The Luxembourgish

I originally flew into Luxembourg rather than France, as that is where the offices of my current host are located. Since I was unable to see the city at first, I was offered the opportunity of coming in for the day to experience this small country. I admit, I really knew nothing of Luxembourg before today, but after 7-8 hours of wandering its terrain feel a bit more acquainted. The city is basically a massive fortress, with deep layers of stone and earth, heralding the European military history. To my American eye, much of the architecture seemed German in appearance, and while wandering around you realize that it really is a mix of many different cultures at play. I was greeted in French most of the time, while the tourist information center rang of more German sounding accents, and the amount of tourists wandering around was astonishing. Without question, I was given a menu in English when I sat down to lunch. I spent time treading the cobblestone, popping into the Nespresso Luxembourg store to make friends with a boutique specialist, and eventually ended up on a small green train which turned out to be more of a historical tour than the typical sights and sounds. What was great about it was that I was able to go much further into the great ravine that I looked down into, but the guided tour aspect was more hilarious than anything else. You put on ear phones, choose your language, and ultimately listen to a very dramatic interpretation of Luxembourg's military history. My favorite part was that at one point my youthful obsession with filmscore came into play when I distinctly recognized the theme to the movie “Gladiator” playing in the background... When I arrived back at the starting point, it was raining cats and dogs outside, so I popped into a small cafe for yet another glass of rosé and to take advantage of the wifi access... Funny part of this experience? As I attempted to pay before catching a bus back to my host's office, a random French man began speaking to me... I didn't understand so he repeated himself and I replied “Je ne comprends pas” again, to which HE replied, “English?” I said yes, and he asked me what I was drinking. I told him I had rosé, and he asked if I wanted another one. Since I had just paid for the first one and was on my way out, he seemed a bit dim-witted, but instead of a scathing remark about how idiotic it was to try to hit on me while I was halfway out the door, I merely said, sorry I've got a bus to catch! And continued on my way... Now for my visual history of the day...