LUXEMBOURG
September 6th 2018 - September 15th 2018
PART 1 - ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE
September 6th -
September 9th:
We were staying on Camping Gaalgebierg, the climb is steep!
We're here for the International Animal Rights Conference. Very interesting lectures, speakers and workshops.
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During our stay at the camping we visit the animals at the Deierepark.
September 10th:
The conference is over, most of the attendees have gone home. We decided to stay and tried to hike with our bags and tent and stuff. But holy hell ... we seriously underestimated the hilly landscape and overestimated our hiking abilities.
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We returned to the camping, drop off our bags and took a regular walk through the forest.
We decide to walk in the neighborhood and find our way to the Prince Henri mine, an abandoned mine (closed off, of course), followed by an abandoned mine train.
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We return to the camping through Ellergronn nature reserve, as we flirt with the French border.
PART 2 - ECHTERNACH
September 11th:
September 12th:
Public transport within the country of Luxembourg is amazing. We hopped on a train and ended up in Echternach, near the border with Germany. The weather was bad so we went to the nearest campsite and paid for a spot with a nice view.
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The rain began to pour, so we waited in the tent.
And when the rain cleared up, we went for a short walk in the neighborhood.
September 13th:
We visit the village of Echternach. A stroll through the shopping street, through the gardens of the Orangerie and over the courtyard of the Basilica / Lyceum.
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The river, Sur, is the natural border between Luxembourg and Germany. We stayed on the side of Luxembourg, walking along the old wall to the Rokoko Pavillion.
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We ate a pizza at the Place du Marché. It was a small struggle to explain what veganism is, to explain what we didn't want on our pizza.
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A Google search told us that there's a Roman ruin not far away, so that's were we walked to.
There's free public toilets just outside the Roman Villa. It's a disgrace that that's worth mentioning, there should be more public toilets and they should be free (looking at you, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, and so many other countries)!
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Anyway, the Roman villa is a wonderful ruin with a small museum. The floor plan of the villa is still visible, with some small remnants of walls, mosaic floors, the former bath / pool, ... and you can walk through the former halls of the villa.
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In the small museum is a model of the villa with open sections where you can see what live looked like in ancient times.
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Around a hundred geese sat in the grass in the courtyard.
September 14th:
After the cultural day of Echternach, we are now ready to be immersed in the natural side.
The Mullerthal trail is an amazing hiking trail in what's known as Little Switzerland, . You can start at the Basilica of Echternach and then enter the forest and follow trail E1. We saw the wonderful Wollefsschlucht, had a break at the Paulsplatte, and then we went up until the Perekop, after that the path was closed off as they were doing some construction, so we're forced to go back.
PART 3 - LUXEMBOURG CITY
I had no idea that the capital of Luxembourg (also called Luxembourg, by the way) was built over a valley.
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We didn't have a lot of time, so we checked out the Bock Casemats, a very interesting fortress with a rich history and a nice view over the city. The nearby Pont du Château was also very beautifulWe checked out the Ravelin du Rham and the nearby fortified wall following part of the Wenzel route.
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We had lunch at the Nirvana Cafe and then we headed to the station to go back home.
September 15th: