It is fair to say that we enjoyed our time in Belgium, and Bruges was a delight! And so, as we made our way south, we stopped off in Luxembourg for a couple of days and picked a pleasant campsite in the suburb of Alzingen, where we were soon ensconced on our ‘pitch’. As the ‘day was yet young’, we set off to get a bus into the city, and soon we were on board a Gare Central bound bus. However, we were confused about how to pay, so we asked a fellow traveller how to obtain tickets, and he explained that all public transport in Luxembourg is free! Once our admiration had subsided, we quipped that local taxes must be high, and the lad laughed his agreement! It transpired that we were talking to a lad who came from Heraklion in Crete, a city we have visited often, and one of the 48% non-local residents,! As we chatted, he offered to show us how to get from the bus to the tram to the ‘happening part of town’ where he was heading. Once we alighted from the tram, and said fair well to ‘our guide’, we wandered around the busy streets where locals gathered for their end-of-the-working-day catch-up. Soon, we found a pleasant ‘garden terrace’ from where we could look down into the lower areas of the city, where lights began to twinkle on other terraces as dusk started to shroud the hills.
Looking down on a Luxembourg terrace
After a visit to another hostelry, we made our way back to Alzingen via the tram and bus, and we enjoyed the short walk to the campsite, another lovely day under our belts, ahh!
The morning sun woke us, and we stepped out of Iona into another pleasantly warm day. It was hard to believe we were in October with high teen temperatures! After our cup o’ Java and a shower, we were good to go and were soon city-bound on our free bus journey. Once in the centre, we walked to the park area, the ‘Vallée de la Pétrusse’, and descended the first flight of steps, 76 in all, before going down the next 50 to the midpoint between the bottom and the top! From there, we made our way around to the area we had looked down on the night before, where we found a small bridge adorned with local artists’ stalls and bustling with Sunday saunterers and then found a tavern to replenish our thirst! We wandered around this area along the banks of the river Alzette and enjoyed the sights and sounds before making our way back up to the city via a gradual incline, thankfully!
Bridge over the river Alzette
Once back at the city level, we walked a few more streets, taking in the late Sunday afternoon vibe before returning to Alzingen, where we found a delightful local Italian-style restaurant and enjoyed a tasty pizza. Nadia even got to speak in Italian to the waitress, another local from the 48%!
Our final day was spent locally in Alzingen, where we found another Italian taverna where groups of older men sat at various tables drinking coffee and playing Scopa, an Italian card game. Nadia kept me informed of the score from the game closest to us as we enjoyed a plate of Italian meats and some local cheese and used the Wi-Fi to book our next stopover as we planned our onward journey into France and the town of Épinal, South of Nancy and North-east of Dijon.
Follow our route here:
Great places : ) Luxembourg has that "busy" party quarter over the bridge and down the hill - Why is it there? Dijon - great city / nice architecture as you then explore the Burgundy Region. R