Luxembourg City 25 April 2019

25.04.19 - Food took ages last night! Mushrooms, onions, garlic, peppers, carrots etc to chop up - small space. Also trying to find all the spices, kidney beans, tomatoes etc - all of which squirreled away in cupboards. Good job it made enough for two nights!

It was still raining this morning, and we were going to duck out of an adventure, as we didn’t want to be looking around in the rain. Anyway, XCWeather forecast rain all day, but only light until about 5pm. Decided to go for it, but wore raincoats, (yes sad I know, matching coats - but only because my blue one leaked and replacement was only yellow!) took umbrellas, and even our waterproof trousers! After yesterday, we both had wet feet, the only waterproof shoes we have are our walking boots, so that’s what we wore!

The machine at Dudelange-Usines accepted our FX card, and we bought two day tickets for €8. The right train was there, but we didn’t know if we needed to validate the ticket, nothing seemed to happen - we jumped on the train, then off - then decided to go for it. It felt like the train driver was watching our indecision, and closed the doors once we were on board - there was no one else to ask! Anyway, got off after four stops at Bettenbourg to change trains. We’d just missed the train, and waited for about 15 minutes. Posh train, with an upstairs! Think the trains only took about 30 minutes to get into Luxembourg city.

First thing we needed was a map, so walked up the long Avenue de la Gare to the tourist office and picked up a simple map. From research, I only really wanted to see the Grand Ducal Palace, visit the Bock Casemates, see the cathedral - and have a general wander.

The Grand Ducal Palace - the Grand-Duke’s residence - has a beautiful facade in Flemish Renaissance style style (16th century). Only open from mid-July to early September. Not sure if a lot of the tourists were Chinese, Japanese or Korean - but they liked having pictures with the guards and imitating them marching - silly people!

From there, went and had a quick look in the oldest church in Luxembourg, Saint Michael - first built in 987.

Onwards to the Bock Casemates. Because of Tintins’s old age, he had a €1 discount, so we only paid €13 to get in! They were built in 1745, cover an area of 1,100 m2 (sorry don’t know how to do a superscript on iPad!) and has superb views through the loopholes. The Casemates could accommodate some 50 cannons and 1,200 soldiers. There is a 47m deep well, not pleasant to look down!

The leaflet says that the four loopholes for eight cannons, when firing alternatively could do 3 shots an hour - doesn’t seem many!

It was fairly dark in places, certainly no health and safety warnings before entering - and there were some small spiral staircases. Was it worth it? Probably not, but fear of missing out made me want to look! Excellent views though!

Visited the National Museum of History and Art. It was free, spread over at least four floors below ground level. Beautifully laid out - but we just walked around and looked. Information was available in English, but in folders - too many words! Covered from prehistoric, bronze and Middle Ages. Also looked at some paintings. Only one that really stood out for me, a lady painted in 1863, which looked like a photograph.

After that, feeling a bit peckish - stopped off and had some French fries, and Tintin a coffee.

Walked past the Gëlle Fra, (the golden lady) which is a monument of Remembrance to commemorate war victims.

Walked to the cathedral. It was free! We were lucky, had had a good look around, then were told that it was closing for a few hours. If I’m honest, the Church yesterday did more for me!

Next went wandering down into the valley of Petrusse. One thing I don’t think will show up properly on the photos is how hilly the area is.

There was a lonely man, asking if we’d like to go on his train - for free! Felt really silly - sure it was for children - but as long as you were under 100 kilos (!) you could go! Think he was bored, and better to take someone around, rather than doing nothing!

We’d been walking for a while, leggies feeling a bit tired, so decided to try and find our way back to the station. Took a little while! My phone app tells me we’ve done over 17,000 steps today - and having tried it with my pedometer too, I know that it under counts - so that will do for today!

Some added photos that might be of interest.

Ran to platform 9 to get the train, but just too late, but another one was leaving from platform 7 a few minutes later. Changed train again - a ticket man looked at our ticket and all was ok! - and arrived back about 5pm to find Dave still here - big bonus!

Timed it just right, as the heavens have opened - and it looks set to continue.

I’d asked James whether Luxembourg city was worth a visit, but he’d only visited for busy meetings so didn’t really know. Was it worth it? Yes, nice to have visited, but no need to go back!

We saw smart people in suits, visitors like ourselves in comfy casual clothes, down to people begging in the streets. Tintin had to put his rucksack in a locker in the museum, and we found €1 left in the lock, which ultimately went to a man begging with a cute dog. I’ve mentioned this before, but I find it really uncomfortable walking past beggars. We recently watched a few programs about a man voluntarily going homeless on the streets in London, Manchester and Glasgow. The upshot seemed to be that there are genuine people struggling, most seem to be on drugs or alcohol (not surprising), some beg as a job, then go home to a house. All very disturbing...

Anyway, back on the rum and coke - mushroom chili for tea, and I’ll make a batch of granola tonight.

We’ll move on somewhere tomorrow - although sadly it will be to sit somewhere else in the rain!

If I waffle on too much, we both post just a picture most days on Instagram - therumrunners.co.uk and dumont-kay.

Also, as we don’t have the facility on the blog, if anyone wants to get in touch or comment - you can always email us at hello@therumrunners.co.uk.