My Stop in Luxembourg

I had a rough time getting to sleep last night, there was a lot of commotion down Grand Rue. It was a Friday night so that's part of the reason. Also, the people upstairs were noisy and one of the neighbors was playing music until 2am. I woke up around 6am to the sound of cars going down Grand Rue. Generally it's blocked to traffic, but in the mornings it opens up for service trucks. The last thing is that I'm now having dreams in French. Crazy!

I gathered my things and Deb walked me down to the train station. I hopped on the train to a town called, "Metz" where I transferred for a train to Luxembourg. Specifically, I got off in Luxembourg City. Here is were I would spend the afternoon. I checked my bag at the station and headed off to explore the city. The lady at the tourist office was pretty blunt. She said, "The only place worth seeing in Luxembourg is the Old Town". I don't think she said it because she probably gets the same question all day long, "What should I see?". I honestly believe that she was serious. When I did a little research on Luxembourg City I had a hard time finding anything. On some travel websites they give a history of the town, but under the "What to See" section I generally found a blank area. Even my main man Rick Steves didn't offer a whole lot. I thought, "If I'm not feeling it them I'm going to head out.....give it the ole Naples treatment".

I headed to the Old Town and to get there I had to walk across Viaduct Bridge. The bridge provided an amazing view of the Petrusse Valley. Now that it's Spring all the trees are starting to bloom so it was very colorful down in the valley. I walked along the edge of the Old Town and along the Petrusse Valley where I got an incredible view of the Adolphe Bridge which is pretty much the architectural symbol of Luxembourg. I headed over to the Bock Casemates which is like a cave system, but it was locked and blocked off. Oh Well! I ventured into Old Town instead.

Petrusse Valley

Adolphe Bridge

Old Town was nice, but it really got cool once you got to Place d'Armes which is where you'll find a big platz. The Platz had a bandstand in the middle and all around it was restaurants that were lined up next to each other and all their tables were pushed out into to the platz. The place was full of people eat, drinking, and socializing. Pretty cool! Even McDonalds had it's own outdoor seating among the classy stuff too.

After walking the Old Town some more I made my way back toward the Petrusse Valley. I walked down into the valley and under the Adolphe Bridge. The thing is huge! I also wish I could be there at night to see it all lit up. Again the Petrusse Valley was so colorful and you are dwarfed by the shear size of the thing. I took a long walk through the valley and even found an awesome place to do some ice-blocking. Yay!

I headed back up out of the valley and found a place to grab a sandwich for a late lunch. I then picked up my bag and hopped on the train. One final thought on Luxembourg: It's a pretty cool town and very picturesque. However, I got a really good feel for the place in just one afternoon. You could easily spend a day, but not much more. There really isn't a whole lot, but I think the travel stuff I have read on Luxembourg doesn't do it justice. Cool place! Well anyway, on my way to Mons there was a stop over in Namur to change trains.

The directions I got to my Mons hostel was in French, but I thought I could figure it out. I find where the directions lead me and stop. "Hmm, I don't see a hostel. Oh, the street name doesn't match. I must be in the wrong place." I walk around the area looking my street and then back track to see how I might have followed the directions wrong. After about 30-minutes I decide to head back to the train station to find a map. Once there I was unable to acquire a map. So, I call the hostel. The lady says, "Walk out of the train station, go through the park so you are facing the church. Turn left. You can't miss us." I said, "I was just over there and I didn't see you". She says, "That's where we are". I get off the phone. I walk straight, across the park, face the church, turn left....and I walk. I walk about 4-5 blocks and there is no sign of this place. I call again and say, "I still don't see you" she says, "You went through the park? Faced the church? Then turned left?" I replied, "Yes". I said, "What does the building look like?" and she says, "Gray", "Is there a sign out front?" "No. I will come look for you." I walk back toward the church and look for someone standing out front of a gray building. I don't see anything. I stand at a big cross street near the church as I look around and wait. In 10-15 minutes I call back. She answers. I say, "It's me again...." Interrupting she says, "I'll come get you" and then quickly hangs up. I just hangout next to the church and wait. I wait some more. I'm about to call again when I see her coming toward me. "Follow me" she says. I didn't say a word. As we are walking she says, "sometimes people get lost". I didn't say word. We arrive at the hostel. So, now I can officially rant. Her directions were way off! Facing the church you turn left. On the next street you turn right. On the next street you turn left. The hostel is on the left directly on the corner. So, remember when I was following the street signs and I stopped and realized that the street names didn't match? Yep, the hostel was right there. Had there been a sign....maybe I would have found it. Yes, the building is gray...and with no windows either. How they stay in business I do not know. I was pretty cranky by this point. I was Al Bundy and she was Peg. I didn't want anything to do with her. She checked me in as I stood there answering each question very concisely. I went up to my room. Grabbed my computer and booked another hostel for the next two days. I was considering staying there for the next two nights and use Mons as my home base, but I was pretty frustrated in my effort to find this place. Plus, Brussels would make a better home-base anyway in terms of location. After, I say, "Matt, you're a bit cranky again.....you sir need to eat. You're back in beer country so have a beer and you'll feel better."

I walked out of the hostel, turned left, and in a block I was in a huge platz surrounded with restaurants and people enjoying their dinner in the square. Such a cool town! Very lively, colorful, and joyful. I found a place that served food and beer. I sat outside in the square. In Belgium it is perfectly acceptable to speak English, but in Mons nobody speaks it. Not even a little. I order a burger and fries because everything else on the menu was far over my budget. I also get beer, "Gueze Peche". My beer comes out first. Good beer! Then my dinner. It was literally a hamburger and fries. The fries were stuffed inside the burger. It came with one other European necessity. A big bowl of mayonnaise! I say, "I think I need another beer". I order a "Chimay Blue". It was awesome! My favorite Belgium beer thus far.....especially at 9 percent. Wow! It hits ya! Anyway, I drink my Chimay and I eat my mayo-fry burger. It was actually good! The Mayo here tastes so different than at home. It is sweeter in taste, has a smoother consistency, and there is a good flavor to it. Otherwise, I'm not a big mayo fan.

After dinner I head back to the hostel happy (full of Chimay) and sit at the bar. Peg looks at me and you can tell I make her nervous. I say, "When you order a burger and fries in Belgium is it customary to put the fries inside the burger?" She laughs and says, "No, I've never heard of that". I said, "Well, then no wonder the guy looked at me funny when I ordered a burger and fries!" She laughs. I continue, "I apologize if I came off grumpy earlier. I've been traveling all day and hadn't eaten dinner yet. I'm much happier after I've had food and beer." She replies, "Sometimes people get lost". Well said!

Mons Platz

My Burger and Fries

I hang around at the bar drinking my "Duvel" and on the other side of the room is a big group of younger adults. They all leave at once and one girl is left by herself. She looked abandoned. I motioned for her to join me. Her name was, "Alselma" and she was from Turkey. I asked, "Why don't you join your friends?" and then she explained that she was Muslim and that she didn't drink. We talked about Turkey for a while and I told her about my friend Murat who was born right outside of Istanbul and all the places he told me to visit in Turkey. She told me about her boyfriend Murat and how he was studying Tourism. She was a nice girl to chat with for the evening. She seemed disappointed that I was leaving in the morning and that our chatting was over. Sadly, as I have said before, you meet a ton of people......you also have to say goodbye to a ton of people.

Well, I turned to Peg and said, "Is there a good place to get waffles in the morning". She had a straight face when I asked and it gradually grew to a full grin. It was like the Grinch, but more mischievous and not as much cynical. Anyway, just from her expression....I KNEW there was a good place to go in town.

In the morning, I'm having waffles!