The Last Grand Duchy

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Gudde Moien!

As you probably realized from the greeting, I have left Germany. I'm now in Luxembourg (the world's last sovereign Grand Duchy) where Luxembourgish is the most commonly spoken language of the official three - French and German being the other two. Luxembourg is an amazing little country of less than half a million people. Despite its small size, there is nothing simple or even ‘quaint’ about Luxembourg. The architecture is massive and ancient, the city is well laid out, and the streets are filled with incredibly nice cars. (Not surprisingly, Luxembourg does have the highest GDP per capita in the world.)

I saw the parliament building, which is right next to the Grand Ducal Palace, so I can now check this country off my list of world capitals I've visited. I also made the short ride out of the city to see the few EU buildings in Luxembourg, the most important one being the European Court of Justice. It was a nice prelude to Brussels, where I plan to spend at least one whole day just wondering around the European Union building district. Even though not a lot goes on government-wise in the summer, I am always thrilled just to see these places in person.

After walking around the city for the afternoon, Alissa and I went on a tour of the Casemates - what is left of the huge wall that used to encircle the entire city. The wall was built in the middle of the 17th century and today only a few segments of it and a handful of gates are left standing. What is still intact, however, is a massive underground tunnel of passageways that run in the same outline of where the wall stood. You could easily spend hours wondering around the dark halls that occasionally end in a sort of balcony overlooking amazing cliffs. We left shortly after I hit my head pretty solidly on a piece of stone that jutted down from the ceiling in one of the particularly dark halls. Between that, and both of us being tired of falling down the too-little-for-our-American-feet spiral staircases, we decided to call it a day.

Luxembourg has been a really nice transition out of Germany into our other European destinations. I’ve been getting away with throwing out "danke" as "thank you" while also adding "merci" for "thank you" to the couple of phrases I know. The city is full of sights to see but much less tourist-y than Berlin or Munich simply because it isn't a big stop for most college students on vacation. Thanks to its size, I think I got a good feel for Luxembourg just in the couple of days of passing through. More on things I felt and passed through in the next update.

Until then,
PEACE

Travel Trip For The Complete Dumbass #14

"Not everyone you meet is interested in telling you their life story, or hearing yours." Immediately upon arriving in Luxembourg, I went to McDonalds specifically to order a Royal with Cheese (Pulp Fiction, anyone?). Anyway, it was slow and the girl who took my order was cute, so I introduced myself and told her where I had come from, the outline of my trip, and how I was really enjoying myself. After a series of prying questions, I got her to tell me she had recently returned with her family to Portugal after living in the States for years, but had just moved to France to find work. After not being hired for anything, she took a job at this Luxembourg McDonalds and now makes the commute everyday! Can you imagine making an international trip everyday to work at the Golden Arches? Anyway, she was so uninterested in talking to me that she said I could take a seat while my fries finished. New friends are nice.

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Photos

Arriving In Style
The main train station is beautiful.

Around The Corner
One minute you're on a city street, you turn a corner, and suddenly you're looking out at this.

Intricate
The stone work goes from the street up to the top of each building. I don't think the city could ever burn down.

Crest
The official symbol of the Grand Duke.

Surreal
Everything looks like a post card in Luxembourg.

Parliament
Another amazing world capitol that you can walk right up to.

Back Door
Everything is grand in a Grand Duchy.

Moose
The city is the "European Pride City" of 2007, so they have this commemorative blue moose everywhere.

Modern Politics
The two newest EU buildings.

Court Of Justice
The highest court of the European Union.

A Church
Standing on top of the casemates.

Intimidating
Luxembourg relied on the walls for protection - obviously no one messed with them.

A Bridge
I am always amazed that structures like these are not only standing, but in use.

Beautiful
Every time I looked out it was another amazing scene.

The City
Looking out at the city from one of the little holes in the wall.

Staying In Style
The incredibly nice hotel in Luxembourg cost the same as the tiny hotel in Munich.

From The Balcony
The view from the hotel room was nice during the day, but the whole city glowed at night.

Nerd Alert
Yes, I read about each new country on the train ride in. Needless to say, this picture proves I looked as cool as I felt.

Comments

[Kelly]

Great job!
Matty, After now reading your most recent three blogs I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. Not only have you been on amazing adventures and have great pictures but you are truly gifted with your words. You are a great writer! Even if I am your mom Me

[Mary Ellen Trotter]

Thanks, Matt... This all means a lot
It IS just like a postcard everywhere you look. When I see you, I want your thoughts on the stability of the country. Luxembourg has so much strength in its buildings. Any downside or flaws to the way of life there? What questions are you asked by the Luxembourgians about the U.S.? Later, Nephew. Love, ME