Luxembourg

Friday 3rd August

We had a 7pm flight leaving London Stanstead Airport to Luxembourg which we had booked because these flights were £40 ($77 nzd) return each which was by far the cheapest flights with it being mid summer in Europe. Looking at the weather it was forecasted to be 33 degrees in Luxembourg and we wondered what made us think this was a good idea with no lakes or seaside to swim at since Luxembourg is completely landlocked with France, Belgium and Germany surrounding it. However, after reading some blogs I think Luxembourg perhaps is going to be a hidden gem that hasn't hit the headlines yet with other travellers. Some quick facts I learn about Luxembourg during my blog reading. Luxembourg's national language is infact Luxembourgish but the residents also speak French, German, English and also Portugese (due to 16.1% of the population originating from Portugal). It also the only Grand Duchy in the world and its actual name is the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This is because after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 the congress of Vienna made Luxembourg into a Grand Duchy meaning it was a territory ruled by a grand duke or duchess. The current Grand Duke of Luxembourg is Henri who has been reigning since 2000. Lew & I met each other at London Liverpool Street where we were catching the stanstead express train out to the airport which would take 47 minutes. The train was pretty full but we managed to find a couple of seats in the last carriage because no one can be bothered walking down that far. It was the first time using our new carry on bag since Samsonite has to replace my gorgeous blue one I brought over from NZ due to a zip fault. I had forgotten to tie a ribbon or something on it to make the black case stand out from the rest of them on the conveyor belt so I asked Lew to grab something from work. He brought a couple of balloons so we attached these to it. I doubt anyone else will have two deflated purple and green balloons attached to their case so it should be easy to spot. Stanstead was crazy busy with tourists heading out to different parts of Europe but luckily they had all security screening booths opened so we didn’t have to wait long to go through. As it was our flight was delayed by an hour and we had to sit amongst the hordes of people also waiting for their flights. Looking at the departure board it was so fascinating seeing the vast amount of places you can fly into. Thankfully I had made some pesto and salami toasties for us to snack on as dinner so we didn’t have to buy the over priced airport food. Our gate finally came up in the departure board for our Ryanair flight and we made our way in the tram to the gate. We were some of the first people at the gate which meant we were able to be towards the front of the queue to board so no one sits down awaiting a boarding call but instead gets straight into a line even if there isn't a plane at the gate ready. My small suitcase got tagged as expected as when your ‘non priority’ it goes under the plane. We waited for at least another half an hour before they begun boarding and we were made to walk across the tarmac despite there being an air bridge sitting there unused in which Lew said they are just trying to cut costs by not using it. Because we were relatively towards the front of the non priority boarding queue they hadn’t quite been organised enough to have someone collecting our bags that were supposed to go under the plane. I just kept walking along the isle with mine finally ripping off the tag once I was inside the plane. Bonus because this means we will be quicker getting out of the airport at the end. The plane was filthy since it was late in and they hadn’t had time to clean before they boarded us. Lew and I were separated by a row since we are too cheap arse to pay to sit together (not that you should really have to pay for two seats to be together if your on the same booking?!). Once on board we then had to wait another hour sitting on the plane as they hadn’t loaded the baggage on. As we took off finally we were two hours late and we don’t understand why if your travelling on a train this wouldn’t be ok and you could get your fare refunded. However, it’s acceptable when it comes to air travel and no one expects any compensation. The flight was only an hour long and once we landed we discovered that there isn’t any Citymapper or Uber for Luxembourg. Thankfully we were able to google how to get to our Airbnb and we decided to take the one bus #16 to Gare du Luxembourg (the main station) where we could walk 30 minutes instead of catching another bus. We had to walk though some strange residential places and car yards but it felt very safe and was also still a pleasant 25 degrees. It was just after midnight when we arrived after telling our Airbnb host to expect us at 10pm. The apartment was absolutely gorgeous and was one of those passive houses with massive thick doors and no need to open any windows. He even supplied breakfast and snacks in the fridge which was free! Next thing we heard a knock on the door and it was our host checking we were alive and well as he was concerned we hadn’t arrived at the expected time. He was lovely and it was hands down one of the best Airbnb’s we have been in so far. Once we said goodbye with some plans for the next day from him we showered and Lew demolished a pain au chocolat before we headed to bed.

