Luxembourg

This weekend I traveled down to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After a three hour train ride, I hopped on a 45 minute bus ride to the town of Echternach, on the German border. Luxembourg, at least in that area, seemed to alternate between rolling farmland and mountain-y forests. After checking into my hotel I left to go hiking on the Mullerthal Trail. It was BEAUTIFUL! The part of the trail I hiked was about 8 kilometers, going from Echternach to another town called Berdorf. It started by making you walk up about three, rocky Bascom Hills, then over a bunch more rocks, and finally through some large rock formations to a smoother path and into the village of Berdorf.

This is the main square in Echternach—a small town which seems to attract a lot of hikers and bikers (both bicycle and motorcycle).

After climbing up a steep incline, there was a great town and Germany across the river.

On the trail…

At the end of trail you have to walk through a wheat field (with cat head-shaped cloud!) to get to Berdorf, where you can take a bus back to Echternach. Unfortunately, the bus only comes once an hour, and one was pulling out as I walked towards the bus stop…leaving me to wait at a cafe with no reading material (a travesty) until the next one.

Right next to the town is the Sure River, which is also the border between Germany and Luxembourg—so I went to Germany! (for approximately 30 seconds)

On Sunday I returned to Luxembourg City. It has an upper town and a lower town. The view from the Corniche balcony (right) is supposed to be the most beautiful in Europe. It shows the old Bock casemates (left side of picture), which are tunnels built into the limestone that served as a fortress/prison starting in the 1100’s. The casemates, and the Grund neighborhood in the lower town are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

There was a concert going on in Place d’Armes, one of the main squares, and they were playing classical music, including the Nutcracker Suite!

So, that in a nutshell, was my weekend! I’d love to go back to the Mullerthal forest, but I think I’m good on Luxembourg City. Coming up this week- Belgian National Day on Wednesday, when, apparently, quite a celebration takes place downtown!

Heat Wave

Yes, there was an official heat wave declared in Brussels. Of course, this is the same weekend I decide to go trekking all over town. I stayed hydrated, but had to take it easy on Sunday and hide in the Royal Art Museum where I knew there’d be air conditioning. I really wanted to go to a free jazz concert in Brussels Park after, but I was on the verge of death so I went home and took a nap instead.

However, I did see a lot of cool things on Saturday. First I went down to Place Flagey and the Cafe Belga. I ordered the breakfast (yes, the breakfast. There’s really only one in France and Belgium, and it consists of a hot drink like coffee, a juice of your choice, and a viennoiserie (i.e., a croissant or pain au chocolat).

The cafe is across the street from the étangs d’ixelles, or the ponds of Ixelles (name of the neighborhood). I actually saw two swans, and a million ducks.

I also walked up Rue de la Régence towards Brussels Park. This area is actually really close to the Embassy. The picture below is of the Place Royale. Trams are actually really nice in Brussels. The metro system is too extensive, so you have to use the trams and buses as well. I think they’re a lot nicer than going underground to the metro. Like a tour bus at 1/15 the cost :)

Here’s one of the entrances to the Brussels Park. Lions and, I think, King Leopold 2. Belgium still has a king and queen, which means they’re pretty freaking awesome.

This thinker is chilling in the Justice Palace, a colossus of marble that is unfortunately undergoing repairs and very ugly from the front.

I just liked this picture, taken off the Place Royale. The sky! You can kind of tell how the street is on a slight hill. Much of Brussels is on a hill, not large ones, but helpful for navigation. By the Justice Palace there is an elevator down because there’s such a steep drop. Most of the time you don’t really notice the hills though.

That’s all I know for now folks. I’m going to a roundtable talk tomorrow night for work, so I doubt I’ll get around to seeing any thing new until Wednesday. And then this weekend I’m going to Luxembourg!

Important Discovery

I went for a walk around my neighborhood and made not one, but two important discoveries- ICE CREAM. 1 euro per scoop! TWO ice cream places, conveniently located almost on my walk from the metro. This is a revolution. Sadly I only had 65 cents in my pocket...a very sad 65 cents that wasn't enough for ice cream. Tomorrow!

In addition to ice cream, there are two free BBQs I plan on attending this week- tomorrow and Saturday. The first is just for interns and summer hires, the second for everyone at work.

Yum fooooood!

Antwerp

Well, dear readers, I wrote a whole post and then managed to delete it. Take two.

Today I went to Antwerp, in the Flemish speaking part of the country north of Brussels. Explored the city center, checked out the castle, ate some Belgian waffle, and took in the Diamond Museum. It always seems to weird to me that a country as small as Belgium can have such a strong rift between two languagues!

First glance at Brussels

Today, after getting some much needed groceries and indulging in a few sale items at the shops (every store seems to have sales going on this weeked), I took the metro over to the Grand Place area and walked around for awhile.

People can actually have backyards here (as opposed to Paris). Also, just in my neighborhood I've seen a lot more parking available than I ever saw in Paris.

Kriek- aka Cherry Beer- is the greatest thing ever. Tastes like cherry pop, so of course its my new favorite drink. Had to take a break after the crowds at the Grand Place and Rue Neuve (large shopping street, so of course packed on a Saturday afternoon) got to be too much.

Brussels is apparently famous for the cartoon murals it has all over the city. I found this goofy one in a side street.

The Grand Place. I thought there'd be more cafes, but I really just saw two or three. And a lot of tourists. I don't think I'll be hanging out here, but it was good to see.

I've noticed a couple of good things about Brussels. One, people dress more casually than Paris so I'm not feeling constantly underdressed. The metro is easy to navigate, but the streets really confuse me (none of them really like to follow a straight line). And the mix of French and Flemish languages is interesting. Confusing when everything is written twice, once in each language, but its fun to try to guess who will be speaking what when you pass them on the street.

And that's it folks. I have to finish up my research project from home so I can FINALLY turn it in. Ciao.

La Belgique

La Sconita is back in business...this time north of Paris in the lovely old city of Brussels. Seeing as I spent my whole day in work and yesterday at my host-family's country house, I haven't actually seen much of the city yet. I plan to rectify that somewhat tomorrow after work.

Anne picked me up at the airport yesterday and we set off for their country house where they were having a family reunion. Twelve sun-soaked, French-filled and exhausting hours later we headed back to Brussels, where I mostly just fell asleep. Right now I'm in my friend's room, but at the end of the week will move into an apartment downstairs that's currently occupied by another student. It has its own kitchen, bathroom, and yard :)

I made it to my internship today without a problem. I was very happy to note that the buildings are next to a lovely park- le parc de bruxelles. I walked around my neighborhood a bit after work (we work from 9-6 every day like the EU buildings), but was too tired to go far.

18 Days

18 days left until I head back on that nine hour flight to the States. I realized that it was only 18 days after visiting my friend Whit in Aix-en-Provence this weekend and getting really homesick for the first time. Being with her reminded me of all the good things going on right now in Madison, all the people I haven't seen for three or more months. However, after counting the days and seeing that surprisingly small number, I refuse to give in any longer to homesickness. I only have 18 days left in France! I still have museums to visit and cafés to test out and neighborhoods to explore. Thanks to my amazingly light courseload, I will be able to accomplish many of those things. I better get started!

Aix-en-Provence

At the beach in Les Calanques

Me and Whittles