Side trip to Luxemburg

Well, it’s March, and for my husband and me, that means our annual trip to France. Each year during spring break we spend a week in France. We chose a different destination, but always stop to visit friends in Normandy.

A few years ago, we decided that our destination would be Strasbourg. Strasbourg today is a French city, but it is rich in German tradition because throughout its history, the city has been both French and German. Whenever we travel in France, we always rent a car to get around. So this particular year, we were driving from Normandy to Strasbourg.

We spent two glorious days in the city. We toured the cathedral and took a walking tour of the historic district. There were boat cruises down the Ill river and where we gazed at the beautiful architecture. We dined on bratwurst and crepes. It was wonderful!

Our journey home was to include a drive to The Netherlands so that we could spend the final few days of our trip with our daughter and son-in-law who live just outside of Amsterdam. As with all of our driving adventures, my husband takes the wheel and I take the atlas. He’s the pilot, and I am the official navigator.

As we were driving, I was looking at the map and noticed that the road we were on was not very far from Luxemburg. Luxemburg is one of the smallest countries in Europe, but it is a francophone country, and so we discuss Luxemburg in my French classes. From looking at the map, it seemed like we were less than an inch from there!

Somehow I managed to persuade my husband to take a side trip to Luxemburg. “What will we do in Luxemburg?” my husband asked. I told him that the capital was Luxemburg City, so we would start there.

Luxemburg, like its namesake country, is not very big. We followed the signs to the city center, and then found a sign that pointed us to the tourism office. I gushed when I told the woman at the desk that I was a French teacher and that this was our first visit to Luxemburg. Then I asked her what there was to do. She paused for a moment, trying think, and then said “Well, we have a church…and I guess the Duke’s palace.” That was all that she could come up with!

So we saw the church, and the Duke’s palace. You can only look at the outside of the palace because the Duke actually lives there! We had lunch in a lovely little café and strolled through the streets of the city. In just a few hours time, we had done what we could in Luxemburg and headed north to the Netherlands.

Our adventures in rental cars in France continue. I will always be the navigator and the translator! I wonder what surprises this year’s trip will bring us, but it’s sure to be a bon voyage!