Saturday 4th August

Waking up at 9.30am it was pleasant to already have breakfast there for us especially since we didn’t notice any supermarkets on our way there last night. We had decided to go to Vianden for the day which is North on the German border. There is a cute town and a chateau you can visit. Heading into town on the bus we purchased the Luxembourg 2 day pass for €20 (£17.80/$34 nzd) each which allows you to have free access to all public transport across the country and also allows you free entry to many of the tourist attractions and museum - highly recommended (although we later learnt that buses are free during the weekends anyways!). The man at the tourist office sent us in the direction of platform 3C where there was a train heading North leaving in 3 minutes. We ran and caught this despite there being another one in half an hour but it was already just before midday. We took the nice double story train to Diekirch where we then waited in the scorching dry 34 degree heat for bus 570 going via Vianden. Lew spoke to his mum whilst we waited as he had watched an interesting Netflix documentary on medical implants and the lack of regulations surrounding them called 'The Bleeding Edge'. The bus truely took forever until it arrived but 19 stops later we arrived in the small town of Vianden. It was very cute and picturesque with French style houses and hanging baskets full of flowers. We walked to the chairlift where we could catch this up the mountain for free on our pass and then walk down to Vianden castle. The chairlift swooped across the valley and the houses below were so close you could see into peoples living rooms before it ascended sharply up the mountain giving us a glorious view of the small town tucked in between the mountains either side. It wasn’t long before we were at the top with a view down onto the beautiful castle. We could also see an outdoor pool on the hill across from us and Lew excitedly exclaimed we wild swim later and had I brought my togs? Um no?! I wasn’t aware of any pools up here we could swim in and I was a little annoyed with him for not telling me his plans for the day since it was a stifling 35 degrees (turns out it got up to 38!). However, Lew was convinced that we could find a cheap bikini for me somewhere in the village. Moving onto the castle we discovered that there was a medieval festival happening there this weekend and that unfortunately our Luxembourg pass wouldn’t give us free entry in like it usually would. So €14.50 (£12.95/ $25 nzd) later we got our tickets and made our way into the Chateau de Vianden. Vianden Castle was built on the foundations of a Roman fort (built in 3 AD) and a Carolingian refuge (a medieval renaissance from 9th century AD) between the 11th - 15th century as was the residence of many powerful Counts of Vianden. The castle became property of the state in 1977 and has since undergone major restorations so it is safe to say it looks pretty modern today with even an elevator installed. The castle was much busier than I would imagine it usually is with lots of markets selling food, kids weapons and knick-knacks. The castle itself was relatively nice but most of the excitement was surrounding the festival and it may have even been slightly disappointing had the festival not been on. They had a ironmonger hammering out pieces of steel over a hot fire and old muskets and bows that you were able to hold. Lew was tempted to try shooting a proper bow and arrow but it was mainly kids in the line so he decided not to. We overheard one of the men saying to another about a demonstration that was happening in 10 minutes where they will be shooting off some of the old muskets and cannons on the balcony over looking the city. After a quick look at the underground tavern selling some average looking food we made our way to this balcony. It was already full of other people watching the show which involved some local teenagers doing some dancing with the blue red and white Luxembourg flags. It was scorching hot standing exposed to the sun but shortly after the dancers had finished the men in tradition medieval dress appeared lining up with their worn muskets pointing out over the city below. Everyone quickly moved closer and we could barely see but I was amazed they would let people especially children so close to these guns despite them just firing blanks. They were counted down and we could see them lighting up the gun with a burning bit of candle wick and blowing in it to set the gunpowder it alight. Next minute we heard something yelled that probably meant “fire” and all the guns exploded. The children around us either ran or begun to cry frightened of the noise and the surprise it gave them. We stayed watching a few more rounds learning to cover our ears as the guns were being held up in preparation to be fired. As we begun to leave we heard the biggest explosion of them all which we presumed was the cannon which set all the kids off in tears around us yet again. Feeling like we had got the most out of the castle we made our way down the hill into the town. Every cobblestone street was adorable and it was hard not to take photos every few meters. We stopped off at a couple of shops since Lew was hopeful at finding me a bikini but we had no luck. I said I was happy to paddle staying clothed whilst he swum around but he wasn’t keen. We found a shop that did durum wraps for lunch since everything else looked cheap and nasty and then found a place on the side of the river to eat dipping our feet in the water and watching the fish swim around us. It was so quiet and peaceful but what we really wanted to do was swim in it despite it being rather shallow. Making the decision to head back into Luxembourg City we waited for the bus to take us to Ettelbruck so we could then catch the train back into the city. It was pleasant to be in an air conditioned train again but as we arrived back into the city at 5pm and we had little motivation to do anything in the heat. It was overwhelming and we hadn’t felt heat like this since Dubai or even Colorado. Wandering around we intended to knock of a few tourist activities but decided just to go to the grocery store to get some food for dinner. It was as going to be gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, capers and basil. Simple but cheap and light since the heat really doesn’t make you want to eat much. We had run out of water by this point despite me hunting down every accessible tap possible we had to buy a drink in a plastic container. We were going to make it in perfect timing to catch the bus #4 back to our house but unfortunately when it came along it didn’t have the number on the front but rather the name of the bus company which obviously not in English. We only noticed when we saw the back of it with the number driving away feeling a little heartbroken we would have to wait another 20 minutes in the heat. I think it’s times like these we appreciate London and the fact that we would probably only have to wait 5 minutes or so for the next bus to come along. Thankfully 20 minutes passes fast and our bus turned up with the number visible this time. We were shattered once we got home and showered straight away to cool us down. Neither of us were hungry but we’re feeling a little dehydrated so we delayed dinner and instead started a new series on Netflix called ‘Dark Tourist'. It’s about a Kiwi journalist who basically does strange tourist things in different countries such as meeting a man that was the hit an for Pablo Escobar the famous drug lord in Colombia, or going to Kazakhstan to visit the Polygon where the Soviets tested at least 450 nuclear weapons during the Cold War. We ate guacamole and salsa chips whilst we learnt about many dark things in the world and it was truely the most relaxed we have been in awhile. I think it helps that our Airbnb is stunning but the only thing it really needed was a fan. After eating dinner late and watching another couple of episodes of Dark Tourist we went to bed at 11pm having to use a damp flannel as a blanket to cool down as Lews watch said t was 29 in the room.

