 |
| Cool statue; Odd tree - no idea what it is |
I thought Belgium spoke English. Not sure where I got that idea from. But it worked out okay because Belgium is multilingual. There are three official languages depending on where you live - Dutch, French, and German. Each area is near the country belonging to the language. Many upper schools are taught in English, so most also know that as well. It's sort of crazy, but cool too.
So now I'm off to luxembourg. By the way, they're bilingual too. Their official languages are luxembourgish, French, and German, depending on the situation. Most everybody speaks luxembourgish plus one of the other languages. Not everybody spoke English, but enough for me to get by. When reading tourist signs, they were all in French and German. My German came in handy since I am helpless with French, but I am clearly rusty. In the meantime I learned key french words: Bonjour, au revoir, merci, and parlez-vous anglais. Anything more was beyond me.
Luxembourg is a cute town. Very different from Brussels. WhIle both train stations in Brussels were in a not so great area, the Luxembourg station is in the middle is the shopping district. Brussels is a European city with a beautiful historic town square. Luxembourg is filed with history, romance, and elegance that just happens to be a city. This would be a cool place to come with a significant other - walk the cobblestone streets, sip wine in a town square, and soak up the atmosphere.
I wanted to get to the Luxembourg American cemetery, which is filled with American soldiers from the world wars, including Patton. I thought I read it was open 24-7, but I guess not. Some places are still on winter hours, so they closed at 5. I almost made the last 2 busses that would get me there before close, but when I asked about bus tickets (i found out they're free on weekends to promote shopping) and asked where the stop was, I got sent half a block down to a bus stop. Unfortunately I needed to be at the bus stop right by where I was. By the time I figured it out, I had missed 2 busses and the rest would have gotten me there right at closing time.
I did see all the other tourist places I wanted to and walked the streets enjoying the atmosphere. At least until it started raining. Luckily it was mostly just stay drizzle, so I could still walk around - I just got chilled and wet. But since the forecast was for rain the whole time I'm in Europe and this is the first I've had, I really can't complain.
I took my time walking from the train station to my room since check in wasn't for several hours. I got a small hotel (only 16 rooms) right in the middle of the city for ~$60. The rooms were simple and small, but location and a decent breakfast made it well worth it. (Both mornings I have been able to sneek a piece of homemade bead and couple pieces of cheese for lunch. Love when it's a good breakfast.)
The hotel was on the Place Guillaume II, which confused Google maps. It took me one street over, and the way the streets were, I couldn't find a way over. I finally found a small opening that lead to the plaza and my hotel.
Luxembourg exists because of a rock. A Count bartered with the owner of the land for this rock. It wasn't just that it was a rock, but that it was on the edge of a plateau, with only one side open to it. Makes it easy to control your enemies. So when you talk about luxembourg, there is the upper (older) town and the lower (relatively newer) town.
But back to the walk from the train station. I stopped at Constitution Square, which has a monument, "Galle Fra", in honor of their fallen soldiers from the World and Korean Wars. There is also one of two casements here. Casements are paths and niches cut into the rock. On the edge of the square is a deep cliff to the lower town.
Next I stopped at their Notre Dame, which is probably only a tourist destination because of its famous name. It was pretty, but in a more subtle way. It was definitely European with wooden chairs, stainglass windows, and beautiful pictures of Christ on the ceiling. However it was a much smaller and simpler church than the well-known one.
After missing the cemetery, I just walked randomly around the city. I came across the palace. It's right in the middle of town. The royal family opens up their home for guided tours in July and August. There is the main entrance in the middle of stores and bars, and the back entrance that is on the edge of the plateau, and faces the rock that started luxembourg. Both entrances had a soldier. The back entrance was boring - a female soldier walked around in a circle. The front entrance was a show. Much in the fashion of London. The soldier walked with purpose and swagger from his little house to the end of the building. At each end, he did a high step and turn that was fun to watch, even in the rain. After a while, he decided to get out of the rain, and went in his little house. There was a second little house. There used to be another soldier guarding the front, but the Royals decided they only needed one.
As I mentioned, the back of the palace was in the edge of the plateau overlooking the old town. There are additional casements here that used to defend the city. There are quite a few older structures (over 500 years old), and the city built a walk with a self-guided tour.
So I can crossed 2 more countries off my list: Belgium and Luxembourg. Now the only western European countries I have not visited are Portugal and four of the microstates. Anybody want to visit Portugal?
Luxembourg is a cute town. Very different from Brussels. WhIle both train stations in Brussels were in a not so great area, the Luxembourg station is in the middle is the shopping district. Brussels is a European city with a beautiful historic town square. Luxembourg is filed with history, romance, and elegance that just happens to be a city. This would be a cool place to come with a significant other - walk the cobblestone streets, sip wine in a town square, and soak up the atmosphere.
I wanted to get to the Luxembourg American cemetery, which is filled with American soldiers from the world wars, including Patton. I thought I read it was open 24-7, but I guess not. Some places are still on winter hours, so they closed at 5. I almost made the last 2 busses that would get me there before close, but when I asked about bus tickets (i found out they're free on weekends to promote shopping) and asked where the stop was, I got sent half a block down to a bus stop. Unfortunately I needed to be at the bus stop right by where I was. By the time I figured it out, I had missed 2 busses and the rest would have gotten me there right at closing time.
I did see all the other tourist places I wanted to and walked the streets enjoying the atmosphere. At least until it started raining. Luckily it was mostly just stay drizzle, so I could still walk around - I just got chilled and wet. But since the forecast was for rain the whole time I'm in Europe and this is the first I've had, I really can't complain.
I took my time walking from the train station to my room since check in wasn't for several hours. I got a small hotel (only 16 rooms) right in the middle of the city for ~$60. The rooms were simple and small, but location and a decent breakfast made it well worth it. (Both mornings I have been able to sneek a piece of homemade bead and couple pieces of cheese for lunch. Love when it's a good breakfast.)
The hotel was on the Place Guillaume II, which confused Google maps. It took me one street over, and the way the streets were, I couldn't find a way over. I finally found a small opening that lead to the plaza and my hotel.
 |
| Lower Town |
But back to the walk from the train station. I stopped at Constitution Square, which has a monument, "Galle Fra", in honor of their fallen soldiers from the World and Korean Wars. There is also one of two casements here. Casements are paths and niches cut into the rock. On the edge of the square is a deep cliff to the lower town.
Next I stopped at their Notre Dame, which is probably only a tourist destination because of its famous name. It was pretty, but in a more subtle way. It was definitely European with wooden chairs, stainglass windows, and beautiful pictures of Christ on the ceiling. However it was a much smaller and simpler church than the well-known one. |
| Palace on right, shops in left |
As I mentioned, the back of the palace was in the edge of the plateau overlooking the old town. There are additional casements here that used to defend the city. There are quite a few older structures (over 500 years old), and the city built a walk with a self-guided tour.
So I can crossed 2 more countries off my list: Belgium and Luxembourg. Now the only western European countries I have not visited are Portugal and four of the microstates. Anybody want to visit Portugal?
No comments:
Post a Comment