I was over in Luxembourg for New Year and, as usual, when JC proposed a walk I wanted to find water. Coastal opportunities are non-existent in Luxembourg but I cope by visiting the Mossel River.
Our walk on New Year's Day was in Schengen, the significance of which would mean more to me if I wasn't a Brit. In 1985, the agreement signed in Schengen created a border free area which now spans 27 European countries. Britain never joined, presumably because it was an island, but it means that, once on the continent, freedom of movement is seamless. Bearing in mind Luxembourg is smaller than the county of Devon I can't imagine how wonderful this freedom was - to simply drive from one country to the other without border checks. Added to this, to get a supermarket in northern Luxembourg the road takes you through Belgium - perfect after Schengen, but it became a bit of an issue during Covid lockdown when Luxembourgers were stopped by Belgium police for going to shop in their own country.
As Schengen is in the south east of Luxembourg it is super close to Germany and France.
So, at the start of our walk, I popped into Germany and back again.
The walk took us past the height of the floods in 1947, up some steps and around the vineyards above the river.
Before we fully returned to Schengen I had to pop to France...
Once back to Schengen village we swung by the Chateau de Schengen and more modern art such as the metal handshake.
And it even had some pieces of the Berlin Wall.