Medievil Festival at the castle this weekend

Sunday 5th August

After getting up when the sun became too hot through the shutters I rinsed by hands in cold salty water. Yesterday my hand dermatitis had taken a turn for the worse and my fingers were now covered in pus. It wasn’t a pretty sight and I was supposed to be working four 12 hour shifts this week starting tomorrow and I knew I needed some antibiotics. The antiseptic cream I had purchased yesterday wasn’t going to be any help as even the lymph nodes in my arms were raised. After confirmation of my predicament from my dad I messaged my agency cancelling work tomorrow (Monday) and instead booked myself into the GP. Lew finally woke up and we ate breakfast, packed up and headed out to town leaving our small suitcase at the Airbnb. It was another beautiful day and we knew it was expected to be a hot 29 degrees today also but luckily it was just a pleasant temperature now as we walked to the bus stop. The bus was 20 minutes away and we decided to walk instead as we were keen to make the most of the day. Arriving at the central railway just before bus #4 arrived we caught another bus up the hill into town so we could walk down. First stop of the day was the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Bock Casemates which are the fortifications around the town built by the French and Austrians. We ended up getting in for free with our Luxembourg card once again and there was even a English tour just starting that we tagged onto. I definitely recommend a tour around this place as otherwise it is just a heap of stone tunnels your bound to get lost in and on top of that none of the signs are in English. So I will tell you a little about the Bock Casemates. The small valley town of Luxembourg City which was known as the Gibraltar of the North needed to be protected and Count Sigfried erected the Bock (fortress) in the 10th century on the rocky banks. The fortified gun emplacements (fortress casemates) were built during the Spanish Domination in 1644 and begun from the cellar of the castle by Frenchman Vauban and discovered and extended by the Austrians in the 18th Century. There was a total of 23km of tunnels that go down as deep as 40 meters below the fortress above. These are not all interconnected as that would make it too easy for the enemy to stage an attack and soldiers often had to pop above ground at the end of one tunnel only to connect onto another. The Bock Casemates includes 25 artillery slots but also stables, storerooms, workshops, kitchens, bakeries, slaughterhouses and barracks for 1200 soldiers and many civilians also. Our guide even said that a lot of the old houses have two basements which includes one that enters into the casemates. She also told us that it was quite clear the differences between the casemates that the French and the Austrians built because the French made bricks tunnels which they covered in dirt forming hills. On the other hand the Austrians brought in miners to complete the work. A lot of the locals actually have Austrian names which they can trace back to these miners that entered into the town to build the casemates and ended up marrying one of the local women. In 1867 Treaty of London after the Austro-Prussian War and the Luxembourg crisis (to sum this up basically France and Prussia (a German Kingdom) couldn't decide the political status of Luxembourg) the Luxembourg bock casemates were deemed too valuable and were ordered to be demolished to ease tensions between France and Germany which took a total of 16 years to complete. However, the casemates couldn't be entirely destroyed without ruining the city which is why 17km of the casemates still remain for us to explore today. They were opened 1933 to the public and were used as a WW2 shelter for 35,000 people. Finishing up the tour just after midday we walked to an area called the Grund which is a quarter in central Luxembourg that is known for its medieval architecture and scenic riverside promenade. Walking down into the valley to it was absolutely stunning with all the coloured French style houses with flower baskets hanging from each one. The river flowed around the base of the houses and you could clearly see that this was considered a wealthy area of town. There was a small art market we were able to wander around before walking across some of the city wall through the ?? Petrusse Valley. Lew was fascinated by the huge skate park we walked past and he was impressed by the government putting so much money into it. Walking back up a steep set of stairs we made it back into the main part of the city ready to find lunch. There was a fair amount of people out for lunch but basically every other shop was closed which was a shame but meant we couldn’t spend money on shopping! We stopped of at a bakery called ‘Pauls’ that were selling large filled baguette along side handmade tarts and eclairs. Lew went to the bathroom and I ordered us a couple of sandwiches with a pretzel for later on. It was too bad at a total cost of €14.19 (£12.70/$24.40 nzd). We sat outside in the shade and to my dismay when I looked down into the carry bag I had three sandwiches total. Clearly