An Underrated European Gem
September 29th, 2021
Table of Contents
- A Train to Catch
- A National Dish to remember for future Trivia Nights
- Old Fortifications
- Choices Were Made
- Last Train to Brussels
This was the second country in our 2021 European Trip. To read them in chronological order, start off with France.
A Train to Catch
Our Luxembourg experience didn’t start off on the greatest foot. In fact, it almost never got off on any foot. We woke up, what we thought was, a good time to catch our 11am train to Luxembourg City. We packed our bags, checked out, and headed outside to book an Uber to Gare de l’Est, the train station. Daniel turned on Uber and searched for available drivers. Nothing. Searched again. Nothing. And again. Nothing.
At this point we were in full panic mode. The drive would take 30 minutes, and if we set off now, we would get there just in time for departure, except we didn’t even have a driver. Scenarios were flowing in our head. If we didn’t catch this train, we wouldn’t make it to Belgium or England. We would be stranded.
After searching over and over, luck finally came to us and a name finally appeared. Jeannot. We had finally connected to a driver. We anxiously scurried into the car and asked the driver if he spoke English. No. Anxiety was at an all time high. We put in the Translate app ‘We have a train to catch in 30 minutes, can you get us there fast’, and showed it to him. He nodded, “Qui“, and proceeded to drive like a madman to get us to the station. Wherever you are Jeannot, thank you for your service.
A National Dish to remember for future Trivia Nights
The train ride composed of us finally breathing a sigh of relief while watching the French countryside pass by. After a quick 3 hours, we finally made it to country number 7, Luxembourg. We only had 5 hours here in Luxembourg City before our next train, so we headed straight to get, you guessed it, food. Come on, we wouldn’t be The Hungry Voyagers if we weren’t food obsessed.
It’s easy to see that Luxembourg City is a beautiful place. After walking for 5 minutes we had already arrived at a bridge overlooking a mountain valley. It was breathtaking, something out of a movie. The center of the city around the train station is what you can imagine as a typical, modern Euro city, but walking outside of that is where the culture and charm of Luxembourg really shines.
In our mission to try every national dish, we weren’t particularly excited for this one. Beans and ham? Really? That can’t be too special, right?
We stopped by Café-Restaurant Um Dierfgen to try some traditional Luxembourgish food, including their national dish: Judd mat Gaardebounen, which translates to Smoked Collar of Pork with Broad Beans. It ended up being absolutely delicious, we were completely wrong. The ham was so tender and the creamy sauce spread over added much depth. We also got a charcuterie of some local deli meat, which was served on a wooden log.
Old Fortifications
Deep into the heart of Luxembourg City is the Old Town, also called Grund. The Old Town is Luxembourg City’s UNESCO World Heritage Site and is surrounded by ancient fortifications called the Bock Casemates. These fortifications were built all the way back in 963 and have been through so many wars.
We walked across a bridge over the Alzette River. There was barely anybody here and the streets were too small for cars; so peaceful.
We stopped by Oscar’s Bar for a couple of local Luxembourgish brews. Battin is the most popular brand of local beer and we had a couple of their variations. For a small country, Luxembourg has some pretty decent beer!
The bartender was incredibly nice and told us stories of his time in New York City when he found out we lived in America. Turns out he was the private driver for Donald Trump’s sister’s lawyer. He showed us photos of him with millions of dollars worth of jewelry from his clients and told insane stories of his time there. One of the biggest joys of traveling is all the crazy stories you hear.
Choices Were Made
Before we headed off to the train, there was one last thing Daniel had to do. He had to add to his list of football stadiums visited. The most well known team in the area was Racing FC Union Luxembourg, so we decided to visit their stadium, and it was only a 10 minute walk. What could possibly go wrong?
Halfway into the walk, the rain started pouring, and the wind started blowing. We were wet, freezing, and miserable, but also halfway there so there wasn’t a point in stopping now. After arriving with hypothermia, what awaited was greatness: a fence. But we went through torrential rain, wind, and cold to get this picture, so you’ll be damn sure it’s getting including in the blog.
By the train station was a local supermarket, Marché, so we decided to pop by and get some last minute food and souvenirs. I’ve said this before, but I really think you get a feel for a place by visiting one of their supermarkets. It’s such an oddly personal experience.
The Hungry Voyagers 