Long weekend in Luxembourg

---

Taking advantage of the many long weekends that spring in Europe seems to offer is something I relish. When my dear friend Winter said she would be in Europe and asked if we could meet, we somehow landed on connecting in Luxembourg for few days.

Our time was mostly spent wandering the small streets. We caught up with each other for dinner on our first night, enjoying the ambiance of one of the city's squares. There was also a holiday feel, with families out and enjoying a late night together, even though it was a Thursday.



We started the next day with the changing of the guard at Paiais grand Duc. The scale of the country, and its buildings and streets is smaller than that of many capitals, so this event was also on a smaller scale than Buckingham Palace, for example. We then wandered to the art museum and then the city's museum, where we gained some context into the country and its history. We then visited the fortress and tunnels that cut through the rocky foundation of the city. This is a UNESCO site, and was indeed unique. Since were were in a wandering mood, we made our way to one of the city's big parks, to soak up the spring sun and watch families enjoying time together.



Since we felt we had taken in much of what the city had to offer the day before, we decided that we should take a little day trip. We started the day at the market at Place Guillome II, where we bought picnic goodies from the fresh food stalls. What a simple joy that is! The bus to Echternach took us through green hill sides. The town of Echternach was also picturesque. Again, a wander through its narrow streets, led us to the perfect bench for our picnic. From there, we enjoyed the church and abbey, along with its museum. The illuminated manuscripts were worth the visit.



Once back in Luxembourg City, we sipped a coffee, and then took a lovely walk down to Grund, the lower quarter of the city. It is beautifully preserved with historic buildings along the river side. Quite a sight to take in with the dramatic cliffs rising up around it. Little did we know that there was a marathon taking place, and that it would start in the evening, but indeed there was! This made our commute back to our hotel a bit more exciting than it had been on previous trips, but we managed and enjoyed the festive atmosphere that took over the city. Once at the hotel, Winter was treated to the cultural marvel of Eurovision, a song contest full of pop music and one of kind light shows. It was certainly an experience for her!



We used Yelp and our sense of adventure to figure out where to enjoy some food and drink:

Coffee at Kaale Kaffi

Lunch at Urban

Dinner at Tatties

Cafe des capucins

Konrads for coffee and lunch

Stayed at Hotel Pax-just fine, a bit out of the city, but the bus was easy to use

---