Day 36: Luxembourg is more than just a city

July 27 –

It seems that the weather gods are smiling on us – another dry morning. More clouds than yesterday but the promise of another good day. No run for me as my left knee isn’t faring well – I think I need to stretch a bit more. We started the day with the bakery run and got coffee from the hotel restaurant. Then we dropped off two large loads of laundry at a local laundromat for a service wash – I love that concept! – and headed into town to tie up some loose ends.

First, to the casemates, the historical fortification of the city which was built up again and again starting in 963. Apparently an independent state in the middle of Europe including a city with natural defenses was too much to leave alone so European rulers have passed it back and forth for centuries. We walked through the Bock area through walls that are hundreds of years old and looked through cannon holes and down wells and under buildings. It was really cool!

Then we wandered back to the Cathedral to take pictures which we couldn’t do the other day. It really is a tremendously beautiful place. We hit a few kitschy shops to pick up some interesting souveniers – where else could Duncan get small statues of Asterix and Obelix? Then we picked up the clean laundry and prepared to head out of town.

We programmed Helga to take us to Vianden – a town that Victor Hugo raved over and was suggested to me by both the guide book and my friend Guiseppe as a nice afternoon out. Correct on all counts! The Vianden castle is picturesque beyond belief! It’s like something out of a storybook – I kept waiting for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to fly over the mountain.  We wandered all over more centuries old stones and looked out over a beautiful valley.  Then it was time to head home and when we stopped for gas (the cheapest in Europe at about one Euro per litre – you do the math!) that’s when the skies couldn’t hold back any more and we got a soaking downpour for about 20 minutes.

The sky was clear again by the time we got back into the city and got some of the yummiest Indian food yet!  Big thumbs up for Luxembourgian Indian food (?!?).  Now it’s time to pack up and prepare to head to Strasbourg tomorrow. I’ve promised to have a crepe for my friends Julie and Christine since we weren’t able to do that ourselves last December.

/san/

[Pedometer:  22,389 or about 11 miles mostly up and down old spiral staircases and over old rocks!]