Bonjour, readers!
Pardonnez moi as I try out some French. I am now writing from the small but beautiful country of Luxembourg. It’s located between Belgium, France, and Germany and is only 998 square miles in size. That’s half the size of Delaware. It’s so tiny.
The people here speak mostly a language called Luxembourgish, which is a hybrid of French and German. Though it mostly sounds German. Many of the people I’ve come across so far have addressed me in French, so I’m trying hard to learn a few phrases. “Parlez-vous anglais?” has been my bread and butter so far. Along with smiling and nodding.
I arrived in Luxembourg City (it’s technically also called Luxembourg, but to avoid confusion with the country as a whole it’s often referred to as Luxembourg City) around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning. I took an 11:50 p.m. night train on Monday from Munich, Germany to Luxembourg to save myself precious daylight hours and to also save money on a hostel. Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep all that well on the train. My height is not very conducive to trying to sleep lying down on train bench seats. Ah well.
My friend from college, Alyssa, picked me up at the train station. She’s been living in Luxembourg for just over a month now playing basketball for a local pro team called Amicale Steesel. She lives in a super cute apartment in Steinsel, a small village about 15 minutes outside of Luxembourg City. It’s so picturesque here, with bright green farmland and herds of cattle as far as the eye can see.
On the flip side, Luxembourg City is very urban. And very rich. Luxembourg is an extremely wealthy country and has found a lot of success in banking, much like Switzerland. Alyssa and I wandered around the city taking in the sights.
Later that afternoon, we had lunch at a small restaurant just below Alyssa’s apartment. I had the plat du joir, which was lamb roast and potatoes. Mmm mmm.
After lunch we visited Vianden Castle (Chateau de Vianden). It’s located in the town of Vianden, just north of Luxembourg City. It’s one of the largest and most fortified castles in Europe. Pretty cool!
Alyssa then went to basketball practice while I took a much-needed nap. Tuesday night we went back into the city to get some dinner. We ended up at a cute little French/Luxembourgish restaurant where I ordered a glass of locally-made merlot and a plate of grilled chicken and fries. This of course, was followed by delicious desserts. I have lots of work to do in the exercising department when I get back to the States, but for now I’m thoroughly enjoying all the rich European food and drink. Gotta live a little 🙂
Bonsoir!
Meredith Metsker 