Luxembourg

We just got back from our latest trip last Tuesday and instead of doing one mega post I've decided to break it down by country. So here goes. We left Tuesday (April 7) afternoon (so that Brian could work that day) and drove 5 hours to Luxembourg, Luxembourg. Yes, the city and country have the same name. Of that 5 hour drive James only slept for like 40 minutes. He really likes his own bed and can't seem to settle down in the car. For those of you who don't know where Luxembourg is here is a map.Luxembourg is a tiny country that borders on France, Germany and Belgium. Total population is around 500,000 people and 1/5 of the population lives in Luxembourg city. One thing that impressed me the most with Luxembourg was that everything was very well kept. Apparently Luxembourg is a very, very rich country per capita. Like second in the world. They are like Switzerland to the nth degree in terms of banking. They offer financial services like Switzerland but with even more privacy and options. Interesting. Anyway, all the buildings were old but very well maintained with new windows and many new buildings were done in an "old-fashioned" look so that the whole city just looked nice.
Here is a picture of Brian and James outside the house of the Duke. Apparently Luxembourg is the only Dukedome left in the world. It is run by a Duke who is essentially the King but they call him a duke. And they also have some parlament or something but the Duke still has quite a bit of power. Who would have known that Dukedome's still existed? Not me.Luxembourg City is built on either side of a huge valley. It splits the city in two parts. And it is pretty deep. In the valley is a river and a large park and a few neighborhoods. Here is a look from the upper city into one part of the valley called "the Grund."Another look into the valley at a beautiful park area that they have established there. It is a no car zone and there are lots of beautiful paths and such to walk down. And some pretty cool bridges as you can see.This is a look at part of the city from "Constitution Square." It had the Luxembourg flag flying hibh and, of course, the EU flag flying as well. I don't know if you can see well but most of the trees were blooming and it was beautiful but a tiny bit chilly. Here is a look at the valley from the valley. You can see cliffs leading back up to the upper city. Another view from the bottom looking up. James was too tired to lift his head in this picture as he had a horrible night at the hotel the night before. He got some weird rash on his head and chest and back (we figured it was from the hotel sheets as they were really chemically smelling) and he was itching like crazy. Poor kid but he was a trooper anyway.
On Wednesday afternoon we left Luxembourg and drove 3 hours to Brugge (Bruges), Belgium but that is for another post. Needless to say, James slept for most of the car trip out of sheer exhaustion. Lucky us! Overall, I liked Luxembourg but would not put it super high on my list of places to visit if we didn't live here. I am just excited that I get to click off another country on my list of places I've been. I'll admit it, there is nothing more exciting to me (well few things anyway) than traveling to new places. I love it!!! I will try to post about Belgium tomorrow or soon anyway.