This morning we were to embark towards yet again a new city. This time, a country and a city. Luxembourg is a unique country in its own right, and has much to be loved. From its landscape to architecture the city is steeped in history and architecture. WE were to leave Cologne at 5:53, and connect through Koblenz with an hour and half layover, then onward to Luxembourg. This train ride was very smooth, however we did run into a little issue with a refugee who seemed to be on drugs at the time. either way he ended up leaving us alone after pestering us for about 3 minutes for money, as we were the only ones on this train in the early morning.
Either way, we embarked on our early journey after picking up coffee at the Cologne station. We arrived at the next station without realizing we had such a long layover however, due to the fact that the train was late, not because we scheduled it this way. Due to the fact that we only had limited time in the city we decided to walk asa far inward as we could before having to come back to the station. This allowed us to see a small castle, and discover that this was where Karl Marx was born. Albeit not my favorite person of all time, it was cool to see where history had come from.
We arrived back to the station, and took the train along the …..river, which was a treat in itself as the landscape was littered with castles and manors along the hillside. Another treat to this train ride was the food cart within the train. We were able to get a full breakfast sandwich and coffee for our arrival at the city of Luxembourg.
The city itself is very centralized, and ur walk to the hostel (being our first hostel of the trip), was lengthy however. Our hostel was located in the quarry section of the city. Most may not call this area that term, but much of the city is built in the low lands of cliffs that resemble a quarry. It was over a mile walk to get there… remember we were carrying our backpacks the whole time. The walk was nonetheless enjoyable going through a new town, and seeing new people and cultures. This is the capital of the country as well so there are many stately buildings within the boundaries of this city.
Our first order of business was to check in to the hostel. We arrived, and dropped our things off. As a first experience for backpacking, I was very happy with the kind faces, and amenities that were in such an inexpensive place. Europe seems to have mastered the art of hostels, but we will delve into that in the future. This particular one was of the cleaner side.
It was time to explore the city now. Since our hostel was located in the said ‘lowlands’, our first goal was to explore the lower areas. There was a church, and what seemed to be a state building, of which a river cut through the back end of the building, creating a pleasant flowing scene, among the rocky cliffs. This particular area was a great spot to relax in the shade, with a waterwheel and river. We thoroughly enjoyed spending about half an hour here soaking in the feeling of being so far from home, but yet at peace.
It was time to move on, and as we worked our way around the lowlands we passed through the public park overshadowed by the massive aqueducts of which a bridge was built into. In this park features local works of art (mostly sculputres), and it was unique to see out in the open, especially when no one cared to damage it.
The next part of the day was to ascend the cliffs, and see down and around the town from above. There seemed to have been holes and walkways built into the rock formation, and sure enough when we amended the staircases, there was an entire walkway built around the lowlands, where guards and protection could be utilized in medieval times. We were able to walk only a short distance before we realized we had to pay to walk the entire thing, thus we turned around satisfied with our efforts. This rendered us hungry however, and we decided to venture into the town square to see what all the commotion was about.
It was a normal day evidently yet very busy to our standards, for people eating outside in the traditional european way of life. We decided that a beer and chicken wings were in our immediate future, so ironically we ended up going to an americanized sports bar, and not even a traditional, local restaurant. This was one to be familiar with what we were paying for, but still to be full.
It was time to head back to the town center where the cathedral, and state building were. Though we could not enter into the state building we absolutely ventured into the cathedral, and what an experience this was. First off, the entrance was in the side, which is different than most, but the interior features a massive organ, and purple hued stained glass. This cathedral had a paid for tour to the crypt, so we paid our 2 EU to go below, and it was worth ever penny being able to see that former priests, and clergy buried before our eyes. this cathedral was not my favorite but definitely worth checking out if you ever visit this city.
For a 3/4 day in Luxembourg I was happy with what we accomplished, and for the most part we finished the entire list of things to see that day. we decided to head back to the hostel and relax. We both ordered a beer and sat outside while the barbecue was cooking and people our age from all over the world were convening in the outside area. This was the perfect end to the day, thus weheaded back to our room to watch netflix and relax for an early morning the next day.
(5:53 ICE23 to Koblenz 6:46, 7:0408:30 RE4102, 8:37-9:25 RE5102)
WALKING ROUTE:
Train station
Viaduc
Pont Adolphe (bridge)
Cathedrale Notre dame
Grund
Place Guillaume II
Casemates Du Bock
Youth Hostel
Luxembourg American Cemetery
EXPENSES-
$57.20 Luxembourg City Hostel
2.69 mcdonalds coffee
4.38 Mcdonalds breakfast
1.80 coffee
6.17 burger king
2 water
27.60 lunch
9.40 beer
33.40 dinner
9.60 beer at hostel
Total- 97.04 (32.50+15=47.50 over budget)