200. Luxembourg City

Where: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
When: March 21-23, 2014
With: Emma, Richard, Jad and Helen

Since my last weekend living in England, when my lovely Brits and I took a final farewell trip to the Isle of Wight, we promised that every time I headed across the pond, we'd try to make a trip somewhere to spend some extra time together and see more parts of Europe.

When I suggested Luxembourg though, I was met with a lukewarm response that wasn't as excited as I would have hoped. Mostly it was...what's in Luxembourg? Really? Emma was on board though, and as she's the main planner of our group, I knew I had mostly won the battle.

To answer the "what's in Luxembourg?" question, I'll admit: not a whole lot in terms of the typical "things to see" and big, cross-off-your-list to-do's. However, as this was the first time I'd seen my London crew in six months, a quaint European city was all we needed to spend some time together, talk, eat and drink. My argument was that if we were too busy "seeing" things, then we'd not be able to relax and spend time with each other.

So what's in Luxembourg? To start, while it's one of the smallest countries in the world (way smaller than Rhode Island), it's situated at the crossroads of France, Germany and Belgium. The main city, also named Luxembourg, sits on a hill in the middle of a valley. Given the rather war-filled history of its neighbors, this high setting made it an ideal (and necessary) place to create a military fortress, the remains of which are evident by the high walls encircling the city to this day.

The trip to Luxembourg could not be easier from London. The flight was just under an hour, and the service on Luxair was the best around, including free booze and sandwiches. A toast to our weekend away!

The airport was small and a taxi was easy to find = zero stress. We were in the city walls and at our hotel within 20 minutes. Like a typical European city, the streets were cobblestoned and small, and since cars can't fit down many of them, there were lots of deserted alleyways to explore on foot. Our hotel was right in the middle of it all in a large square, giving us the perfect jumping off point. 

After a Luxembourgish dinner that required us to speak some very poor French (mostly on my part), we wandered some of the city by night. Monuments overlooked the dark valley below, but as we didn't really know where we were, we had no idea what they were. So we found a bar, and hung out there with the various locals for a drink. We'd figure it all out in the morning.

By daylight, Luxembourg was as we expected: a gorgeous European city, but a very teeny one, making it easy to explore with lots of stops along the way. 

We started off at the tourist office, where we made an excellent purchase called the Luxembourg Card. For EUR 80 total, the five of us got free access to all of Luxembourg's museums, free rides on the city buses and the country's trains and a free walking tour of the city. Can't beat that - points for Luxembourg!

The tour didn't start for a few hours, so we decided to take a wander around ourselves. We got our bearings pretty quickly. 

A unique landmark: the wind chime tree. It made such a beautiful sound when the wind blew through it. 

Utilizing our Luxembourg Card, we decided to go into one of the city's many fortifications, also referred to as the Casemates. Part military base, part archaeological site, these tunnels and overlooks show just how well-thought-out the city's protection was. 

Underground tunnels weave through the ground. 

Ghoulishly lit, we got lost in the maze of stonework, up and down flights of stairs, always coming out in a different part of the city, sometimes not seeing light for a good 20 minutes. 

Creepy ghosts....

Sometimes, you took a wrong turn and finding the rest of your group became slightly difficult.

Some fun with archways

 The views from above

A rainstorm set in and we decided not to do the walking tour, opting instead for some wine in a small cafe to wait out the rain. Another reason I loved the tinyness of Luxembourg, no reason to push through in the rain!

In search of another activity to keep us dry from the rain, we used our Luxembourg Card to explore the Luxembourg History Museum and get some of the history of this city and country for ourselves. It was a great museum, small, fun and interactive, while also informative. 

Once the rain had cleared, we headed toward Luxembourg's main park, Parc-Ed-J-Klein. 

Afterwards, we located this amazing little wine bar, hidden in the caves beneath the city. We ordered many rounds of carafes to host our own tasting, while enjoying the subterranean atmosphere. 

