JC and I spent nearly a week recently in Luxembourg visiting his parents. We flew from Stansted and used my Dad's as a staging post to drop the car, stay over, and launch ourselves from.
Thursday 13 April
Well didn't South West Trains serve us well? After convincing JC that trains would be better than driving - OK, perhaps a tad more expensive but more environmentally friendly and not too much longer - SWT cancelled all trains to Waterloo! They wouldn't even let us download our tickets from the ticket machine at Basingstoke, but I convinced them that we had a Plan B (involving Reading) and that they really should let us get our tickets and chase a train. So we made it to Stansted Airport on time but it was more of a stress than it should have been.
We made it over the Channel and JC's cousin collected us and delivered us to his parents. Result.
Friday 14 - Saturday 15 April
Friday and Saturday involved lots of pottering around at JC's parent's house plus the odd trip to Cactus, the local supermarket. JC naturally helped his parents with bits and pieces whilst I occupied myself with puzzles and reading. On Friday we went for a walk to Huncherange and enjoyed watching the trains pass, and on Saturday took ourselves out for another amble around local fields.
Sunday 16 April
JC disappeared with a Belgian today to photograph an abandoned site in Germany, so I took myself off to the City to explore an outdoor sculptures trail. I was on the eastern edge of Luxembourg City, Kirchberg, the home of the EU institutions, Luxembourg financial institutions and an Olympic sized swimming pool. It was a super easy tram ride up from the station - I do so love the free transport system of Luxembourg, not to mention the lovely stained glass in the station - and I started at the most north easterly point and headed south.
I walked through the Parc-Klose-Groendchen and spotted the granite boat and some funky wall art.
As there are many financial institutions it made sense to have a banker. And I found a Luxembourg book bank - a lot posher than the British home-made versions!
Plenty of unusual buildings, creative architecture and sculptures to spot.
I even found a cow.
I walked down the route of the Roman road from Riems to Trier into Central Park where there were plenty more sculptures to see.
And a somewhat brutalist kiosk (sadly closed).
There was a brilliant play park here and I couldn't resist climbing on some of the wooden logs they had laid out. This would have been fine if I hadn't slipped off (how embarrassing!) and bashed my hand and back, so I decided to call it a day and slink off for lunch at Snack in Joy. Although vegan, it wasn't my favourite as it had a lot of mock-meat dishes - however there wasn't much else open on a Sunday.
Monday 17 April
Monday's highlights included a delicious meal out at La Celula, where I sat under a cow,
followed by an impromptu visit to Dudelange to pick up some shoes. We had a short amble around the town centre and I was pleased to find a benchmark on their Hôtel de Ville.
L'Église Saint Martin.
Tuesday 18 April
Today JC and I visited Luxembourg City for the afternoon and took a tour of the Pétrusse Casements, one of the two sets of underground passages in the city. They run short 45 minute tours with small groups and a guide and we were able to book on an English tour.
These defensive tunnels, built variously by the Spanish and Austrians, were actually never used in anger and were repurposed for varied activities such as mushroom growing and a spacious wine cellar. They came in most handy during the Second World War as refuge from the overhead bombing.
We exited into the Parc de la Pétrusse (named after the river which flows through it) and discovered a church carved into the rocks which we'd never spotted before, the Chapel of Quirinus.
As we walked back up into the city JC spotted two flood level markers. Boy, big floods!
And back up in the Place d'Armes I found another you-know-what, on the Centre Municipal.
We ate out with JC's friends that evening, in a new-to-us local Lebanese restaurant, Chiche! This is a social enterprise, set in a house setting (so small rooms and less noise) with delicious food. Win win.
Wednesday 19 April
Home day today. Leaving Luxembourg via the airport wasn't a fun experience. We decided that the airport likes to play mind games with their passengers. First off we had to sit in a room waiting for the passport control to open, then, once shunted through that, we had to queue to get into the boarding gate area. Entry was controlled with priority passengers first, then others, and the priority passengers dutifully queued up against the exit ready to be first onto the plane. Then the airport staff opened a door across the other side of the room and we all jumbled up onto buses. By the time we got onto the plane there was no boarding order, people were getting onto the wrong end of the plane and it was all a bit not-great. It's one of the few things that Luxembourg doesn't seem to excel at!
Once back in Stansted it wasn't much better as my passport didn't work in the eGates so I had to queue, with dozens of others in similar predicaments, for the 2 passport control officers to clear us into the UK. Then it was 4 trains back to Basingstoke and a long awaited cup of tea! A quick catch up with Dad, a drive home and an unpack and ready for work on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment