Luxembourg

I was actually on my way to Denmark, but had to go via Zurich, so with a weekend to spare and for a spot of minor excitement, I decided it might be fun to arrive at Zurich airport and then just get the first available flight from there to visit a country I’ve never been to before but that didn’t warrant more than a day or two to see.

I mostly did this because I knew that Luxembourg was the easy choice, and at one point had even comtemplated just going ahead and booking the flight and hotel if I could’ve found a friend to come and meet me.  Because deep down, I just didn’t really want to go.

So come 6.30 am on a Saturday in August, I was perusing the options….

So many destinations, but with 67 countries under my belt already, there are fewer choices there than you might imagine.  In fact the first realistic option was that 1215 to Budapest, but impatience got the better of me, and not being able to contemplate a 5 hour wait at the airport after a 12 hour flight, I did what I was somehow destined to do all along, and caught the 0905 to Luxembourg.

Luxembourg has a fairly long history, a sequence of underground military tunnels, museums and cathedrals, as well an upper and lower town, an old and a new to explore.

I’d arrived with pretty low expectations, and they were firmly met.

Half a day is about as much as you need to know there’s not really all that much to do.  Even the Luxembourgish don’t seem to have that much confidence in themselves; I mean, who has to have independence imposed on them…?

There was a free big band concert in the Place D’Armes that evening, which ended up being a fun way to while away the evening.  Especially as there was some additional entertainment provided by a rather drunk German who alternatively danced and tried to conduct the audience.

Everyone was really quite pleasant and helpful, and  – well – frankly it’s another country off the list, but it’s pretty dull, and my abiding memory of Luxembourg is going to be “thank god for gin”.

Although not Ginix, the Luxembourgish gin, which I’m sorry to say was also rather forgettable…