Luxembourg City (Stop #2 on our Road Trip)
The second day of our trip we decided to go to Luxembourg, Luxembourg (otherwise known as Luxembourg City). It was only a 30 minute drive from our stay in Arlon, Belgium. Why did I want to go to Luxembourg? I don't really know. I have this book "501 Must Visit Cities" and it was in there. It's not a big country and you don't hear too much about it.
What I did hear about Luxembourg City are that:
1) It's very expensive 2) It's full of rich bankers and 3) It's not too much different from Belgium or eastern France or even "little Switzerland." While all three of these things might be true in one way or another, Luxembourg does have it's sights and traditions, though I can honestly say that one day in Luxembourg can be done easily.
From the picture above which was taken from the Adolphe Bridge, you can see the Notre Dame Cathedral and the downtown district with it's modern buildings. You see that concrete wall? As you go further down, below the wall and bridge, (which we did) there are miles of a partially underground city called the Bock Casemates. It's pretty cool because the walls and rocky cliffs form a natural fortitude around the city. There were ruins and underground system also. We only drove through the town quickly but from what we saw, it looked pretty interesting to spend a few hours walking around.
Back at the Notre Dame Cathedral (every big city seems to have one) you can see Gothic and Renaissance inspired architecture. Below are three shots of the inside of the Cathedral and the crypt being guarded by two bronze? lion statues.
Every Saturday morning in Luxembourg City they have a farmers market. Luckily we were there on a Saturday and got to experience this. What was interesting was that they had foods from all over Europe; cheese from Italy (which I bought), French bakeries, Spanish foods, Greek foods, like the olives below, and various other types of foods.
They even had a section of the market where they were helping raise money for the people of Africa by selling foods and African wares, which I thought was great!
They even had a section of the market where they were helping raise money for the people of Africa by selling foods and African wares, which I thought was great!
I love olives, so my mother and I tried some of the Greek olives that were at the market. Yum!
View from the other side of the Adolphe Bridge. Walking towards this building from the other side of the bridge we were really excited to get closer to see what it was. I figured it was a castle or something epic...
But as we reached the building we realized it was this, which was much smaller than were were anticipating. It is called the European Coal and Steel Community (Building). Now there is a Luxembourg Castle and a Luxembourg Palace, which actually look pretty cool in pictures. But we just didn't get to experience those places, so I'd suggest you start there if you ever find yourself wanting to visit Luxembourg.
The statue below is the Monument of Remembrance or the Gelle Fra (Golden Lady). It is to remember the service members of the Allied Forces of Luxembourg who fought during World War I.
After all of our walking around, we were working up an appetite. We made it towards the shopping district and decided to have a seat at one of the cafes for lunch. I decided to have a salad which was very good! It had bacon, ham, cheese, tomatoes, black olives (which are the only olive I don't like), cuts of potatoes and a dippy egg on top!
Luxembourg, like Belgium, is also known for their french fries and that is what the boys on our trip had. There are "Friteries" everywhere. Tastes just as good as any other french fries in my opinion. :)
The placemat under my food had a "Summer in the City" itinerary and I took a picture to give you and idea of some of the events that were going on in Luxembourg throughout the Summer.
Once we had viewed enough of the city we went to the second thing that we came to see in Luxembourg...The Luxembourg American War Cemetery and Memorial.
There are 5,076 American soldiers buried here. Most of them were casualties of The Battle of the Buldge, which I spoke about on my trip to Bastogne, Belgium. It was pretty much the nicest cemetery I have ever seen. All of the grave crosses were in perfect condition with scattered names of fallen soldiers. The grass was impeccable. I usually don't get excited about grass but it was so soft on your feet, well cut, and a vibrant color of green. The care that they put into the grass there just goes to show you how well the cemetery is taken care of.
Here, standing out from the others is the grave cross of General George S. Patton!
What a beautiful and certainly heartwarming place to honor American service members. Definitely a must see if you are an American visiting Luxembourg.
Alternately, we stopped by the German memorial cemetery (Sanweiler German Cemetery). It was twice the size of the American Cemetery but was only maintained by donations and it was clear that it was a lot less well kept, with dark headstones and grass that wasn't as immaculately tended to. When Americans were going through the bodies to bury during the war, they found the dead of Americans as well as many dead German soldiers and they decided to bury them in their own memorial graves.
After our day trip in Luxembourg City we headed back to our home-stay in Arlon, Belgium. Like I said, Luxembourg City in my opinion can be done in one day and I don't think I will have the need to visit again.
Though I know only a day trip isn't enough to know what an entire country is about, I still left with the feeling that I knew little about the culture and lifestyle of Luxembourg. I'd like to hear from readers who did other things in Luxembourg or are from Luxembourg themselves!
Favorite Thing About Luxembourg City:
Honestly the American Cemetery was great to see, not only for history buffs.
Next Stop: Tongeren, Belgium Flea Market
Tell me some fun facts about Luxembourg and its people.
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