Mercure Esch sur Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette

This is an incredible place...but I don't have any pictures... when I got there my camera stopped working :( But I really think it was a blessing because I just saw everything and didn't worry about getting pictures of everything for later, I just saw and took it all in. It was a much needed get-away and it really blew me away, especially the Cathedral! Mass there was unbelievable...and I have a new-found love of French...and their pastries :)

... oil and garlic. It was actually very good, and I'm not a big broccoli fan. We spent the rest of the evening chatting in the kitchen because it was the warmest room in the house. There is a wood burning stove in the kitchen and that is what is used mainly to heat the house. It got very cold here. Karyn said that it was -3 C the prior evening! <br><br>We chatted around the stove and listened to a variety of music ...

Of course I needed to visit Luxembourg, hiding away there between France, Germany and Belgium. It is the fifith smallest country in the world. It is very hilly and surrounded by trees. The hostel is down at the bottom of a cliff, yay! The city of course is quite small, but it is surrounded by ruins and forest which makes it quite a unique city in amongst the hustle and crowds of all the other major cities. The people there speak French and their own language, Luxembourgish I suppose.

... Roman ruins and the churches up close. Trier was very nice and I love the feeling there, the Roman baths were also really cool to see. We also had a great dinner in the main square of town. I had Pepper Steak and spetzlah. It was so good. The seats outside were great and I was able to people watch and really just embrace in the culture. Plus a little wine probe, wine tasting, helped a lot.

... Daar zagen we de vorige keren nogal tegenop. Naar bleek terecht, want die afdaling viel niet mee. Hellingen van 14% enzo. Beneden aangekomen trilden onze knietjes van de inspanning. Het eventuele plezier in Esch was dus al danig vergald, vooral bij de gedachte aan de klim terug. Maar goed, wij dus lopen. Op naar het voetgangersgebied. Nou dat viel dus ook niet mee. Best sjieke winkels, maar daar hebben wij niets mee. En verder dus eigenlijk niets. Pittoresk? Ho maar ...

... dreigde een totale zenuwinzinking. Alle vijf hadden zo'n blije glimlach en dan weet je het wel. W keek meteen of er een visje op hun auto zat, maar dat was vreemd genoeg niet het geval. De pappa kwam zich later nog voorstellen ook, ja echt! Kees. Wij zijn beleefd dus kwetterden we wat spreuken voor sprakelozen, daarna droop Kees af want hij moest eten. Tafelmanieren kenden ze alle vijf niet ...

... and huge Dexia building (the red one in the photo). It's all in the middle of nowhere with construction work all around. We decided to take the train so that we could all have a drink - also it had said on the website that parking was limited and that we had free train and bus travel with our ticket to the venue (what a great idea!). It was two trains and it took about an hour all in all from ...

... small country, all the cartoons on TV and in the newspaper seemed to not have words, just gestures and sound. The weather was kind of grey, the food was good. We discovered Croque Monsieurs (like grilled cheese sandwiches with ham -delish!)

... that Luxembourg celebrates a national holiday for my birthday. Well, not really. The Grand Duke is Jean and today was St. John's Day, the grand duke's name day, and thus an excuse to party. The tourist office gave us a map and suggested we walk a certain route. First, up the main boulevard. Buildings, a couple of nice squares. Very high bridge with view into gardens below. Stunning. Watched end of guard change at ducal palace. Sat trying to figure out next step when very nice ...

... Casemates - tunnels and chambers dug to further fortify Luxembourg city. Saw Notre Dame church and walked along the park at the bottom of the valley where we found an old church built into the side of the hill. Luxembourg is a beautiful medieval valley.