That night, we had an incredibly difficult time getting into ANY restaurant. The populartiy of Luxembourg's restaurants surprised us and we ended up eating at a total tourist trap after giving up searching in a fit of hunger. However, we completed our rather boozy day of Luxembourg site-seeing with a trip to a bar recommended by our wine bar waiter. Complete with bathtub.

The next morning, we decided to make ourselves vulnerable and venture outside the city walls. From up above, it was a long way down. 

At the base of the city, sitting in the valley, was a beautiful garden and stream that sat under the looming city walls.

Despite being underneath a tiny capital in an even tinier country, it all seemed so big and towering sitting above us. I understood the military intimidation this city must have provided for anyone passing in its wake. 

Throughout our walk, we marvelled at the athleticism of the Luxembourgers. Despite the many steps and steep inclines, there were so many people out running that we were impressed. So inspired in fact that we hopped onto the free exercise equipment offered in the middle of the park and gave it a whirl. 

Entering back into the main city, we got quite the workout as we climbed and climbed alongside the walls. 

At this point, it was time to start our walking tour - better late than never! At least now we could learn what all these sites and monuments we'd be ambling about for two days were.

We met the tour group in the Place Guillaume II, a square in the old town of Luxembourg City. It used to be the site of a Franciscan monastery, and as such, the square is nicknamed Knuedler, or "the knot", for the knots worn by the monks. However, the monastery was taken apart after the French Revolution in the late 1700s and subsequent invasion by Napoleon, and then became the site of Luxembourg's city hall and named after the Grand Duke William II who ruled Luxembourg at the time. Poor monks. 

The first stop on our tour was back to this obelisk at the edge of the city walls called the Monument of Remembrance or Gëlle Fra, which means "golden lady". She was erected to commemorate all the Luxembourg people who died in the two World Wars and the Korean War. 

At the base of the obelisk are two soldiers, one lying dead and the other mourning the loss of his friend. 

Still love these views from the edge of the city walls, just behind the monument. 

From here, we got a view across the trenches to the Bourbon Plateau, or Fort Bourbon. While it used to be part of Luxembourg's fortifications, it now is where the bank headquarters sits. 

Our next stop was at the Notre-Dame Cathedral - not the famous one, this one was of the Luxembourg variety. Construction began in 1613, and since then, it has become the center of the Catholic religion for Luxembourg.  

I loved the carving in the columns. 

Behind the church  in the Place Clarefontaine is a monument to the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Charlotte. She reigned from 1919 until 1964, and during World War II, was forced to flee the country, but would make radio announcements to her people to keep up their spirits.  

From here, it was hard to hear our guide, so we just enjoyed the stroll through the streets we were becoming oh so familiar with. 

Those thick city walls. 

So crazy how the city really did just adjust to life on a hill, with all the steps and switchbacks. 

Such a pretty city. 

One last fun thing we saw on our tour were some of the alleyways and private courtyards built into the architecture. 

And some decorative gargoyles. 

As the tour ended, we finally got some sunshine in the city!

The crest of Luxembourg.

Despite the sunshine, we still needed to properly warm up. And no better place to do so than at the Chocolate House. This unassuming little shop is three floors of crooked beams and ambience that is perfect for enjoying a special kind of hot chocolate. The menu has just about every flavor you could ever think to mix with chocolate, from the normal (i.e. caramel, honey, sea salt) to the unusual (i.e. cayenne pepper). It also offered dark chocolate with at every level of cocoa percentage, all the way up to 100% cocoa (imagine how bitter!)

As if this isn't unique enough, the way the hot chocolate is created is equally unique. Upon ordering, guests receive a steaming cup of milk and their choice of chocolate in a solid block on a wooden spoon. So to enjoy, simply stir the chocolate in while the milk is steaming and voila, fresh made hot chocolate. 

So very happily enjoying our hot chocolates. 

It was the perfect end to a weekend with some of my favorite people in the world. Luxembourg provided the perfect amount of activity in a weekend without being too overwhelming. Do not slight this tiny country with a lot of history, defense, and chocolate.