Luxurious Luxembourg--April 14-15

The next morning we were up bright and early to hit the road to Luxembourg. Passing through Dijon (yes, this is where the mustard comes from), the landscape view was unlike any we'd seen before.
(The picture doesn't do much justice).

Finally, we made it to Luxembourg and met up with Laure at the famous "Aire de Berchem" rest area. All I have to say, it what a nightmare of a gas station. But, we found Laure and we set off to her flat in town.

Exploring Luxembourg City, Laure pointed out historical, political and cultural elements to the City.

LEFT: The Golden Lady monument. CENTER: The big Cathedral (roughly 90% are Catholic, but rarely go to Church). RIGHT: The Fortress Wall with the new European Union buildings in the background.

LEFT: Famous old building with a Luxembourgish saying (we want to be who we are, I think?). CENTER: The Sheild (and potentially the new flag). RIGHT: Old part of the Fortress Gate

After several hours of strolling around town, it was time for a beer break! On the menu, Diekirch, a Luxembourg lager. Laure advised us that in Luxembourg every bar/restaurant can only have 1 of the 4 Luxembourg brands on tap. After learning this, we were eager to try all four, which took us to another cafe. There some of Laure's friends met up with us and we all tried Bofferding and Battin, two of the other Luxembourg beers.

After a few .33 cl glasses, we went back to chez Laure for dinner where she prepared a "typical" Luxembourgish dinner. A Europeans styled breakfast is the easiest way to describe it: an assortment of breads, meats, cheeses, fruits, yogurts. One special treat we got to try was "Kachkéis" in Luxembourgish, or "Concoillotte" in French. Not bad, really!

Later that night, we went to Laure's pub-of-choice where we met a group of her friends.

Sunday, after a delicious home-made breakfast cooked by Laure, we were off to Diekirch for a bike ride. Diekirch is a small town about 25 minutes north of Luxembourg City, and is home of the Diekrich brewery. There we rented some bikes and rode along the path next to the river. It was a perfect day for a bikeride. Along the way we stopped to take pictures of the scenic views.

LEFT: Crazy statue at the train station that you can move the arms of the figures. CENTER: Beautiful hill side. RIGHT: Cows grazing.

LEFT: Group Shot! CENTER: Cows. RIGHT: The Green Forest

The leisurely ride worked up an appetite for us all, so we stopped by a local cafe to try "Ham, Fritten an Zalot", a typical Luxembourgish dish, which is a big plate of ham, fries and salad. The enormous portions surprised us, when Larue reassured us that Luxembourgers have far more of an appetite than the French.

Sadly, after a long and enjoyable lunch it was time for us to head back to Geneva.