This tour was due to start at 9:30, so I left at 8:45, and walked along Avenue de la Liberté to the Spuerkees Bank Building, which is just before the bridge over the gorge on the right-hand side. When I arrived some people were already there, and so I asked a woman who turned out to be British if I was in the right place for the tour.
I was!
Again, I was so lucky with the weather. It was a perfect day, a quiet and peaceful Saturday morning. A German coach showed up, and it became clear that this wasn’t our tour. Shortly afterwards, I was surprised to see a minivan, but as I examined my ticket I realized that the decorations on the van matched the decorations on my ticket.
The man (whose name I don’t know) was very friendly, and jovial. But he told us his English was bad and preferred to speak French. Fortunately, there were several women on this tour who spoke French very well, and so they acted as translators.
He gave us our tickets, and headphones, so that we could listen to the commentary in several languages. A woman in the seat opposite (who turned out to be Isabel from Brazil) helped me find the right channel for English. (She was so kind.)
Then we set off.
First stop was the Kirchberg neighborhood of Luxembourg City, which is on a high cliff. The point of the exercise was to show off all the EU buildings that are located there, including the European Court of Justice.
Next we drove to the Eastern part of the country to Mullerthal. This area is famed for its beautiful rolliing countryside, sandstone formations, and hikes. And so, to my great surprise, we went off on a 45-minute hike. Thank goodness I’d decided to wear my heavy hiking boots for the path was a typical hiking path with lots of ups and downs, and eventually after a geology lesson from our guide Marc, we arrived at the cascades. These were so typical of Luxembourg. They were not high, or large but they were charming. After viewing them, we walked along the road back to the bus.
Third stop was Beaufort Castle, located only a few kilometers from the small waterfalls. This was a ruined medieval castle, but it was pretty to look at and located in lovely countryside. We stayed for 45 minutes, during which time I clambered up a high set of stairs to find the WC (basic) and then wandered around.
Fourth stop was Vianden Castle, and here the driver made a separate stop so that we could take photos, before driving down into the town of Vianden. We arrived at 12:50 and he wanted us back by 2:40, so we had a 1 hour and 50 minute stop.
Despite the fact that I had actually packed a picnic, I left my backpack on the bus, judging that it would be too hard on my back, and went to the Information center looking for lunch. They did offer a few choices. There was pork sausage in a bun, chicken sausage in a bun, vegetable soup, wine and beer. The rest of the selection consisted of desserts. So I chose a small red wine bottle (12.5 cl), a pork sausage bun and vegetable soup. The wine was fine. The soup tasted home-made. And the bread was good. But the sausage was a disaster. It was exactly like a hot dog. However, I needed my protein and so I ate every last bit of it. Thank heavens for the red wine and very good bread!
After that, I toured the castle, following signs that said “circuit” or “rundgang.” We started at the bottom of the castle, and I seemed to be going round and around, meeting other people on the minivan, including a very stylish young woman in her cream-colored figure-hugging dress topped with a bolero-style leather jacket. (More on her later.) But eventually, I found a staircase going up, and then we were in the Gothic part of the castle. Another staircase led us into the 16th-century part with its dining room, lady’s dressing room, and ~ concert hall!
Finally we got into the Gothic gallery at the very top of the castle, and then (of course) we had to climb all the way down. I found myself back in the Information Center, so I asked a woman where the ladies’ were and then I wandered around, finding a media room with a movie about the history of Vianden. So I sat down and thoroughly enjoyed it.
At 2:25, something made me look at my watch, and so I immediately got up and headed out of the castle as the minivan was due to leave at 2:40. At first, I couldn’t see it, but then I ran into Isabel from Brazil, who introduced me to her mother, and we had a very pleasant chat. They told me they were going to London for Easter, and so I told them to look up London Walks.
The minivan arrived on time, and we set off for our last stop at Echternach, a very pretty village in the East of the country and very close to that Mullerthal walk we took this morning. It is so close to the German border that you can see Germany from across the little stream that runs through it.
By the time we arrived, it was 3:31 and the sun was blazing down upon us. The temperature must have been at least 70 degrees. We started our tour in the old marketplace square, with its Market Hall dating from 1390. Then the guide took us to the remains of the Old Abbey, built in a handsome baroque style and looking exactly like a mansion. As with other parts of Luxembourg, this region suffered tremendously at the hands of Napoleon’s troops who destroyed every religious house they could get their hands on, forcing the monks to move.
Our tour guide wanted to take us inside the lofty Romanesque Basilica (has to have the bones of a holy person and be nominated by the pope) but there was a wedding on. She told us that the holy person was St. Willibrord from the British Isles, who founded the abbey in 698. (He died in Echternach in 739 at the age of 81 years.) We waited for a while in the hot sun, while she talked about the school next to the Basicila, which provides free education to its citizens. But the wedding apparently included a religious service and so the doors remained firmly closed.
And so we meandered back to a nearby square and dispersed. Because I was traveling by myself and did not want to get lost (an occupational hazard), I went with her into a nearby bar where I ordered the German equivalent of cider for 3 euros, while she had a beer. We sat down and talked, and she wanted me to come back to Echternach, saying she could make a special day for me. It sounded lovely, but also expensive, and so I didn’t say ‘yes’.
At around 4:20, we left the establishment, to meet the minivan which was going to appear at 4:30. As we were leaving a handsome young man who appeared to be of African descent walked up to the stylish young woman (woolen figure-hugging dress and leather bolero of a jacket) and gave her his phone number. The female guide (an older woman of about my age) was most amused, and said in perfect English to the young woman that she really shouldn’t be here as she was having “too much of an effect on all the boys!”
The minivan arrived and we got in.
What a tremendous day!
