Day 9: Lovely Luxembourg!

We woke up early, ate a quick breakfast, then walked about 20 minutes to the bus station, and caught a short flight to Frankfurt, Germany. Our brief layover there was borderline traumatic, in that we had only 30 min (thanks to a 20 min taxiing in) to SPRINT from one terminal to the next. We literally race walked/ran our way there, and when we got to our gate, there was literally a single staff member at the podium, as everyone else had already boarded. Fortunately, we made it, and the second flight was a mere 20 min. 

We caught a short bus ride into the city, on the cleanest, quietest bus ever, that thanks to a great transportation program there, is also free and green (electric)! Very impressed! In fact, although we never hopped on another public transport vehicle again...we learned that ALL of them are free- buses, trams, trains, etc.

When we got to our hotel, which was directly across from the main train station, we almost laughed out loud, as the bus doors opened, we stepped out, and we were standing right in front of our hotel (The Empire). The lobby hinted already of the goodness to come- a piano, a pitcher of cucumber/ginger water and a plate of freshly-baked cookies. Our triple room couldn't have been more delightful! It was neither the fanciest, not the largest, but it was SO well designed with thoughtful touches, that we couldn't stop from commenting on how well designed it was.

Did the chubby American parents cave in to the Five Guys across the street from their hotel (they are worldwide now, folks) for a late lunch? Why yes, yes they did. Twice on this trip, as a matter of fact. Once in Paris, and once in Luxembourg. And on our last trip...in Scotland AND Ireland. Do not JUDGE US, folks. We are country. And my picky son LOVES Five Guys.

We immediately left on a walking tour once we ate, and made a few quick observations about the city of Luxembourg:

1. It is quiet. It is not crowded. There is no traffic or noise.

2. It is green and hilly. LOTS of wild green spaces.

3. We liked Luxembourg. A LOT.

Luxembourg has been at the very TOP of Ryan's bucket list for years now, ever since he discovered they have the highest per capita income, barely edging out Singapore (also on his list). I thought it was a silly reason to want to visit someplace, but he kept persisting, and we acquiesced. I'm so glad he insisted, as it was a lovely respite from the chaos that is W. Europe in the summer. All public transport is as I'd mentioned, free and green and whisper quiet. There are no cars honking. There are few visitors clogging sidewalks looking confusedly at their GPS or loudly explaining why something is much bigger and bigger in 'Merica (and yes, the former is me).

Our primary goal that day, was to hunt down two sights- the Boch Casements, and the Chemin de la Corniche. The Boch Casements was a former fort built to defend Luxembourg, with many subterranean passageways. Unfortunately, they've been closed indefinitely for quite some time now, so we could not tour the caves...however, we were able to scramble around the fort a bit by ourselves and check out a few of the smaller caves that were dug out of the rock.

We also learned that during WWII, that the caves became bomb shelters for over 35 thousand people.

The sight that truly knocked my socks off, and millions of others...was the 'most gorgeous balcony in Europe' aka the Chemin de la Corniche. It was built in the 17th century, and is a pedestrian promenade that overlooks a historic town (the Grund) below. This scenic little town has a river winding through it, and it was like glimpsing a town out of a fairy tale. I half expected Cinderella to come wandering out of a building. The scene was just so charming, so photogenic! I was so taken by it and wanted to capture it with my camera, but it was just too much cuteness to fit in a frame.

I was so taken by this area, that I told Ryan we needed to jump for joy, and had Rich serve as the photographer to capture this moment.

Let's just say I had immediate regret, as these photos clearly depict one of us having far more vertical leaping skillz than the other.

We were super pooped out after a long day of travel and sightseeing, so instead of dinner out, we hit up a store and grabbed some warm sandwiches, pasta salad, a fruit tart and flavored waters to nosh on in our room.