It’s not so small as a city-state, but Luxembourg is a tiny country. It’s only around 65 miles (104 km) to drive from north to south, and it’s shorter from east to west. Despite its size, it’s got more than 70 castles to visit, and the capital, which shares a name with the country, is the investment banking center of Europe. It’s second only to the US in terms of investment volume.
Outside the city, the terrain has notable elevation changes, even if the highest point in the country is less than 1900′ (560 m). Sometimes-narrow roads wind their way through rolling hills filled with cattle and a fair number of sheep. At times, the meadows are consumed by forest, as is the case around the Mullerthal region, known as Luxembourg’s “Little Switzerland.” A full tour of the major sights in this area can be had by traversing the 112 km (~70 mi) Mullerthal Trail.
To get a feel for the country in a short amount of time, the first day was split between a visit to Vianden Castle and a (much shorter than 112 km) hike over a section of the Mullerthal trail. The next day included a brief tour of the city before heading back to Belgium.
An AirBnB in Diekirch served as a base to take a bus toward Vianden in the morning, and two more toward Mullerthal in the afternoon. To reduce the length of this post, more about Diekirch will be included with the next (and last) day in Luxembourg.
One interesting thing to note is that there was at most one other person at any given time on the 15-passenger bus to Vianden. It’s odd to think about scheduling transit in a system that has no ticket data to track, and where every ride is at a 100% loss because it’s all free. It mostly seems to be over-allocated.
While it was hard not to pity the tourists who arrived on a paid, private bus an hour later, it was nice being the only person at the castle fifteen minutes before opening. Hooray for photos without a mob of tourists in the way.
Vianden Castle
This is known to be one of the most picturesque castles in the country, and it didn’t disappoint. It underwent several phases of construction from the 11th – 14th centuries, but was in a terrible state by the 20th. In 1820, it was auctioned by Willem I of the Netherlands to help finance the kingdom that had just regained independence a few years earlier. The buyer apparently sold everything he could for a profit, right down to the doors, windows, and even the roof. Part of the current museum display shows the restoration work that began in 1966 and wasn’t finished completely until 1992. The result is a spectacular look into the past.
Mullerthal
To restrict this entry to a palatable length, pictures from the hike will have to follow in the next post.