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The bridge leading to the Bock Casements
The bridge leading to the Bock CasementsMy thought about the countries so far:
Scotland - Cold, windy, beautiful! Drive on the wrong side. People are friendly. Galic is weird! Really like Irn Bru soda! Neil, our guide rocks!
Germany - Warmer, but windy on the Rhine. Enchanting towns. Everyone rides bicycles. Inexpensive for a tourist area. Dogs are everywhere... even restaurants, stores, and train stations!
Luxembourg - It may be the country with the highest income per capita in the world, but they don't keep their streets and public places very clean! Spend some money on public maintenance! Clothing... women's at least, is expensive! Lower Luxembourg City (Base?) is quite pretty.
Today we had our first breakfast experience in the hostel. Standard fare, except for the coffee/cappuccino machine. After breakfast, we bought the Luxembourg Card so we could use all the bus and train transport for free, plus enter many places for free. We wanted two tickets, one with a senior's discount, but the hostel said they can't sell the senior's card, so they sold us a "family" card like it was a discount, but actually, at 38 Euros, it was more expensive than two cards at 13 Euros each! After looking at
The train trestle above our hostel
The train trestle above our hostel all the stuff we could see and do for free, we decided to check out the Bock Casements, a very large serious of underground passages and rooms that were used as late as WWII for defense and where the citizens could flee for protection. It was quite close to the hostel, but when we got there around 9am, they told us they didn't open until 10, so we decided on our second choice, Fort Thüngen, a historic fortification just above the hostel. It was a bit of a hike, but the fort and its museum were quite interesting and well worth the trip. Afterwards, we look over the Luxembourg Card brochure again and decided to head to Vianden, a town a ways outside of the city that offered some interesting things.
Everything started out fine, catching the bus to Gare Central, for free, but then we had to figure out how to get to Vianden. We finally found a transport information office at the station where they told us we had to take a train to Ettelbruck (sp?), then a bus from there to Vianden. Being able to use our card for both, and having plenty of time, we
Entering Thungen Fort grounds
Entering Thungen Fort grounds set out, grabbing the train to Ettelbruck. When we got there just after noon, we found the departure timetable for buses and realized they only ran every couple of hours and we had no idea when the return bus ran, so we had to admit defeat and just stroll around Ettelbruck for a while, then take the train back to Luxembourg City. Remembering our first attempt at the Bock Casements, we decided to try again. When we reached the casements, Manoli got itchy about going inside, underground, somewhat in the dark, and with no quick exits, so she backed out. It would have been difficult, if not impossible for her, but I figured I'd have a go at it anyways. The Bock Casements are a little maze of tunnels and rooms, all underground and some quite dark to the point you could hardly see your feet in front of you. A unique experience and well worth the time. When I finally exited, I reassured Manoli that she had made the right choice, then since we hadn't had anything to eat again, since breakfast, except an ice cream bar in Ettelbruck, we headed back up to the busy streets above.
Thungen Fort
Thungen Fort We remembered the Rue Cure where we'd noticed an inexpensive but interesting looking fast food place, so off we went. The shop is called La Fournee Doree and they have a good assortment of unusual things such as sandwiches, pasta "boxes", pastries, and soft-serve ice cream. Manoli decided on a couscous dish and I had a small pasta box and an option for ice cream. Everything was quite good and inexpensive. The small pasta box was big enough I was glad I hadn't ordered the large one, and opted instead for a nice soft-serve ice cream. So refreshing, and I think a better mix than the ones you can get in the U.S. It seemed creamy and lighter, if that makes sense, or maybe it just hit the spot. Afterwards, we wandered around shopping. I found and bought an interesting thimble, then we decided to see what the Luxembourg Casino was like. We found it easy enough, but apparently it was no longer a casino, but an art exhibit of some sort.
By this time we were getting a bit tired, so we decided to head down towards the hostel to rest, taking the long way around on the
The spooky corridor below the fort
The spooky corridor below the fort lower levels of the city known as Luxembourg Base, or something like that. Quite picturesque, but it took us a while to find the hostel using that route. After a rest in the hostel, we headed out to find something for dinner. After checking out several places on our way to the place the hostel had recommended, Maybe Not Bob's (really!), and seeing how steep the prices were, we decided the hostel's dinner for 9.90 Euros wasn't so bad. Every place we saw was something like 12 Euros for a salad, or 15 to 28 Euros for dinner! I ordered the BBQ dinner for 9.90 and Manoli decided on just a large order of French fries for 4.50. Although the food should have been good, being BBQ port, shish-kabobs, and a help yourself salad, nothing was very good except the fries, and they needed salt. All the meat was way over cooked, in my opinion.
After dinner, we watched some Netflix, I wrote this blog, and we headed to bed. Tomorrow we leave for Brussels in Belgium for a 3-night stay. Let's see what Belgium is like.
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