A Quiet Day In The Centre Of Town

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Today had a quiet start and ended up with a quiet finish. It snowed heavily for a few hours early in the day, coating buildings, cars and the ground with a cold sheet of snow. Tim, Sue and I walked down to the local Portugues Bakery and had coffee and pastries, caught a bus into town (no tickets again) and wandered around the old part of town, visited the Luxembourg City Art Gallery, went to a pretty cool bar, had more coffee and pastries and caught the bus home.

Luxembourg is very unique and is built on a hill surrounded by deep valleys. It was virtually impregnable and heavily fortified until 1867 when the Treaty of London was signed. Basically, all the world powers that mattered at the time forced Luxembourg to dismantle the walls and fortifications that had made it safe, a task that took about 15 years. The same powers had been bickering over control of Luxembourg for years and decided to put an end to the trouble.

It is now, along with London, one of Europe’s financial centres and home to many of the world’s largest firms. Money comes and goes from all manner of sources, some not so scrupulous. The world has been kind to Luxembourg in recent times and it survived the war relatively unscathed. As a result the old part of the city is still intact and a pleasure to explore. Underestimated as a tourist destination, we were free to wander through the small laneways and go shopping in the centre of town with no crowds to deal with.

Tomorrow is a choice between going to Germany for the day or checking out things closer to Luxembourg; the weather will be a major factor in that decision. As I said, it was a quiet one today and I think a bit of tiredness has crept in, so the temporary change of pace has been welcom.

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Photos

Plenty Of Work For Slate Roof Workers
The older part of town set in the valley.

Taking The 100 Metre Drop In The Glass Funicular ( lift).
The quickest way to go from the main town to the village in the valley.

The Funicular
The light coloured concrete structure in the middle is the Funicular. The ramp on the right leads to the lift which canterleavers out to the left. It’s probably not for everyone as it’s mainly glass and give you a false sense of insecurity.

The Valley
Taken from the Funicular

Old Fortifications Blend With Mudam,....
.......a modern building housing an historical museum

Monument de Souvenir, built 1923.
Destroyed by Nazis on October 21 1940, this monument became a symbol of resistance for a humiliated people who only had their bravery to fight back with.

Monument De Souvenir
Was completely rebuilt in 1985