018 Luxembourg

Luxembourg: Luxembourg city

 

It didn't matter where you turned, every nook and cranny had something marvellous. The streets were very narrow and twisty plus a few a bit hilly. This all added to the allure of Luxembourg. I  could quite easily see us living here.

There were some magnificent squares and at the weekend most contained a market. Markets seem to come in three styles: 1) Flowers and cheeses/deli 2) Trash & Treasure 3) Antiques. It was also 'safe' to sit and have a beer or a coffee in the squares as the prices were the same as elsewhere.

Luxembourg city is built over an old fort/castle that was extremely strategically positioned. There are over 21km of tunnels in the Casametes. We ventured only into the second level as it was very badly signed and once you got below the  first level there were no windows - just twisty tunnels. Both of us felt so claustrophobic we decided to just go back EXACTLY the way we came in!

 

One afternoon we had a guided tour led by a very amusing Octogenarian. As we watched the changing of the guard outside the palace (that he said the royal family rarely ever are in - so these guys guard an empty house!) he told us we were exceedingly lucky as we could now observe 1/2 of their army :)

Luxemburg: Vianden

Vianden was a hidden treasure. This castle had been restored and was magnificent. The Lonely Planet Guide paid for itself here. Great advice in regard to the chairlift. Firstly the chairlift starts off in what looks like someone's back garden and goes up above the castle to what appeared to be a seedy café. No signs, no car park, nothing to denote it was there or heaven forbid highlight a tourist attraction. So once you get off the chairlift you look around for something to do and notice there isn't much of a view but there is a 'goat track' back down with a small sign to the castle.

 

 

 

One or two cafe's were closed on Tuesdays yet their tables and chairs were just left out - not even loosely chained.

It was well worth the detour. Loved it.

 

Well that was Luxembourg. For some reason the photo's don't seem to reflect how wonderful the place was.

 

They are the highest paid per capita in the world. We didn't see one homeless person. Having said that every public toilet was 1/2 Euro, you even sometimes had to pay in museums that you had already paid to get into. It did get a bit annoying that the men's urinals were free.  

 

It was clear safety/security was not an issue.

 

They possibly benefit from the high number of EU bureaucrats to get so many grants to restore things so well?

 

There were vey few signs so being a tourist was a challenge. Their #1 tourist attraction is the Wenzel walk, which had intermittent signs. Frank worked out that if you spotted a really narrow passageway with steps, that was the way to go!

 

We loved Luxembourg. :)