Advertisement
Published: December 15th 2015
Edit Blog Post
When researching about Luxembourg, I discovered there was a small place called Vianden that was north of Luxembourg City and close to the German border. The first photo I saw of Vianden when researching was this magnificent castle on a rock, surrounded by greenery, a river and lots of houses. I was taken aback by this beautiful, peaceful looking town and there was no way that I was going to miss the opportunity to visit this place.
My guidebook recommended doing 'A Tour of Petite Suisse Luxembourgeoise' with the Petite Suisse meaning Little Switzerland. The book recommended starting at a small town called Echternach and ending at Vianden via Petite Suisse Luxembourgeoise. The route is about 22 miles (35 km) and will take at least half a day by car or a whole day by foot.
My drive up to Echternach from Luxembourg City took no longer than 30 minutes and included a refill of some tax free petrol. Echternach is known to be the capital of Luxembourg's Little Switzerland and is also the country's oldest town. I discovered the abbey was founded in AD 698, surprisingly by a missionary monk who came from Yorkshire in England. This monk
is also meant to have cured a disease that affected the nervous system. Although Echternach has history, this place is small and I had seen everything within an hour.
From Echternach, I followed routes of Berdof and Grundholf to Vianden and toured the Petite Suisse Luxembourgeoise. I stopped off many times on the way to admire the amazing landscape. I went for peaceful walks into the woods, trying not to go too far as not to get lost. I found myself admiring the rocks at Berdorf, a place known for rock-climbing. I was fascinated by the flowing rivers and small waterfalls. It really was such a peaceful, perfect place to be... but time was ticking by and I wanted to see Vianden.
As I entered Vianden, I was wowed by the castle, I pulled over and immediately starting taking photos, luckily I had pulled over into a layby. I decided to leave my car at the layby and walk into this small town. I had to see this magnificent castle, or chateau, if you speak French. This large medieval castle dates back to either the 12th or 13th centuries and has a Romanesque and gothic structure. The castle
offers great views of the town and the river Our as it's perched over them on a rocky out-crop.
At Vianden, the shop keepers tend to speak to you in German but will try and speak some French and a little English too. I actually found myself being spoken to in all three languages! My French is very little and German is like a few odd words, but I managed to get by with a simple smile and lots of pointing.
I managed to nail my fear of heights, well... just about. From the other side of the river Our, you can take a cable car (Although more like flying chairs) it crosses over the river and then takes you up a steep hill past the castle. Ok, I don't really like cable cars but I've done them in the past, but flying chairs with your legs hanging out, this was a first. I was feeling so nervous as I walked to the counter to pay for the ride, do I... don't I... do I... don't I... just do it!! I was strapped in, but I wanted to get out. Going up the hill was not too bad,
but coming back down, well... I didn't like it. Once you're up the very top of this hill though, it's incredible. Crazy to believe I was higher than the castle, and the town looking so small. On the steep hill there is a pub next to the cable car with many people outside enjoying a beer and admiring the views. I wondered if these people used the cable car to reach the pub, perhaps they were tourists like myself.
As I got back to my car, I was thinking there is something special about these magnificent places that don't get many tourists, must explain why I love Vianden.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.238s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 32; qc: 135; dbt: 0.1439s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Follow in your footsteps
We are busy planning a trip and may spend part of our time in Switzerland. We may have to follow in your footsteps and spend some time in Luxenborg.