Lessons for Luxembourg City. Review on Luxembourg, General

This is a travel guide, so you will find most information related to it and less of the history (that is for you to find out - after visiting the place) and other irrelevant information. This review is only about the Luxembourg city and not all of Luxembourg.

Geography

Luxembourg is a small country situated between Belgium, France and Germany. Though geographically bantam, this country boasts of a vast history and scenic beauty. Luxembourg City is the capital of Luxembourg. Oh yes Luxembourg is 2586 sq km large - and if you didn't know - it has its capital too. Lesson no. 1: Never underestimate what you might discover in a tiny country like Luxembourg.. Luxembourg city is well connected with the main cities of Belgium, France and Germany both by rail as well as airways.

Acco, Restaurants and transportation

There are plenty of hotels to choose from. The Bread & Breakfast(B&B) near the centre cost a minimum of 50 Euros (1 Euro=42.5 INR) per person. In summer the tariffs goes up by 25%-50%. Youth Hostels are cheaper but could be far from the city central and for the summer season it must be booked well in-advance. So choose your pick wisely. Restaurants can be found at every nook and corner. Average meal would cost 15 Euros. Vegetarian food is quite rare. Remember they consider chicken & fish to be vegetarian (basically any non-red meat). Confirm 3-4 times that a food item does not even contain eggs. Even those who don't eat red meat need to confirm..Lesson no. 2:The definition of Vegetarian is Luxembourgish! The main squares Place d'Armes and Place Guillaume - is flooded with restaurants - there are 2-3 Indian restaurants (basically Pakistani/Bangladeshi).

History

The Count of Ardennes had laid the foundations of this city in the 10th Century A.D. This city used to have a fort but due to years and years of war it is no longer existent. It has been ruled by Spanish, German, Austrian, French and Dutch. Consequently, the history kept aggregating. Lesson no. 3:Do not try to read all the history because at the end of the day you will remember none of it. Better pick up pamphlets at different tourist spots.

People and Tourist Attractions

On 23nd June, 2001, after a 3 hours train journey from Brussels(which is roughly 215 Km away from Luxembourg city) I treaded my knackered legs on Luxembourg city platform. After buying a map and gathering a bit of information from the tourist office in the station I started walking towards the city centre where most of the tourist spots of Luxembourg City are situated. Most of the shops were closed and the traffic was almost nonexistent. It was peaceful and I wondered if I was in a village or a city. Beautiful Old styled buildings all around me .... but hey what's new - I have seen most of it in Brussels and other European cities. I asked some pretty young ladies about my place of interest and the next thing I knew was that the lady luck was shining on me. The people in Luxembourg are very friendly. The pretty young girls accompanied me to the Pont Adolphe.Lesson no. 4: Always take help - you will love taking it (the help). In case you are wondering why the streets were empty - it was the National day! Hadn't done my homework very well - should have come on some other day!

Pont Adolphhe is one of the most famous bridges of Europe. I thanked the girls and parted with them. Wow! A Bridge. I could see the depth of valley underneath. The river under the bridge must be a spectacle to watch from the top of the bridge. I rushed to the middle of the bridge.Oh! oh! What a disappointment! The river was as narrow as the road-side ''nala'' (gutter in Hindi) in our country. But wait a second. I checked out the surrounding area under the bridge and was simply stunned. It was a huge park with fountains and ponds under that bridge. It was almost like a hill-station under that bridge. I crossed the bridge and came to a place called Place de la Constitution where one can find all sightseeing buses and horse-carts. The child in me opted for the Toy Train trip which takes you under the bridge and also shows you the old city which is a must-see in Luxembourg city. There is a lot to see under the bridge - ruins of forts, prison cells, escape tunnels, fountains, ponds, even a small golf ground, and lots of greenery.Lesson no. 5:Never stand on the bridge - instead go underneath (only for this bridge) Within this valley, there is the most beautiful balcony of Europe, known as Chemin de la Corniche ... couldn't find out balcony to which building as it was closed but the balcony itself was a garden overlooking the valley and also the magnificent bridge. I was more attracted to the love birds, the females basking in the sun and the Italian girl in front part of the toy train. It is very common to find the love birds in awkward positions (according to the conservative Indians, but for a liberal like me they are the perfect positions) and females basking on sunny days.Lesson no. 6:Keep the heads of your small children covered with large caps so that you can pull it down at the right time The Toy train also takes you around the old town area with cobblestoned houses known as the Grund. All the other tourist spots lies very close to the Place de la Constitution. There is huge Cathedral nearby and a palace called Grand Ducal Palace - couldn't visit inside but looked just like any other buildings of Luxembourg from outside. Speaking of which, many of the buildings having no historical or significant background look more impressive than the historical and significant buildings. I had confused a bank building for some palace.Lesson no. 7:Don't just look at all the buildings in the city. You might be wasting your time admiring a shopping complex or a bank building.

Next I proceeded to the main squares of the city (almost all the cities in the Europe have a square where the activities takes place) -Place d'Armes and Place Guillaume . I was lucky to see some children performing and a Rock Show but hey please remember it was a National Holiday. Near the square I found a real sized beautifully decorated coloured figure of a bull and I immediately took a snap of mine with it. I had already taken a few pictures with other bull sculptures in different part of the city before reaching the square. They are omni-present. Lesson no. 8:Don't take too many pictures with the bull-sculptures. It wastes your camera rolls and makes the cow look more important than you in the picture - speaking from experience.

Continued .... in the comment