A Day in Luxembourg

The Sunday before last, we took advantage of the dry weather and crossed the border (yet again), to this time -- Luxembourg. Bordering Belgium, France and Germany, Luxembourg is a short 2-hour drive from Tervuren. Interestingly, Luxembourg is the world's only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy and is ruled by its Grand Duke.

The city's history dates back to the year 963, when Siegfried, Count of the Ardennes, had a castle named "Lucilinburhuc" built on a rock overlooking the River Alzette. It was the famous French fortress builder Vauban, who, at the service of Louis XIV, later turned Luxembourg into one of his masterpieces, known as the "Gibraltar of the North".

In addition, Luxembourg is the wealthiest country in the world, per capita. This was evident when we spotted a beautiful Rolls-Royce Drop Head Convertible on its way back to the city. I learned from car guru Ray that this car was valued at $400k.

Upon arrival into Luxembourg City, we took a driving tour and passed such sights as the Bocks, The Old Fortress, Adolphe Bridge, Constitution Square, and Luxembourg Cathedral. We commented on how beautiful, lush and green the area was. This driving tour was actually Ray looking for a good place to park.

When we finally parked our car, we took a short stroll through the city and stopped for lunch at Le Beaujolais, a local pizzeria. We were pleasantly surprised how much English was spoken here. It made our menu selections so much easier. An outdoor table enabled us to enjoy the weather, outdoor entertainment, and watch the many people walk by.

After lunch, we boarded the Petrusse Express, a train that took us on a 50-minute tour through the lower towns of Grund, Clausen and Pfaffenthal, as well as the rest of the scenic Petrusse Valley.

We do our best to see as much as we can while traveling. This is not always an easy feat with two small children. For the most part, we have done very well and the girls have been excellent traveling companions. On this day however, PS was too tired for any additional sight-seeing, so our day was cut short and we left to go home. Luckily, since Luxembourg is a considerably small country, we got a good taste of the area in a short period of time.