More of this Feature • Part 2: Getting There • Part 3: Day 1 • Part 4: Day 2 • Photo Gallery

Related Resources • International Marching League Events

From Other Guides • Europe for Visitors

Elsewhere on the Web • Marche de L'Armee

Story and photos by Gary Nelson.

I rose from the placid environment of the Hotel Val Fleury in Mershce and headed to the train station. The trains are for the most part flawless, but subject to pitfalls for those not truly accustomed to them as this story will describe later. 

I had been encouraged by many of my marathon/IML comrades to experience the two days of Luxembourg, and experience turned out to be the correct word. I went to the town of Diekirch and discovered that the registration for the march did not start until 2PM. This gave me the opportunity to discover the nooks and crannies of the town of Diekirch. 

The citizens have several monuments to the American military forces there. Their appreciation of the efforts of our fathers and grandfathers is obvious and in some cases overwhelming. One must be careful in the acceptance of the thanks sometimes delivered, as those of us in our younger years are not deserving directly of the thanks and must make the statement we will pass those thanks on. 

There is a wonderfully wide and quiet river, the La Sure, which runs through the town and is part of the scenery on some of the walk. 

After touring the military museum, tastefully directed and laid out, I wandered back to the walk site and got in line for registering. Patience was called for. The Luxembourgers are sticklers for detail and left nothing to chance in registering the marchers accurately. The price of 300BF ($6.38) was surprisingly small. The start card is good for two days. 

I spent the remainder of the days meeting old friends and making new ones. Marchers have a language all their own if the spoken one doesn’t make the connection. 

Next page > Day 1 > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, Photos

Photos copyright 2001 Gary Nelson, licensed to About.com