Wednesday morning we had an easy 38 km ride with not too many hills from Redange to Luxembourg. (Actually we were on decommissioned tram lines for much of the route.)
As you can see from the photos, leaves are slowly turning, and the routes through the forest (and occasionally tunnels!) are beautiful.
BTW: it is a weird feeling to ride a bike through a long tunnel like that. It’s completely dark except for that small blurb of light at the end. Often it’s wet – lots of puddles. And there are echoes and weird noises especially if you’re riding with johnloach and he’s behind you ready to scare the living daylights out of you.
Our hotel in Luxembourg – the city, that is – was right on the pedestrians-only Place D’Armes Square and after getting our luggage and room squared away with a very accommodating receptionist, he directed us to their sister-hotel where our bikes would be stored in the basement of their art gallery.
Fancy. Security guaranteed.
That’s a good feeling and, since the forecast is – finally – for some rain – they would be dry when we jump back onto them in two days.
We showered, did a bit of laundry, and were ready in good time for the 2 p.m. meet-up with a guide from Viatour who was going to give us, and about 10 Americans, an overall tour of the city.
Aside: none of us mentioned Trump. Although…. occasionally, some of them were annoying.
Neither John nor I had any preconceptions about Luxembourg the country or the city but thanks to “Ken”, a born-and-raised, very dry-witted Luxembourger, we learned the following.
- All public transportation in Luxembourg the city and, indeed, throughout the country, is free. FREE!
- Languages: most Luxembourgers speak three languages. Luxembourgish (Germanic) is the recognized national language. “Ken” speaks this with friends and family; it is the recognized national language. French is the language for legislation. and French and German are used for administrative matters. Many people are also fluent in English.
- Luxembourg city is not dependent on its tourism industry; the major source of income is the tax revenues from huge corporations’ head offices like Amazon Europe, Deloitte, ArcelorMittal (the world’s 2nd largest steelmaker outside China), SES, to name just a few. Corporation taxes in Luxembourg are lower, making it attractive to those companies to put their European headquarters there. There is a whole area just across the valley filled with huge office buildings built by those corporations.
- 250,000 people enter and leave Luxembourg every day to work in the country. They come from the three bordering countries (France, Belgium and Germany) (where housing prices are much cheaper) to work in Luxembourg where wages are much much higher.
- Luxembourg City is one of the four institutional seats of the European Union. (The others are Brussels, Strasbourg and Frankfurt.) This little city is the host of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest judicial authority of the EU. In fact, the whole country is only 990 square miles.
- The government is a “representative democracy” headed by a constitutional monarch – Grand Duke Guillaume V – the world’s only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy (vs England which has a monarchy, i.e. a king or queen, or Monaco which is a “principality” – they have a prince)
- Luxembourg is very old. It dates from 963. The city is set high on a hill which has been tunnelled out like Swiss cheese (the ‘Casemates’) over the years, for defensive and storage purposes. There is old Luxembourg – which features a number of pedestrian-only squares – and the Luxembourg down in the valley which follows the Alzette river. (And then the Luxembourg across the valley where those large corporate headquarters are. Squint and you will see the new buildings in the photo, below.)
- They make wine in Luxembourg. Apparently this one, below, is a good one. Our tour was actually a mobile wine-tasting tour but (a) John doesn’t drink and (b) Patti can’t daydrink or she needs a nap, so we didn’t partake. I keep looking for this wine in grocery stores, though. The production levels aren’t high enough for the country to export what they make so I hope I haven’t missed the availability envelope.
When we had finished our tour “Ken” brought us back to the square where we had started, we picked up some zero-beer and a bottle of cold white wine for the room and came back here to put our feet up, do a little blogging (and photo deleting!) We had dinner in the hotel restaurant – a typical Luxembourg potato casserole with smoked ham – and then bedtime. We were knackered; I think it was a combination of many days of cycling, and the very hot (30 dg.) walk through the city! Rain and cooler temperatures are forecast for Thursday.
The front of the Justice Building.
Another bridge over the valley, this one with a pedestrian path on the lower level.
“The Gëlle Fra, or “Golden Lady,” is a prominent war memorial in Luxembourg City, commemorating the Luxembourgers who volunteered for service in the Allied armies during the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean War and the Spanish Civil War. The monument consists of a tall granite obelisk topped by a gilded bronze statue of the Greek goddess Nike holding a laurel wreath above her head, symbolizing victory and remembrance. At the base of the monument are two bronze soldiers, one fallen and one mourning his comrade. The Gëlle Fra symbolizes the nation’s voluntary contributions despite its neutrality and serves as a central emblem of Luxembourgish resilience and identity. (Wikipedia.)”
Now it’s Thursday, and it’s drizzling rain. Apparently it’s the first rain in a month on the continent. We set out with three missions – the Casemates, the Luxembourg Architecture Museum, and … a barber to tame John’s hair. Success with the two former, and a fail with the latter. Local barbers are too busy, so a trim will wait until France.
The Casements Du Bock are tunnels (perfect destination to visit in drizzling rain) totalling over 20 kms, carved into the cliffs by successive defenders of the city.
They are a historic network of underground military tunnels carved into the volcanic rock cliffs of Luxembourg City’s Grund district. Originally established as fortifications in the 17th century, they served as shelters for up to 35,000 locals during World Wars I and II.
Today, they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the city’s top tourist attractions, offering panoramic views of the old town and the Alzette River.
In fact, there is a design-nod to the ‘look’ of the casements in the treatment of exterior surfaces at the city’s theatre, a couple of miles away.
The Architecture Museum is actually just an exposition hall showcasing local architecture projects. The current display was the submissions and winners of this year’s contest. The submissions were split into categories like sustainability, creativity, use of existing assets, and materials. The exhibit was well organized and professionally presented. The building itself was recently renovated, rejuvenating an old bottling plant. And…. while we visited the exposition it was absolutely pouring rain outside so, we were grateful to have somewhere to go.
We then set out hoping to find the Museum of Modern Art in the new section of the city across the valley. The walk would involve following the river to a ‘panoramic elevator’ to get out of the valley and then a walk over the long ‘Red Bridge’.
Luckily, though, on the way we noticed a small, winding path heading up a steep hill.
We climbed its many steps and switchbacks, and it took us to the top of the cliff, just below the city fort and the modern art museum, “MUDAM“. (I.M. Pei.) The aesthetic of design in the integration of this huge building into its natural and historic setting – in 2006 – was beautiful. I’m sure my dad, the architect, would have approved.
We had a coffee in MUDAM (tres chic) (and, travellers’ tip, the washrooms are always clean), found and walked across the brand new pedestrian bridge, the ‘Passerelle des Arts‘, then over the long ‘Red Bridge’ and back into the Old Town.
Three busy barbers said ‘désolé’ to John’s request for a haircut, so his hair would have to stay untamed for a few more kilometres.
Then, in a very small-world moment, we heard someone exclaim ‘Patti and John!’ in the middle of the street just steps from our hotel. Friends of our friends Janice and Brad recognized us from attending a couple of Janice and Patti shows at our house!!! What are the odds?
Photo courtesy of a kind passerby.
After we left Maki and Mike, we looked for and found the restaurant that our tour guide from yesterday had recommended, and we made a 6:30 reservation. We both had local dishes – John, dumplings with a cream sauce and smoked ham, and Patti, chicken with (comfort food on a rainy day) with mushrooms – both delicious.
I mean, look at this menu. It’s hard to choose…
It was a huge day of walking, in drizzle, but we concurred: we both really like Luxembourg and would highly recommend it to anyone!