Day 4: Luxembourg City and the road home
The land of Luxembourg has been habited by people since before the Roman Empire. But the beginnings of present day Luxembourg was started with the founding of a castle at the site of Luxembourg city, by Count Sigefroid of Ardennes in 963, and effectively sowing the seeds of rulers for ages to come (3 of his line went on to become rulers of the Holy Roman Empire). In the Middle Ages, the prime strategic location of Luxembourg on the European chessboard, made it a hotspot for contesting. Sought after by the Burgundians, Spanish, French, Austrians, and Prussians, it was besieged, destoyed and rebuilt 20 times in 400 years! But under the engineering genious of the many occupiers, the fortress of Luxembourg became the second strongest in all of Europe, behind only Gibraltar. During Napoleon's rule, Luxembourg was under French control, but after his defeat at the hands of the English and Dutch, it was integrated, along with Belgium, into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1814. Belgium's move for independence 16 years later, forced Luxembourg to also break away from Dutch rule, in a move for its own autonomity. The 1867 Treaty of London reaffirmed this independence, and Luxembourg quickly became a leading European financial center supported by a strong iron ore industry. Also at this time, its much contested fort was demolished, just in time for German invasion in both World Wars. Luxembourg and its people suffered greatly under Nazi occupation in WWII. Hitler forced conscription on the country, sparking protests in its people, a rebellion that was quickly and harshly subdued. It wasn't until 1944-45 and the bloody Battle of the Bulge, that Luxembourg was freed from Nazi rule by the American General Patton. After the war, Luxembourg entered into economical union with Belgium and the Netherlands, providing the framework that which the European Union would later be based. Today, Luxembourg is one of the richest countries worldwide per capita. It is an area of great history, culture, and provides much for the wondering tourist, just as we were! Click here, here, and here to read more about the history of Luxembourg.
The next morning brought with it a glorious sun! We awoke fairly early, and had a breakfast at the Hostel. I then met the Aussie Marcus, and introduced him to the rest of the group. We wanted to soon get out into the city for we only had half a day to explore before we had to board a train back to Mannheim. We started with a bus tour of the city that lasted about 1 hour. After that we walked the streets and followed a self-guided tour to many landmarks. See below for the pics!
Pictures from Luxembourg City!
In the morning, just starting the bus tour of Luxembourg City.
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Here is the one of the central plazas in the old town.
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This is heading into the financial and banking district of Luxembourg, where much of the planning for the EU occuried.
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This was a funny statue outside of some prominant bank's headquarters. Can't really remember its significance though...
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Here is a nice shot showing a small portion of the many layers of Luxembourg City!
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Here is a shot of the whole group, now including Marcus from Australia.
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Since our digi camera was malfunctioning, Marcus sent me via emails all of the following pics of Luxembourg!!
Pictures from Luxembourg City! Thanks Marcus for these pics!
After Luxembourg, we had to catch a train from the Bahnhof back into Germany. Our route took us back to Trier, and then to the city of Homburg, which we explored while we waited for our next train. We reached Mannheim by suppertime that night! And to finish the journey off properly, we had pizza at the Zwei Hasen (translation = Two Rabbits)! Here are the last few pics...
Pics from the train ride back to Mannheim.
Here we are speeding past the Luxembourg/German landscape.
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And I feel asleep while eating an apple!
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We entered the Matrix from the city of Homburg...
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And the last meal, very tastey Italian-style pizza!
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And with that we were home again, back to routine and life in general. But the trip was a success, we navigated our way into the very depths of Luxembourg, and made it back alive! A good journey with good friends! So, until next time, au revoir!
More pics? Click here to see some pictures taken by Caro!
