Rolling on the Rhine: The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

This past Thursday was a German Holiday, Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension Day) and many Germans make a long weekend out of it by also taking Friday off of work. We had originally thought of visiting Berlin or Munich this weekend, but everything was booked solid due to the holiday weekend. We decided instead to visit our French-speaking neighbors to the west in Luxembourg.

We hit the road on Friday afternoon and drove through the German countryside for about two and a half hours until we arrived in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Although we were looking for a “traditional” Luxembourg restaurant for dinner, we stumbled upon a Chi Chis first. Yes, Chi Chis…as in Hepatitis A outbreak and subsequent bankruptcy. I had been going through Tex-Mex withdrawal so we decided to go for it. It was AMAZING. After dinner, we strolled around the city and watched a drum corps performance that was going on in one of the plazas.

On Saturday we drove out into the countryside to visit two castles, Vianden and Beaufort. Vianden Castle was built in the 1100s and has since been restored to its original character. Beaufort Castle, on the other hand, is in ruins and was interesting in its own respect. After a ski lift ride (eeek!) and a crêpe lunch, we headed back to the city.

Before heading back to Cologne on Sunday, we stopped at the Luxembourg American Military Cemetary. This cemetery holds the remains of US soldiers who died during 1944-1945 and General George Patten.

Luxembourg didn’t quite have as much hustle and bustle as Cologne, but it was quaint and we got to parler un peu de Français. Not too bad!