Luxembourg and Luxembourg City

I am extremely fortunate to be able to travel with my husband when he goes on his business trips. This time I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know anything about Luxembourg, quite frankly I didn’t even know it was it’s own country. A small (998 square miles) landlocked country surrounded by France, Germany and Belgium. It is the seat of the European Court of Justice headed by Grand Duke Henri and the only remaining grand duchy (country headed by a monarch with the title of grand duke or grand duchess). Luxembourg is also a founding member of the European Union, United Nations,, NATO and Benelux.

While Rich attended his seminar I bravely and blindly took the bus from our hotel into the city center. It was very early morning and not many stores were yet open. I found a cute little coffee shop called Casa del Caffe’ and slowly sipped a very beautifully made latte’ while I pondered what to do with my day. My original plan was to take a tour bus to one of the many fantastic castles around Luxembourg but I didn’t want to spend my only day at one spot. (Maybe next time). I settled on a plan to walk around town to see some of the sights and architecture and head over to the Casemates du Bock underground tunnels.
https://www.luxembourg-city.com/en/place/fortifications/bock-casemates The tunnels built in 1644 were defensive passages during the wars and used as bomb shelters during WWII. I have to say this was the highlight of my little tour of the city. I could not believe that this fortress and miles of tunnels was hand made and it was so magnificent! It was just astounding to me.

I meandered through the tunnels and up and down the stairs in around the Bock Casemates and fortifications. I found a little trolley tour, paid my 15 euro and traveled all over the city listening to the 1,000 year history in a short 45 minute ride. Needless to say I was overwhelmed with all of the stories of wars and the rich history of this beautiful place. I decided I had taken enough photos and was ready to head back to the hotel. I didn’t want to walk back into the city to catch a bus as I honestly wouldn’t know which one to get on so I chose to walk back to the hotel. Probably not the best decision, in hindsight I probably should have taken a taxi. The walk back was 2.5 miles after I had already walked around the city and tunnels etc. My hips and knees screaming by the time I arrived back and plopped on the bed. All worth it in the end. Worth it indeed.

That night we took a tour bus along with some people from the seminar to a restaurant called Brauerei in the heart of the old city where the music was pumping, the food was steadily passed down the long tables and alcohol was freely flowing. It was quite a large bar/restaurant with two floors and an open concept where from the balcony you can watch people sing karaoke and dance their hearts out. After so many plates and bowls of meat were brought out we finally asked the waiter if there were any veggie options. They were happy to oblige and handed us some cute little bread squares with a savory dressing, tiny little guacamole and lettuce cups, and for dinner an enormous quinoa salad. Alas, we did not starve! What a fun evening, although I wish I could have danced but I was far too sore already. We all got back on the bus around 11:15 and headed to our hotel.

I would highly recommend visiting Luxembourg if you are ever in the area. It is so very charming with an abundance of trees and hills and beautifully distinct architecture. Another great thing about this country is you can take a train to any of the other surrounding countries! Which is exactly what we did the next day when we set off for Paris. Next post!