Luxembourg City

After my slight delay in Èpernay, I made it to my 36th country, Luxembourg. I caught my car share in Reims and enjoyed a few hours on the road with the driver. I got dropped off in a small town in France and then took the train into Luxembourg City. It was a pretty uneventful trip, and went by relatively quick. 

I had booked another Airbnb since it was my cheapest option. Luxembourg, like Lichtenstein, is a small but expensive country. I only booked a couple of nights, but I figured it would be enough time to see the city (and country). Also, my trip was ending, and I wanted to allow enough time in Belgium before leaving Europe.

My host was planning to meet me at the train station, but I didn't hear back from her. Fortunately I'm capable of following directions, and walking. I was just hoping she would be there since it was pretty cold out. Like in the 30s cold. I made my way to the apartment, but didn't have the apartment number. And there were no names on the ringers. After a few minutes of waiting, fortunately someone came along and let me in. It actually ended up being someone that was staying in the same apartment. I questioned following a strange guy into an apartment, but I decided to trust him. It worked out, and I ended up in the right place. I got settled in, and my current roommate, Stefan, and I went to grab dinner in town. We didn't stay out too late, and I was ready to relax and get to bed so I can spend the next day checking out the city. 

From what I read, Luxembourg City sounded pretty hilly. And I wasn't entirely sure by how much. When I went for my run the following morning, I found out. I ran to the casemates, and found that I was at the top of the gorges. I managed to stay up there and not go down any of the hills. I didn't intend on running back up them. I had better views from up there anyway.

Running along the gorges.

After my run, and a little bit of planning for the next few days, I went out to explore. And this time I went up and down the casemates. I spent a couple of hours admiring the beautiful landscape.

Luxembourg gorges.

Pont Viaduc.

Skate park down below.

Landscaped gardens.

I made my way to the Old Town and wandered around for a bit. I, of course, came across another Christmas market. Which wasn't open yet. I kept coming across them on my travels, and it looked like I may miss them all. They won't open until after I return home. Typically I don't think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but given Europe doesn't have Thanksgiving, I was getting into the Christmas spirit.

Another Christmas market not open.

I continued walking around the Old Town and strolled around the small streets.

The Old City.

Windy lanes. 

I came across the Palais Grand Ducal and Cathédral Notre-Dame de Luxembourg. And a bookstore to get warm in for a bit.

Grand-Ducal Palace.

Notre Dame Cathedral.

Truth.

After all my wanderings, I needed to get inside for a while to warm up. I found a cute spot to enjoy a local beer and read for a bit. I then headed out to meet my new friend Stefan and have dinner. He actually had just moved out into his own place since he lives in Luxembourg and had me over for some food. We had a nice time and I was able to learn a little bit more about Romania, where he was from. I'll be reaching out to him when I eventually visit his country. 

Of course US politics came up. With people who speak good English, it's always a little surprising how much they pay attention to our country. It shouldn't be after all this time, but the depth of the conversations do still surprise me a bit. And makes me a little sad. There are people who are not from the US that pay more attention to what's going on in our country, than our own citizens.

The following day, I got to spend most of the day in Luxembourg City before my next stop, so I spent it in some other parts of the city. Which involved more hills. 

Hillside homes. 

Alzette River. 

Finding fun passageways.

Reflections.

Melusina statue.

I felt that I had seen enough of the city before leaving, so went to find a place to chill out for a while. I had walked by the Chocolate House the day before, and decided to stop in and get a hot chocolate.

Whisky hot chocolate.

After finishing my hot chocolate, I headed back to the Airbnb to finish packing. My host let me keep my stuff there since no one was checking in. I had a little bit of time before meeting my car share to Bruges. That actually ended up taking a bit longer than anticipated. I was a little unclear on what was going on, but he was waiting for someone for some reason. Finally it was time to meet him at the train station. I was easy going about the situation, but I was getting a little frustrated the later it got. I didn't want to miss my check-in at the hostel that night. But we finally were on the road and we made good time to Bruges. The driver was a nice guy who spoke pretty good English, so we were able to chat for most of the ride. More about US politics of course. He dropped me off really close to my hostel, which was very convenient. It was now time to see what Belgium was all about.