Country 90
It was a spur of the moment trip, like most are for me, but this one saw me hit a huge milestone in my travels. Luxembourg would be the 90th country i had travelled to. I had always thought of visiting but considering the flights were only on certain days of the week, the schedule never worked out for me before but now with freedom from employment and a new van life on the horizon, there was no better time to go. I took my mother as a belated xmas gift- 2 for the price of one eh.
The flights themselves were a bargain at €60 for both of us return, not inc baggage, although at this rate im a pro at packing everything into a small space. We set off for a long weekend with a castle booked to stay in for the duration. It sounds fancy- and it was, but it was very good value. I decided to rent a car considering the castle was about 45 min from Luxembourg itself and it seemed the best way to see other places and get around easier, not to mention that Ryanair had a great deal on a car rental for the duration. I suggest booking it separately as it saved me a lot rather than adding on with the flights.
I had no idea what there was to see in Lux and I am embarrassed to say but i didn't even know which currency they used or language they spoke, but that's why we travel, to learn.
I was upgraded to an automatic car which made life so much easier and all I did was ask (no harm eh). We arrived to Chateau d'Urspelt that evening and it was a phenomenal sight that greeted us. The hotel was like a fairytale castle especially at night all lit up. We checked in and went to our room which was spotless and so cosy. We had breakfast each morning at the hotel which was prepaid (definitely cheaper to do that then pay on arrival, it's half price) and was such an experience in itself. I think that was the best hotel breakfast i ever had- there was literally everything you could think of, from passionfruit to fresh waffles, to all types of eggs, teas, coffees (delicious), smoked salmon, so many freshly baked breads and more. We ate until we needed to lay down. We didn't eat any other meals at the hotel as it was extremely expensive but instead had Italian one night and Indian another night, both in two other towns after our days out. The Italian was awful and the Indian was fab.
Our first day consisted of a free 2 hour walking tour which i found online and was amazing. The guide was very funny and group loved him. I learned so much such as; Luxembourgs languages which are Luxembourgish, French and German- in that order. Luxembourgish is a sort of mix of both, quite strange tk bear at first but intriguing. They use both of the others too and kids have to learn all three in school. Luxembourg, is the only country in the world to have a Grand Duke and the country is run by monarchy and government. I learned lots of history as well which I won't go into, instead ill let you learn that yourself when you visit. Luxembourg city was amazing, it was like a medieval timelapse complete with a modern city centre with all the usual shops but surrounded with old city walls, castles and fort remains. You could spend hours walking around these areas and gasp at every corner, and we did.
Day 2 we headed to a few towns closer to the hotel such as Clervaux which had a beautiful hilltop castle, Vianden which was my favourite with it's windy cobbled streets and amazing chateau perched on the cliff, Diekirch which is home to their local beer by the same name which is delicious and Ettlebruck which we only saw at night but seemed like another average Luxembourg town but it is where we are a beautiful Indian meal.
Day 3 we drove right down to the French border to Esch Sur Alzette which was very underwhelming considering it was one of the other cities of Luxembourg. We realised we left our rental car documents in the hotel and instead of exploring more of the area, we ended up driving all the way back to the hotel to collect it, to avoid a hefty €100 fine. The rest of the day consisted of me driving back and forth on the roads which became very familiar to me, before heading to the airport just in time to catch our flight. Right now im on the plane home and reminiscing about the past few days in such a beautiful place. I would highly encourage anyone to visit Luxembourg, for 3 days with a car and for 2 days max just staying in the city. The car is worth it and the roads there are amazing so it is much better to explore and have the freedom with the car, although i did see local buses and many train stations but not too many in the countryside.
The flights themselves were a bargain at €60 for both of us return, not inc baggage, although at this rate im a pro at packing everything into a small space. We set off for a long weekend with a castle booked to stay in for the duration. It sounds fancy- and it was, but it was very good value. I decided to rent a car considering the castle was about 45 min from Luxembourg itself and it seemed the best way to see other places and get around easier, not to mention that Ryanair had a great deal on a car rental for the duration. I suggest booking it separately as it saved me a lot rather than adding on with the flights.
I had no idea what there was to see in Lux and I am embarrassed to say but i didn't even know which currency they used or language they spoke, but that's why we travel, to learn.
I was upgraded to an automatic car which made life so much easier and all I did was ask (no harm eh). We arrived to Chateau d'Urspelt that evening and it was a phenomenal sight that greeted us. The hotel was like a fairytale castle especially at night all lit up. We checked in and went to our room which was spotless and so cosy. We had breakfast each morning at the hotel which was prepaid (definitely cheaper to do that then pay on arrival, it's half price) and was such an experience in itself. I think that was the best hotel breakfast i ever had- there was literally everything you could think of, from passionfruit to fresh waffles, to all types of eggs, teas, coffees (delicious), smoked salmon, so many freshly baked breads and more. We ate until we needed to lay down. We didn't eat any other meals at the hotel as it was extremely expensive but instead had Italian one night and Indian another night, both in two other towns after our days out. The Italian was awful and the Indian was fab.
Our first day consisted of a free 2 hour walking tour which i found online and was amazing. The guide was very funny and group loved him. I learned so much such as; Luxembourgs languages which are Luxembourgish, French and German- in that order. Luxembourgish is a sort of mix of both, quite strange tk bear at first but intriguing. They use both of the others too and kids have to learn all three in school. Luxembourg, is the only country in the world to have a Grand Duke and the country is run by monarchy and government. I learned lots of history as well which I won't go into, instead ill let you learn that yourself when you visit. Luxembourg city was amazing, it was like a medieval timelapse complete with a modern city centre with all the usual shops but surrounded with old city walls, castles and fort remains. You could spend hours walking around these areas and gasp at every corner, and we did.
Day 2 we headed to a few towns closer to the hotel such as Clervaux which had a beautiful hilltop castle, Vianden which was my favourite with it's windy cobbled streets and amazing chateau perched on the cliff, Diekirch which is home to their local beer by the same name which is delicious and Ettlebruck which we only saw at night but seemed like another average Luxembourg town but it is where we are a beautiful Indian meal.
Day 3 we drove right down to the French border to Esch Sur Alzette which was very underwhelming considering it was one of the other cities of Luxembourg. We realised we left our rental car documents in the hotel and instead of exploring more of the area, we ended up driving all the way back to the hotel to collect it, to avoid a hefty €100 fine. The rest of the day consisted of me driving back and forth on the roads which became very familiar to me, before heading to the airport just in time to catch our flight. Right now im on the plane home and reminiscing about the past few days in such a beautiful place. I would highly encourage anyone to visit Luxembourg, for 3 days with a car and for 2 days max just staying in the city. The car is worth it and the roads there are amazing so it is much better to explore and have the freedom with the car, although i did see local buses and many train stations but not too many in the countryside.
Check our Chateau d'Urspelt for your stay, i cannot recommend it enough.
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