Luxembourg – Home of the Schleck Brothers (no we did not see them)

We had a lazy start to the morning as there was no scheduled activity, but we did watch the Moselle go by from our cabin again.  We “slept in” and only went to breakfast when it opened at 7:30.  After breakfast and showering, Jennifer went up on deck to enjoy the passing scenery, however it was cool and one of the crew members brought her a nice thick blanket to keep her warm (much appreciated Florin!)  We passed under one of the lowest bridges on the trip and staff members advised her that she could not stand up until we were clear of the bridge (the wheelhouse was dropped to accommodate the low clearance).

Claudia, the tour director, gave a very informative and candid presentation on Germany today, see poster below for one of the slides that was presented.  The talk was immediately followed by Bloody Mary happy hour – yeah for Jennifer!

After an early lunch, we boarded the buses for the trip to Luxembourg. 

First stop was the American Military Memorial from the Battle of the Bulge in WWII.  The grounds were immaculate and the design was fascinating.  One passenger was particularly moved, as he had fought in this battle and found his division’s movements on the maps commemorating the battle.

Next onto the city of Luxembourg, which has a long history and was particularly difficult to attack/capture due to the cliffs upon which the battlements were built (and then torn down this century).  We visited the Grand Duchal palace (which has one measly guard in the front and one in the back), the rest of the Luxembourg  army (a total of 1,000) is off on a mission in Eastern Europe (who would want to attack Luxembourg nowadays, other than an anti-capitalist due to the number of banks they have).  We also found out the two official languages of this small country are French and Luxembourgish (who knew that was a language). 

We wandered around the old town and stumbled upon…a dessert café (Relais rated)…where we had to stop for a little treat.  Steve had a Tartelette Normande (mini apple pie) and Jennifer had an Ile Flottant (soft meringue islands, floating on a sea of Crème Anglaise, topped with caramelized sugar and almonds).   We then walked back to the bus while avoiding teenagers occupied with PDA. 

Dinner was very good, the highlight was the Crème Brulee (sorry no pictures), we sat with a “new to us” couple from Vancouver and we discussed the Canadian content on the cruise, we’ve determined that 50% of the provinces are represented.  They were a well travelled couple (of course they don’t rival Aunt Lana and Uncle Leo, but who does). 

We’re now on the sundeck under a clear cloudless sky, admiring the constellations shining down from above, while enjoying a delectable glass of wine – life is rough.  In the distance, we can see the captain of the ship who looks like the dude on the back of Fishermen’s Friends cough drops. 

A picture of the pristine WWII war memorial at Luxembourg. 

Luxembourg sits atop  cliffs that have been carved away from 2 rivers.  This is a shot from one of the them.   

While a little blurry, this picture is from the presentation on Germany.  The section of the presentation was on Germany and beer drinking.  This picure is of a poster of a doctor encouraging Germans to drink beer, as it is good for your healh.  The poster outlines the benefits of drinking.  I'm sure Employer Assistance Programs would have a fit!

The yummy Iles Flottant at the cafe. 

Lego-dude looking over Luxembourg.