Which country today?

Drive 3 countries in one day... only in Europe

Away from our accommodation by 8 am and on our way to Luxembourg City, a 3 hour drive. The GPS makes navigation very easy… Caro is loving it! The Peugeot is a lovely car to drive, now that Noel has adjusted to the various new techy bits… the auto engine cut off when stopped at lights/intersections seems a bit over-promoted, as anyone who had ridden in Noel’s 1962 Kombi last year would know… it did that too!!! (The Kombi has been 'fixed', perhaps should have left it the way it was… obviously ahead of it’s time)

Arrived and parked up in Luxembourg City by lunchtime as we are booked on a bike tour at 1 pm.

Only ourselves and Paul our guide, who was a lifelong Luxembourger who was in his 60’s.. so a great knowledge of the area to pass on.

Luxembourg City is the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ( or just Luxembourg) which at 2586 square km's and a population of around 600,000  makes it one of the smallest countries in Europe. The city is built around the confluence of the Alzette and Petrusse Rivers. Originally a strategic location for the Romans it was formally acquired by Siegfried I (a Count) in 963, when cathedrals and castles were built. A fortress was built around the rocky bluffs in the 16^th century to enable defense and it became a formidable and impregnable site for any attackers. 

 Quite an amazing church, literally built against the cliff face and so small inside that the pulpit can also be seen from outside for those unable to get in.

Through varying political manoeuvre's its ownership has changed over the years involving a  number of nationalities. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 the Congress of Vienna made Luxembourg into a Grand Duchy meaning the territory is ruled by a Grand Duke or Duchess. The city fort and old town area became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994.

We rode past the Grand Dukes residence, around some of the churches, houses, forts and historic parts before reaching the new area of European Parliament. This newer area, has since the 1970’s until today, been focused on new builds and really appears quite sterile compared to the rest of the stunningly beautiful city… a shame really. Paul our guide as a local strongly bemoaned this fact also.

Luxembourg is a wealthy country, after WW2 the banking sector was attracted due to low operating taxes. The economy is still banking based along with the technology/data industry. The tax for outside companies must be low as they have all the brand shops and lots of shoppers. Fuel is also cheaper than elsewhere in Europe, some 25 cents less per litre! So it appears the philosophy is to be quantity but they definitely appear to have quality also. Luxembourg has one of the highest wealth per capita for Europe, according to google it's the 2nd richest country in the world.

Other interesting facts is that almost half the countries residents are foreigners. Voting is compulsory for all citizens between the ages of 18 and 74 years but foreign residents  (about 45%) are not allowed to vote. 87% of it's citizens are Catholic. The Prime Minister is gay and  euthanasia has been legalized. So it all makes for a vibrant, bustling, trendy city.

After the bike tour, and then an ice cream, we headed to Saarburg in Germany for tonight's accommodation (but not before filling up our empty fuel tank on cheaper gas before crossing the border!!)…. So it’s Guten Tag now rather than Bonjour….

Saarburg is a small German town set along the Leuk River, which flows into the Saar river which is large enough for boat transport. The town is overshadowed by vineyard covered hills and is an historic town of at least 13^th century. It has the remnants of medieval gates, towers, a castle, waterwheel and a Glockenspiel. A nice place to spend the night… into Wiener Schnitzel country!!