November has been a busy travel month for us and we found ourselves with a weekend without any scheduled trips. Spontaneity beckoned, we felt like visiting a country we haven't been to - so we charted our course for Luxembourg City. After some quick research, we planned to visit the attractions downtown and would stop at the Luxembourg American Cemetery Memorial on our drive home. Luxembourg is about an hour away and is country that seems to be a cross between France and Germany (both languages spoken there, also, I hope this doesn't offend any Luxembourgians).
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| Catedrale Notre-Dame |
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| Weihnachtsmarkt and Gélle Fra |
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| Fish roasting on an open fire |
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We parked downtown and walked to Catedrale Notre-Dame, but our access was limited due to a mass in progress. This wasn't the best opportunity for pictures, therefore; we thought it'd be wise to return later. While walking down the street towards the Gélle Fra (Memorial of Remembrance) we surprisingly stumbled upon our first European Christmas market.
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| Needs more tuba |
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| Olaf...? |
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| Poor Santa, stuck in a globe |
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It was a week before most markets open, yet; Luxembourg City was trying to get ahead of the flood of European Weihnachtsmarkts in the coming weeks. This pleasant finding called for us to enjoy the atmosphere, getting our first Glühwein (mulled wine) of the season - from one of the German stands of course. As we sipped out of our commemorative mugs, we made our way towards the Pont Adolphe - unfortunately, it was temporarily the Pont Scaffolde. The bridge was undergoing some major renovation or cleaning, a minor disappointment, however; our attention returned to the festivities. When we left the market we found a small band playing traditional German music, a giant anthropomorphic snowman, and Santa in a snow globe.
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| Cercle-Cité |
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| Ironworks |
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| Chi-Chi's Authentic Amerimexican |
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We proceeded down Rue Chimay and stopped for lunch at a soup restaurant. Oddly enough, we were joined by the troop of winter mascots - General Snowman followed by his merry posse of penguins. After eating, we continued down the street to Cercle-Cité (Cercle Municipal) and found Chirstmas Market Part Deux (or Zwei). There was only one thing that surprised us more than the unexpected Weihnachtsmarkt, we found a Chi-Chi's - in Luxembourg City. Somehow, we weren't compelled to indulge ourselves at the famous Amerimexican establishment. We left the square and headed towards Saint Michael's Church.
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| Rue Large |
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| Chemin de la Corniche |
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| View from the walkway |
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| Small black dot on left side was actually a drone |
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| Why was there a drone in Luxembourg City...? |
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| A question for Robert Stack of Unsolved Mysteries |
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Similar to the Pont Adolphe, the church was inaccessible due to restorations. Continuing our loop of the city, we turned right down Rue Large towards Le Chemin de la Corniche, sometimes referred to as the most beautiful balcony in Europe. The view is indeed serene - colorful homes, a river, the Dräi Trier (triple gate), and Wenzelsmauer (Wenceslas Wall) are all visible from the pedestrian walkway.
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| Notre Dame altar |
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| Pipe Organ |
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| Gothic architecture |
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We made our way back to Catedrale Notre Dame and were able to go inside without disturbing any religious services. The church is yet another beautiful example of Gothic architecture. We departed the cathedral and made our way towards Palais Grand Ducal (Palace of the Grand Dukes) - stopping briefly at Place Guillaume II. The Dukes' Palace had one guard who routinely stomped his way back and forth - not much security for the country's sovereign leader (although, the guard was armed). The pageantry was entertaining, although; not as amusing as the postcards found across the street. A small souvenir vendor had an entire series of postcards featuring portraits of the Grand Ducal Family (similar to the portraits you could find at a Sears). Our brief tour of Luxembourg City was complete, we were headed home, but not before paying our respects at the Luxembourg American Cemetery.
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| Palais Grand Ducal |
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| Festive décor for the season |
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| Place Guillame II |
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Just outside the city, near the airport lies a Memorial site for American soldiers who perished during World War II - many of which died in combat during the Battle of the Bulge. While all of those buried here are to be forever remembered, this is also the burial site of General George S. Patton Jr. He died in December 1945 after injuries sustained in a car accident, and per his request - he wanted to be buried alongside his men of the Third Army.
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