Luxembourg

Over the summer we found a really good deal on cheap flights to Europe. The cheapest was a flight to Luxembourg. We had no burning desire to see tiny Luxembourg, but with accumulated airline miles and the cheap price, the flights were essentially free. Also, Luxembourg is centrally located, so from there it's an easy train ride to parts of France, Germany, and Switzerland.

The trip to the airport was uneventful, our Delta flight was on time, we had good seats, and we both managed to get a few hours sleep on the flight over. The connecting flight from Amsterdam to Luxembourg was slightly delayed, but only by a few minutes.

Luxembourg has free mass transit, so anyone can jump on any bus or tram and never worry about a ticket. The bus from the airport into the city center was packed full, standing room only. After a slight bit of confusion we found our hotel, only a stone's throw from he railway station.

After checking in, we got on a (free) tram and set out for the old city, which dates back to the 10th century, C.E., but is largely reconstructed after two world wars. Americans are popular here -- there are streets named after Roosevelt and Patton, for example. It's a quaint European city, very walkable, but nothing spectacular is here.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame here doesn't hold a candle to the one in Paris, but it is very pretty. It has lots of very nice stained glass and a huge organ.

The Ducal Palace is still the seat of government, and we got to see the changing of the guard. It's nothing like Buckingham Palace in terms of the show they put on.

The city's ancient fortifications are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and we walked along them. It's very hilly here, which provided natural defenses, as well.

We finally wound up back near the railway station and our hotel where we found a nice little Asian restaurant run by a Chinese family. Nevertheless, we both selected Thai dishes, and both were very good. European price tags would help Americans understand that they actually have it pretty good when it comes to inflation!

Tomorrow, bright and early, we are off to Strasbourg, France by train.