Foreign markets - Import/Export from New Bedford
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VIANDEN, Luxembourg -- The castle looming on the craggy hilltop above the winding streets of Vianden can be foreboding in the winter, when the wind howls and crows circle in the cloud-darkened sky.
But spring and summer bring blue skies and pleasant breezes. From the cobblestones of the ancient town, the great fortress built by Vianden's feudal lords is more fairy tale than horror story.
Travelers sip Luxembourg's tangy Moselle wines in riverside cafes while looking for trout in the bubbling stream running through this picture-book village. Myriad shades of green cover the surrounding Ardennes hills and carpets of wildflowers splash color on the meadows.
Locals call Vianden the jewel of Luxembourg, a quirky ministate sandwiched between Germany, France and Belgium.
Smaller than Rhode Island, Luxembourg is a proudly independent nation. Its 400,000 citizens are ruled by a grand duke and speak Letzebuergesch, a German dialect laced with French that they claim was once the language of Charlemagne.
Many people dismiss Luxembourg as a gray land of European Union bureaucrats and bankers. But beyond the capital's gleaming financial center and towering EU office buildings lies a land of rolling woodlands, sun-drenched vineyards and historic castles.
The great Ardennes forests that sweep from northern France into Belgium cover over half this country that Luxembourgers like to call the "green heart of Europe."
Vianden's stronghold was built on the ruins of an outpost on the Roman Empire's wild northern frontier. Enlarged over generations since the 11th century, it is one Europe's most spectacular hilltop fortresses.
From its mighty walls, the counts of Vianden rode to battle against the dukes of Luxembourg and other Germanic warlords.
The citadel's romantic ruins were restored to their former glory in the 1980s. Its vaulted chambers and crenelated ramparts house a museum that recaptures life in the Middle Ages and recounts the area's troubled history.
Vianden is the most impressive of Luxembourg's castles, but it is far from alone.
Drive the twisting roads through the Ardennes and every one of the pastel-painted villages seems to be dominated by a centuries-old stronghold.
The castle in Clervaux has a Sherman tank parked out front and contains a museum dedicated to the Battle of the Bulge, which raged across Luxembourg in the winter of 1944. There's also a world-renowned exhibition by the American photographer Edward Steichen, who was born in Luxembourg.
A more poignant battle memorial lies in Hamm, just outside Luxembourg city. In a silent forest clearing are the graves of 5,075 American soldiers killed fighting the Nazis. Among them is their commander, Gen. George Patton, who died in a traffic accident just after the war.
"What's so moving is that so many very young people gave their lives," said Col. Marvin Meinders, who is stationed at the U.S. Air Force base in Ramstein, Germany, and came to show the memorial to his family.
In nearby Sandwiller is a German war cemetery with some 10,000 graves.
Luxembourg city, the capital, has a sleepy, provincial air away from bustling Boulevard Royal, a mini Wall Street at the heart of one of Europe's leading banking centers.
The city's core is a maze of narrow alleys that open into cafe-lined plazas. Last year, the United Nations put the old town on its list of world heritage sites.
There's a 17th-century cathedral and the Grand Ducal palace built during the Renaissance. In the deep gorges that cut through the center of the city are leafy parks and the old neighborhoods of Clausen and Grund, where artisan houses have been transformed into lively bars and restaurants.
Under the city are 14 miles of tunnels, remains of once-mighty fortifications built by Austrian occupiers in the 18th century.
To the east, the Moselle River forms a natural frontier with Germany. A riverside road snakes through a string of wine-making towns. Most vineyards are open to visitors and offer wine-tasting tours.
Up north is Echternach, a pretty border town built around an ancient abbey where pilgrims come to visit the tomb of St. Willibrord, an Irish missionary who spread Christianity in the region in the 7th century.
Echternach lies on the edge of Luxembourg's "Little Switzerland," an area of gentle beauty where forest waterfalls tumble over strange rock formations.
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