Don’t allow your first impression of Luxembourg (a European country and city of the same name) to be the last one! For, this is a place that sneaks up on you. My first tryst with the country started with a schlep down the Luxembourg airport – one of the tiniest in the whole of Europe. And an unfamiliar sight awaited me. No crowds near the conveyor belt of the arrival lounge, no immigration checks, and no overtaking manoeuvres by the co-passengers. I was missing the usual frenzy and the adrenaline buzz of activities at the airport. It was almost as if I walked into a vacuum as I lugged along my suitcase up and down several escalators.
The budget hotel booked for me in a place called Livange seemed devoid of any “living” sounds except the tinkling of bells around the cow’s necks in the neighbouring pastures. After I settled down in a unbelievably mini-sized hotel room that cost me as much as 100 Euros per day, I decided to explore some places around.
An inviting café near the hotel served a hot pizza but it took me about 20 minutes to explain to the waiter what I wanted. Not many people here know English, so you have to learn a smattering of French, German, or Italian to get around. Surprisingly, the shop owners can comfortably switch between six-seven languages when they are speaking to customers. Luxembourgish is the official language though people hate to admit that it heavily borrows from the German and French dialects. And Luxembourg (LX ) is as laid back as any other European city or perhaps more. So, don’t be surprised if your order takes a long time to be served. If you call a cab, tot up an hour to the time you would actually expect it to arrive by.
On the brighter side, this is a place with some amazing views of castles, green pastures, and domed churches. I visited the Adolphe Bridge, one of Luxembourg city’s main tourist attractions. The arch-shaped bridge was built in 1900 by a French architect to support both rail and road traffic connecting the different parts of the city.
Plaza de la Constitution, a beautiful triangular park stands facing the bridge. This park hoists six large Luxembourg flags.Another famous spot around the corner is the Gellen Fra (Golden Lady) monument which was built as a memorial to the victims of the First World War.
Walking back to the city’s heart, I passed the Luxembourg railway station which is a dead ringer for the London terminus and our very own CST. But the place is not swallowed by a sea of humanity like its two counterparts! As I walked along the City Center, I espied several markets with daintily decorated shops. Shops selling second-hand items abound and some even sell Luxembourgish coins (which I was informed are a rarity as coins from other countries are used during transactions in the city).
The main market square is called the Place d’Armes lined with several American style fast food joints. There are attractive booths fashioned out of boots of vehicles where food and drinks are served.
The food in LX is mostly cosmopolitan. The French influence on the food definitely shows, but the portions are more generous. The local food speciality is a potato pancake that is garnished with parsley and onions. This is to be washed down with sparkling wine.
For vegetarians like me, it is a bit of a nightmare since almost everything (even rice) has a bit of meat or fish in it. I was saved by some vegetarian Mexican food at a joint nearby that also served spicy nachos as a freebie. Coffee was brought to me in a small white cup with a smile and a syrupy chocolate. I chortled like a little girl at the sight of ice-cream (priced at a whopping eight Euros) and the best thing about gorging on it was that it never melted (due to the cold temperatures). Since the city is perched high amidst several cliffs, it experiences an abiding chill even during summers.
Cheese is one of the best things to buy in Luxembourg. It is found almost in every shop on the roadside kerbs. But don’t even think of buying clothes or chocolates in LX for the rates are insanely high. Luxembourg is one of the most expensive and richest countries in the world. People working in the industrial and financial sectors here receive three times the pay that their counterparts in other European regions recieve. ArcelorMittal has its base in country and this attracts a drove of Indians to LX.
It is also one of the safest countries in the world. More than a third of people staying here are foreigners who come from neighbouring countries like Italy, France, and Germany and also from as far as Brazil. It doesn’t take more than an hour to drive to any point within this country owing to its minuscule size. Visit this beautiful albeit expensive place to learn some of its laid back ways. The best time to land up is during September. And if you are from a city used to late working hours and milling crowds, LX will teach you how to kick back your heels and relax!
Pooja Nair likes to look at the sunnier side of things. Writing is her hobby as well as passion an she has attempted different genres of writing. One of her short stories have been featured in a book titled Inner Voices that was published internationally. Additionally, three of her short stories were published in the Chicken Soup for Indian Woman series. She writes regularly for Indian weeklies and ezines.