Just under two hours from here is Luxembourg, which is surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany. It is mostly rural, with dense forest and a National Park, rocky gorges and the Moselle river valley. Its capital, Luxembourg City, is famed for its fortified medieval old town perched on sheer cliffs, so we decided an overnight stay was in order.
It was an easy and pretty drive, passing through small rural villages. The Moselle River is one I’ve been plotting a cycle trip along, so I may need to rethink this now I’ve been alongside.
The most common language heard spoken was French, but the official languages are Luxembourglish, French and German with a few twists in the dialects. Much of the architecture reminded us of France. And there is much history – again.
Walking was the easiest way around so we clocked up a few kms.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994, the Grund is located in the lower part of the city right in the heart of the old fortress, which was built over nine centuries, but was demolished in 1867 as part of the Treaty of London.
Described as “a village within a city”, the Grund is accessible by foot or lift as it’s pretty steep into the valley and is surrounded by the Alzette River which is crossed by the two viaduct style bridges, plus others including this modern Red Bridge.
We took a little train tour with commentary around this area. A very relaxed feel. It’s gone through many lives and was once a bit rough and included social housing, but is now expensive to live there. Some pretty cute spots and houses, but also amazing to see the massive stone walls and tunnels still existing. A former prison has been converted into a Rest Home.
The weather has suddenly decided to become autumnal and we had a few spots of rain. Our suntans will fade rapidly!
We really enjoyed our time here.
Leave a Reply