Luxembourg city and surrounding

I needed to do some business in Luxemburg city and thought I could combine it with a short holiday. The most impressive combination between culture and nature is the Petrusse Valley in the heart of the city. The Petrusse and Bock casemates are historic works worth looking at. When you arrive at Place d'Armes you look down into the valley at a beautiful park with a lot of greenery.

From here we can get straight into the city centre and old town where we can look at old architecture, do some shopping and buy coffee, Belgian chocolates and the famous Belgian speculoos cookie sandwich spread. The grand supermarket Auchan in Kirchberg is located in a huge shopping mall with many cafes and restaurants. Here you can buy all sorts of spirits and wine for nearly half the price you would pay in Germany. Many Germans who live close to the border come here, do some shopping and return to their home on the same day.

Lac Esch sur Sur

This time I used Couchsurfing again and made great friends. I had a couple of days laughing and talking to them. Unfortunately it was midweek and they didn't have time to join me to explore the beauties of the country. On the first day it was raining, I visited a few museums, saw the Palace of the Duke, The Cathedral  and the winding roads in the old town. The Cafes Chocolate House and Oberweiss are the most renowned and not quite cheap cafes. The other cafes are a lot cheaper and not all that bad.

If you travel everyday, you can buy combined tickets for EUR 16,- you can use on all the trains, trams and buses in Luxemburg. So on my first available day I went to Mondorf, a small spa town with a pretty park and thermal sources in beautiful nature. Then I continued to Remich on the Moselle using the same bus service. A one-hour-tour by boat on the Moselle gives you the feeling how  close Europeans live together. The left side belongs to Luxemburg with beautiful Luxemburg vineyards, the right side is the German side with lots of forested areas and camping sites.

In a small country like Luxemburg you can do three different tours to three different places with different nature and ethnic cultures within one day. The average Luxemburgian speaks four languages: Luxemburgian or Letzeburguesch, German, French and English. German, French and Letzeburguesch are the official languages but most people speak Letzeburguesch among each other, French better than German. Some of them speak even six languages.

Me at Place d'Armes looking into Petrusse Valley Park

The north of Luxemburg, the Ardennes bordering very close to Belgium is one of the most beautiful places in Luxemburg. Just the train ride along the Petrusse Valley in Luxemburg city, through the Ardennes to Clervaux is a trip on its own. I walked a steep walk from Clervaux Palace to Clairvaux abbey.

The day was long enough to return to Luxemburg city. Unlike by car, the bus and train lines only operate between Luxemburg city and other towns. So I had to return to Luxemburg central station to catch the bus to Echternach. I enjoyed my time at the Echternach man-made lake, went to a huge supermarket and then arrived at Echternach station in time. Another huge shopping mall was under construction.

One of the most picturesque places are Vianden and on this day I forgot my camera. I never thought that the pictures would rest in my mind so a camera wasn't even needed. The bus ride between Ettelbrück train station and Vianden was another trip through breathtaking scenery. Vianden itself was another harmony between nature and architecture. Beautiful weeping willows hanging onto the river, hills, forested hiking trails, a beautiful palace, castle ruines and an ancient bridge were the highlights of this village.

My Couchsurfing hosts Michael and Pipoc

I took a walk in the old town before I climbed up to the castle ruines and the castle itself was beautifully refurbished. Nearly approaching the end of the day, I discovered a hidden campsite on the other side of the river.You could pitch your tent by the water, barbeque the meat you just bought in town and have a relaxing day. It is just very close to the old town. Unfortunately they don't have many supermarkets in both Vianden and Clervaux. So prepare yourself by buying food at Auchan Kirchberg super market before going on a camping trip. It is different from Echternach where the county expected a lot of revenues from nearby cities in Germany.

Last but not least I am so grateful and happy that I could surf Julia and Michael's couch. It was such a nice family who of course spoke several languages and we were so amused that Michael, his brother Bruno and father George spoke German together. My faith in Couchsurfing is now restored, not exactly  in the management and staff members but the interesting people I got to meet and stay with. Of course  we had already made plans for them to visit us next year.

Wispertal: A piece of heaven at the doorstep

The car ride between Mainz and Lorch, where the hike starts, is already a trip on its own. It goes through winding roads along the Rhine and through beauitful hills and architecture

I have been to Wispertal a few times to buy fresh rainbow trouts. This time it was the first time that I explored the place by hiking. If you consider hiking as a good sport to boost your  cardiovascular system, you have to keep a certain pace from beginning to end. I had difficulties to make the right decision: either I had to stop and take some time to zoom the right focus and take the picture from the right angle, or I had to keep my pace from beginning till end

The trail started at the beautiful UNESCO heritage site Lorch with its beautiful buildings, churches and scenery. The hike goes through the forest, many slate trees and shrubs, the remaining wild berries and several outlooks far beyond the Rhine to the other side, the Hunsrück mountain range.

The trail was broad enough for the relatively large group and we also had the opportunities for fruitful conversations with some very interesting people. We have also been very lucky that it hadn't rained for some time and had no problems with a slippery ground. Most of the trail was soft soil and hardly any rocks on a well-formed track.

There were some ascends and descends, the one up to the ancient castle ruine Sauerburg was one of them. From the description the trail was around 18,5 km with some fairly rough stretches and a difference in altitude of about 700 m. The last stretch was along the famous Rheinsteig trail back to Lorch, a gradually descending track. The view on the Rhine, its castles, mountain range and wineries on the other side was divine, which more than often distracts a good hiker from his purpose.

Rhineside hiking tracks are sunnier and warmer for most of the time, making the stamina a lot lesser after a good hike in forested areas. Even the road was a lot smoother and slowly descending, it was the hardest part because of the heat. From a lookout point near Kaub, we could see the small castle Pfalzgrafenstein built on the island Reichenau in the middle of the Rhine. This was formerly a venue built for custom purposes and nowadays open as a museum

Going on such a hike is challenging enough for your stamina and we can all combine it with beautiful scenery, ancient castles and churches along with great social interaction. Absolutely recommendable for visitors to Germany too!