my understanding of French is that terrible that I nodded long to whatever the women was saying to me! Oh well. We didn’t have long left to explore since we had a 5.15pm flight back to London Stanstead Airport. There must have been a huge difference in flight prices for us to book one this early in the day. We wandered around town a bit more, picked up an ice cream of which we must have mucked up again because we wanted two cones with a scoop of sorbet each but we ended up with one cone with two scoops. Luckily it was cheaper anyways. We found a tacky souvenir store that sold Xmas decorations that weren't horrific and I brought a small ball for €5 (£4.50/$8.60 nzd). Lew got shooed outside with his ice cream which was a little ridiculous since there was basically nothing left in the cone and the surely an adult can handle an ice cream? With that tradition ticked off the list we slowly made our way back to the bus stop and hung out in a park eating an apple to kill time. Catching the bus back to pick up our luggage we repacked and made our way back to the bus stop to make it into the main station. At 4pm we arrived on bus #16 again at Luxembourg airport ready for our 5.15pm flight. As always we had to get my passport checked as it only ever comes up as ‘restricted ‘ on the app therefore not even showing me a seat number or anything. The man at the counter couldn’t understand why the app wasn’t giving us a boarding pass and told us to delete it and reinstall it which Lew did but nothing changed. Every time in London we just show them the booking reference and they print me a boarding pass and stamp it - no issues. This time however the guy could not give a shit and basically told us that we should have printed the boarding pass it states. And how is anyone supposed to do that on holiday in an Airbnb when no one owns printers these days?! He told us we had to go to the ticket office where we stood in line for at least 10 minutes before a man told us we would have to pay €20 (£17.90/$34.30 nzd) for this service. I was absolutely fuming, such daylight robbery and I went back to the check in desk to yell at the man. I was just shaking with anger but all he could tell me was that’s what we are told to do... print our boarding pass. Lew got the form stating we had paid (much to my severe reluctance) and then we had to go back to the check in desk to have it printed and they didn’t even bother to stamp it saying they had checked my passport. I don’t understand how Ryanair can discriminate against non EU passport holders by not allowing them a mobile boarding pass because they have to write on it to complete a ‘visa check’. Plus your passport is checked at the security to enter the departures, at the customs desk, at the gate and then again as you get on the plane. Anyways a grumpy email will be sent because it’s a ridiculous expectation for someone to have to print a boarding pass whilst they are on holiday, do we get to check in a printer for free? The world is digital now so Ryan air you better pick up your game. It took a very long time for me to calm down and to top it off Lew and I were separated with me in row 1 squashed between two giant men insistent on using both their arm rests and Lew in row 17 with a spare seat beside him. Clearly customer dissatisfaction is what this airline is aiming for. Thankfully the flight is only an hour long and once we arrived at Stanstead I waited for Lew since I was second off the plane and was holding onto his passport. There really was no rush in the end as we had to wait an hour for the carousel to be allocated and the bags to come out. Plus the Stanstead express trains has been cancelled due to a fire track side so the one we had booked onto wasn't even going (not that we would have made it our bags took so long). What a nightmare travel in Europe is sometimes (actually 96% of the time) and I can 100% see why majority of people go back to little old NZ so that they don't have to deal with such crap. Once we finally cleared through customs with our bags - or rather walked out the “arrived from the EU” Lane the Stanstead express trains were just about to start going again and a huge long line of people trying to get on were waiting. As they opened they gates to allow people on it was like a dam had burst and Lew and I actually had to laugh at everyone running to get a seat as it seemed hilarious. We went to the furthest away train carriage and found a couple of seats easily. It was 3.5 hours after the plane landed on the airport tarmac at Stanstead Airport that we walked in the door of the house. Too exhausted to send an angry email to Ryanair we snacked on the pasta from last nights dinner we had dragged back with us in a butter container and watched another episode of the Dark Tourist. Well thats another pin to add into our giant map and everyone should really add Luxembourg to their list of places to visit <3

Wish we could see this in more cities and airport!

Another day another shitty Ryan Air flight

Queuing to get onto the train home on the Stanstead Express

At Stanstead Airport, waiting an hour for our baggage post flight

ShannenAugust 5, 2018Luxembourg, Ryanair