Luxembourg

July 12, 2008

The following weekend, Yalu and I took a train to Luxembourg. It was quite an adventure just getting the train tickets there. We tried to book tickets two weeks in advance, but we found out that they were all booked. We even tried a different route but still to no avail. It was when we were in Brussels and trying to go to Brugge that we found out that there was a train going from Brussels to Luxembourg. The downside to this is that it would take long (because it would go up to Brussels and then down to Luxembourg) and that we have to pay the 13 euros reservation fee to go on Thalys. Despite all this, the trip was definitely worth it. The ride through the Belgium landscape was just gorgeous. There were mountains, trees, flowers.
As we crossed the bridge from the new part to the old part of the city, we were greeted by this church:

The interior of the church

Our surroundings(Lucy, you might be interested to know that all the

materials for this bridge comes from Luxembourg) notice the change in the weather...

Luxembourg used to be a fortress. Because of this, it had miles of castmates (some of which were destroyed due to a treaty). Castmates essentially are tunnels below the fortress which are used for defense. We went on a tour of one.

There were LOTS of steps

As our guide pointed out, this is an actual cannon, not a replica

At one point in our tour, we have to go outdoors. It was pouring!

After the tour, we crossed over the bridge to see this fascinating building which we(as well as the other tourists) kept taking pictures of.

A close up view

It was a bit disappointing when we found out during the tour that it was just a bank.

The fun begins when we decided to descend into the valley. To start off, it had just rained so we were both wary of where we put our feet. Then we saw this dog which came up to at least our waists. We came down to the bottom without any problem.
In the valley there is a river (right behind this tree in the foreground). Once upon a time there was a theory that if ever the fortress was invaded, they would close the gate and flood the valley. Looking at this, it seems that there is a problem with this theory. Flooding the river would take around 4 weeks.

Walking around some more we found a miniature train track...
Yalu is very excited because we saw a sign that says "gratuit" (free).

Wheeeeee

It was a little after this that we realized that we are lost.. What had seem a small circle around the fortress became a big one.

We saw the other castmates which was not part of our itinerary...
Crossing the valley again (but at a different location)..
Very relieved to find the old again and eating dinnerAnd as we are leaving: braces for trees
At the train station: why are urinals cheaper than toilets?

If you look closely, there's windmills in the horizon

Hot-air balloons over the fields...