I’ve left France and arrived in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Despite its size, Luxembourg isn’t even close to the smallest country I’ve visited on my trip. The Vatican, Monaco, San Marnio, Nauru, Macau, Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, American Samoa, Tonga, Guam, CNMI, Micronesia, Bahrian, Singapore, Kiribati, and Hong Kong are all smaller. In fact, I was amazed to find out that that Samoa was larger than Luxembourg. One of the oddities of my trip so far is that because I’ve visited so many small countries, if you look at a map of where I’ve been it doesn’t look like I’ve been to many places at all.
I’m not staying in the City of Luxembourg. I’m staying about 10km out of town which sounded like a good idea based on the price, but getting into town is sort of a pain. There is a village about 1km away which has a bus that is cheap, but the schedule isn’t very good. Taxis here are very expensive. That 10km trip (6mi) is about 22 Euros. The area immediately surrounding my hotel is very serene; all farm land with gently rolling hills.
Beyond its small size and the fact that it is the world’s only remaining grand duchy, what makes Luxembourg odd is the way languages are used. Officially Luxembourg has three languages: French, German and Luxembourgish. Most of the signs I’ve seen appear to be in French and most people seem to be speaking in French. Somethings appear to be in German and as I understand, Luxembourgish is an offshoot of German with French influences. I’m not sure I could tell the difference if I were to hear it. Everyone seems to be fluent in both French and German and both French and German TV stations are shown.
Tomorrow I’m off to Belgium (the other motherland) for a few days before moving on to Amsterdam. The ride from Luxembourg to Brussels should be short but expensive (just like everything else here).
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I quite liked Luxembourg. the language thing is puzzling i must admit. it seems all signs are in French, yet everyone i came into contact with spoke German. I found them to be very friendly though.
I stayed in the city, near the touristy bits in a hostel. I like the history there and was glad i visited it. I often find the smaller places are better.
I live in Brussels. I would love some tips on the pacific islands for my rtw plan. Email me if you want to meet for traditional belgian beer.
If you need some pointers for Belgium, let me know. I live in Hasselt (Limburg).
C,
Lux is ok. I was stationed in Spangdahlem, Germany which is 45 mins away. My friends & I would go up there to watch movies. A few times we would out there eat, drink & shoot pool. The only other thing Lux has in the Luxembourg American (ABMC) Cemetery and Memorial, where General Patton is buried.
Lol at your last sentence.
You could always walk. I did…
(www.IWouldWalk1000Miles.me.uk)