Volume 2, Days 36-37
I think I can honestly say that just a few days ago I knew literally nothing about Luxembourg apart from the fact that it was a country in Europe. Now, my brain is brimming with knowledge about the small “island nation” wedged in between Germany, France, and Belgium. It would have escaped my radar except for the fact I had a friend spending two weeks there on an extended business trip and invited me to come over. It’s wonderful how things sometimes just work out.
After that wild night (at least by my old man standards) in Antwerp, I dragged myself out of bed early enough in the morning to pour two cups of coffee down my craw. I finished off the cheese and crackers from “dinner” and staggered over to the Flixbus stop in front of the train station. I was caught off guard and forked over a euro to a bum. I hadn’t realized just how many homeless people are milling about central Antwerp, mere minutes from the heavily fortified diamond district. While waiting for my bus, which was late, I had to fend off another two or three panhandlers making their rounds. The bus finally arrived and I was dying to clamber into my seat and fall back asleep, but there was some issue with the driver’s passenger list and not finding my ticket. The issue was the same with the other two passengers, so after some consideration, the driver just waved us aboard. It was a nearly empty bus heading to Luxembourg with a few stops on the way–including a 30 minute break (where we have to exit the bus) some 20 minutes outside of Antwerp.
When we were back on the road, I dozed off and when I become conscious of the landscape again, it was immediately apparent that this was the “real” Belgium. Rolling forested hills had replaced the flat lowlands. After passing through the Belgian province of Luxembourg, we finally arrived in the independent country of Luxembourg. The bus stop was on the outskirts of town, while my friend’s hotel was on the clear other side in the … let’s call it international relations district. A bit too far to walk, but I hopped on a local bus handed over two euros and rode past the train station, the old town and across a major bridge to the new district.
Luxembourg is quite the fairy tale land, sitting on a confluence of two rivers which have cut deep gorges, the landscape creates the natural fortress that determined 1000 years of history as a military outpost. Though the fortifications were intentionally destroyed and removed in the late 19th century, any vantage point capturing the three dimensional terrain gives the immediate impression of a medieval castle.
The fairly lifeless new section (Kirchberg) houses the philharmonic, a museum of modern art, the European investment bank, and the European Convention Center, where my friend was busy with the ongoing Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank conference. Since L was in a meeting, I sauntered up to the front desk of the hotel and nonchalantly asked for a key card.
I chilled in the room for a while, enjoying the luxury of a nice hotel, before deciding to head out for some sightseeing. Being a Thursday and having done my research, I knew that some of the museums had extended hours, so there was no reason not to start sightseeing. I worked my way down the hill behind the MODAM (modern art museum) past the ruins of two distinct fortresses. There appeared to be a couple different walking routes which had signposts at various places, but to be honest, were not really easy to follow. Reaching the bottom of the valley, I crossed the river and headed back uphill towards the City History Museum.
I entered through the back entrance and was surprised to find a total lack of ticketing or signage about tickets. I knew it should cost something like 5 euros, but the reception desk was on the third floor, so I figured I would deal with it later and just work my way through the museum. In brief, Luxembourg housed Romans at one point, was under the control of the Spanish Netherlands, was invaded by France in the Napoleonic wars, joined the Prussian federation, and only became truly independent when the king of Holland (who had always also been the Duke of Luxembourg) died and there was some technicality blocking his successor from taking on the duchy. There was a time when Luxembourg might have been absorbed into Belgium, but much like Singapore and Malaysia, some factors separated them. The museum was pretty good (including an interactive display fully explicating how the government works), and I walked out past the front desk without buying a ticket. I later learned that the museum offers free admission from 6-8pm on Thursdays, so I wasn’t really doing anything unethical.
Now in the heart of the old district, I passed by the palace and wondered around some streets and plazas, one of which was simultaneously under construction and setting up a stage for a rock concert. Some streets in the town were completely packed with people in short strips of bars/cafes with the tables spilling out to the middle of the street, while other streets were nearly barren. Signs concerning the AIIB conference were everywhere, and a heavily armed police unit was protecting the space in front an old building where a president (who?) would be giving an address that night. Of course, the rest of the plaza was flanked by restaurants and a polka band in a gazebo was belting out classic rock tracks.
I needed to get some dinner and looked at some restaurant menus (including Tex-Mex fav Chi-chi’s), but was pretty shocked by the sticker prices. Food in Luxembourg appears to be at least 25% more expensive than the Netherlands, which was already more expensive than Germany. I miss Germany so much — definitely the best of Europe so far. Since I haven’t had any (chain) fast food yet in Europe, I decided to get McDonald’s. 8.35 for a value meal is still a bit too much for my tastes, but I cobbled together a better meal from individual items for basically the same price: sweet Thai chili double chicken burger, nachos (so stingy on the cheese sauce), and a chocolate milkshake with hot fudge. I have to admit McDonald’s is rocking the desserts with standard 2-ingrediant McFlurries and double flavor milkshakes.
I walked back to the hotel by means of the Pont Rouge bridge because I didn’t want to go up and downhill. Having basically digested my light dinner by that point, I headed to the gym for a short workout, then showered, and read.