Iceland Part 2, 2022

This is the bridge between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate

The Blue Lagoon a geothermal spa uses the hot and mineralized waters from the nearby power station.  It is blue because of the way silica (the lagoon's most abundant element) reflects visible light.  

Even though the Blue Lagoon is a large tourist attraction it was worth the visit.  We did it all, the scrubs, the drink, and the long soak in the hot pool.  We even cooled off with the showers provided where you could easily exit and then reenter the Lagoon.  Lunch at the Lagoon restaurant was excellent.

The Hofoi House is the location for the 1986 Reykjavik Summit meeting of President Ronald Regan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.  This was an important step towards ending of the cold war.

Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutherine parish churck in Reykjavik

In Hafnarfjordur we saw an enormous amount of fish heads drying.  The cod heads are dried on racks and sold to Africa where they are used in traditional dishes where cod head is the main ingredient,

Dramatic scenery as we drove around Iceland

More scenery

The mud pools and steam vents are collectively named Gunnuhver after a female ghost that was laid there.  They form where steam from boiling geothermal reservoir water emanates and condenses and mixes with the surface water.  Accompanying gasses such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide make the water acid.  This causes changes of the fresh lava rock to clay.

Hafnarfjorour is a large active thermal area with steam and bubbling water coming up from underground.

This is the Great Auk Memorial for this bird which was driven to extinction in modern time.

Will Ferrell's Eurovision spoof had Iceland scenes which were shot on location.  These keyboards were left where the filming took place.

Reykjanesbaer

Reykjanesviti is Iceland's oldest lighthouse.  It serves as landfall light for Reykjavik and Keflavik