We met Albi's family in Vianden (found in the North part of the country Luxembourg) at the Vianden Castle.
The castle is a massive smooth stone construction. It was constructed during the 11-14th centuries, and is one of the largest fortified castles west of the Rhine. We felt very small standing up close to the enormous structure.
Throughout the history of castle Vianden there were many influential counts with French and German royal connections residing there. In 1417 the ownership of the castle was passed through inheritance to the House of Nassau, so counts no longer lived there. In 1820 King William I, of Holland, began taking the castle apart piece by piece leaving it in complete disrepair. Since 1977 the castle belongs to the state of Luxembourg, and recently the castle was restored and opened to the public.

Albi and Terri with their family met us at the entrance. Mateo came with a few medieval props in the full spirit of the festival. Through the entranceway we found vendors selling their handmade wares. At the second entrance we saw an actor dressed as a beggar. Ladies were dressed in beautiful gowns like they would have worn in medieval times. Silversmiths and blacksmiths worked as we watched them - a dying art that they are trying to keep alive. The blacksmith had a huge bellow to keep his fire going. A sword fight began nearby drawing a crowd. Jugglers and musicians entertained us, and the kids each got a chance to shoot a bow and arrow at a target - Darius and Belia both hit the bullseye.

We moved into the castle marveling at the size of the rooms and windows. Out on another terrace a bird keeper was showing his falcons, and an owl. The owl was huge and we were surprised to find out that he was just a baby - less than a year old! Apparently he will get a lot bigger since he belongs to the largest of owl breeds. The falcons were two sizes, one a sweet little bird with beautiful colors, and the other a huge predator. Belia held the small one, and Mariah held the Owl.

While we looked at the birds a serious battalion of actors marched onto the terrace. Commands were being shouted, and guns were being made ready. They were stuffing the guns with powder and waiting for orders to fire. The shots were loud echoing through the countryside. Next they loaded the cannon which let off an enormous boom. The process was long and extremely physical giving us some insight into the manpower needed to protect a castle during a siege. A flag ceremony concluded the gun demonstration.

The bird keeper released the large falcon but mentioned the clouds were low, and he may not have luck getting the falcon to fly back on command. While we waited he worked with the little falcon, impressively having it fly around the crowd sometimes landing on someone's shoulder, nibbling on the odd ear, and then returning back to him for a treat. He hollered at the sky a number of times but unfortunately the large bird was not responding.

We moved inside to see what show was taking place in the massive
ballroom. There was no room close to the floor so the kids watched the play from the steps, and we waited behind them. It was overly crowded so after watching for awhile we made our way to another part of the castle admiring the chapel, and finding more vendors. We bought honey from a local bee keeper.

Ready for a break, and something to eat and drink, we went down into the cellar, a massive banquet room filled with wooden tables and chairs. We visited and had a snack. A group of musicians set up near our table playing medieval music on a lute, fiddle and other instruments used during medieval times.

Leaving the castle we drove tandem to the city of Luxembourg. After parking we looked over a wall deep down into
a vast park filled with countless trees and shrubs. It almost didn't look real! We decided to eat supper before taking a walk through the park.

A couple of blocks over is a street filled with restaurants and outdoor patios. It was buzzing with activity. It was so busy that we took tables in different parts of the patio; kids at one and us at another. We could see Mariah, Brennin and Marcelina laughing and talking up a storm - the awkward phase was over. Darius, Belia, Max and Mateo were continuing to enjoy their time together too. We had a great visit learning more about Albi and Terry's move to Germany from Canada; the challenges and successes. They also gave insights into German traditions.

It was twilight as we walked down steps into the deep ravine park. At the bottom a narrow concrete trench carries rain water and water that seeps out of the soil to a pump that recycles it back down through the garden. Luxembourg is a very progressive city known for their innovative ideas.

We continued on finding a church built into the stone ravine wall. The kids were busy chatting, enjoying the walk us much as us.

Saying goodbye we agreed to meet briefly on Friday back at the eis cafe for more ice cream, and to say goodbye.