While riding in New Zealand I met a young couple from Luxembourg on their honeymoon who kindly invited me to stay in their new home in Germany just over the border from eastern Luxembourg.
All I knew about Luxembourg was its relative smallness in size compared to the other EU nations and that it apparently has the worlds highest GDP (gross domestic product) per capita in the world.
My new friends had been living in a Luxembourg city apartment in the country of Luxembourg and recently moved into their new quiet country home just over the border in Germany.
They advised me to stay for the weekend of the National Holiday which includes the usual festive activities and final fireworks
I caught the train to Luxembourg because the weather was turning into winter again and there is nothing worse than arriving with wet everything.
The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) - Trier Germany
Note where the door is on the right - to stop unwanted visitors in old times
While on the train I planned my exit out of Luxembourg city using the airport as a guide to head east to Echternach for about 45 km on a good regional road (the country is that small you can ride across it in a day).
It was also a Friday afternoon so I had another layer of commuting traffic to ride amongst. The city centre is unusual because of the fort-like structure in the centre and river down below passing through some very old Roman sites. There were no dedicated bike lanes but a good wide shoulder on the main road game me a comfortable rding buffer from the busy traffic.
The ride east was quick and easy and only needed some phone assistance for the last 5km to find their home in the small village of Menningen.
A lovely quiet rural setting in an impressive 'rustic' home with an almost Nordic style about it.
My wonderful hosts directed me to the spacious guest room and proudly took me on a tour of their new home in stages of renovation.
Now about Luxembourg - it borders with France , Germany and Belgium. So what is Luxembourgish language? - considering its location it sounds like a high German-Franco - Roman mix and probably some Belgie thrown in to complete the sentence. And with any complex European nation there will be a number of local dialects.
Luxembourg is a democracy with a constitutional monarch. Although a secular state, the dominant religion is Roman Catholic. In 1957, the year I was born, Luxembourg joined five other countries to form the European Economic Community later to be known as the EU (European Union). My hosts worked in the banking/finance sectors which is no surprise given that these are the main industries in Luxembourg and no doubt contributes as a factor for its high GDP output and after the USA is the second largest investment fund centre in the world. I could sense this city had plenty of quiet money.
So here I was in another country for the first time quickly absorbing the environment and culture as my hosts and I planned the next few days itinerary for the festive weekend and trip to the oldest German city, Trier, in the Mosel wine region and founded around 16 BC.
After the full day in Luxembourg we stayed for the fireworks which I have to say were the most impressive and longest I have ever seen. Must be plenty of monetary resources for this national display. The following day we travelled to Trier in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and visited some impressive buildings and monuments.
It was the birth place of Karl Marx, Roman emperors ruled from here and the only grave of an apostle north of the alps.
So it was a short but culturally intense long weekend in Luxembourg/Germany with my new friends who also took me to some impressive cheese-food stores and made sure I did not get lost in the large festive crowd on saturday night. I also made a favourite barbecue prawn meal for them.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment