Reconnecting with our Luxembourg Roots

While leaving Rome was heartbreaking, we didn't have much time to grieve for we were off on our next adventure, a whirlwind trip of Continental Europe. We put all of our experience and travel knowledge to the test with a plan of traveling through 4 different countries in a span of 72hours. 

We began this adventure with a train ride to Milan, the northern Italian city most known for its fashion. We spent a couple of hours here in order to visit the Milan Cathedral, a magnificent French Gothic influenced Cathedral. 

The Milan Cathedral

We then flew from Milan to one of our "homelands," Luxembourg. Luxembourg, the small (but mighty) country in between Belgium, France, and Germany, was home to our 4th great-grandfather on our Grandmother's side, and let's just say, our ancestors had great taste! From our dad's ancestral research, we found that our fourth great-grandfather's brother owned a chateau in the countryside, but unfortunately while we were there, it was going to be closed until Easter so we couldn't visit. Instead, we stayed in Luxembourg City, an unbelievably beautiful fortressed city. Now the new area of the city is home to some of the biggest banks of the world and is also one of the centers of the European Union. For those of you who don't know much about Luxembourg, we can tell you that as a small country it is doing pretty well for itself. Not only does it have some of the most beautiful landscapes we have seen in Europe (as well as one of our top cities we've visited) it has the third highest GDP in the world. It only has a population of a little over 530,000 people, 45% of whom are not Luxembourgish. It is also the only Grand Duchy in the world, with a grand duke and a royal family. We especially appreciate their motto "Mir wolle bleiwe wat mir sin" which is Luxembourgish for "We want to remain what we are." 

Luxembourg's Golden Lady

The Central Bank of Luxembourg

We spent the rest of Wednesday wandering around the old section of the city and admiring the views. On Thursday, we again walked around the city and then took a pleasant guided walking tour of the city. We visited their Grand Ducale Palace, their Our Lady of Luxembourg Notre Dame Cathedral, as well as the Grund which is a neighborhood of the city that has the most picturesque scenery. We especially enjoyed the tour because we learned a lot about the history of the country, which, throughout time, had been overrun by many of the countries and empires around it, yet it has survived through it all. 

Luxembourg's Golden Lady

Our Lady of Luxembourg Notre Dame Cathedral

The Grand Duchess Charlotte, who ruled the Luxembourg people during World War II. 

"Luxembourg" in Luxembourgish.

Luxembourg's coat of arms. 

The Grund

"We want to remain what we are."

The Grand Ducale Palace.

Overall, we were ecstatic that we had chosen on a whim to stop here. The city was beautiful and the people were extremely friendly.  We were sad that we had to leave Luxembourg so soon, for we would have loved more time in the city and in the countryside. Don't count out Luxembourg on your next trip to Continental Europe!