Travel with Manfred

Travelogues from around the world

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document without a fee, provided that the person conspicuously and appropriately publishes on each copy the appropriate copyright notice and these terms and conditions for copying, distribution, and modifications. Changing this document or charging a fee for distribution or using this document for a financial profit is not allowed. Including this document in a publication that is for sale is not permitted.

This document solely expresses the author's current opinions. It in no way expresses the opinion of any other legal entity. This document does not claim to be correct, complete, or factual. Reading it is at your own risk.

Copyright © 1995 by Manfred P.. All rights reserved.

Oct. 7, 1995

Luxembourg

Where Languages Coexist

by

Manfred P.

Keywords: Luxembourg, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

Luxembourg must have seen a lot of wars and battles during its existence. Fortresses form the key characteristics of the city. Today the fighting is over except for the drivers trying to find a rare and precious parking spot.

In the last years Luxembourg has steadily gained recognition and awareness. This "sudden" popularity is fueled in part by the European Union. But also world organizations like UNESCO have honored Luxembourg by declaring it "City with World Heritage". Some of the money spent in Luxembourg for the EU was definitely misplaced. In my humble opinion, the ugliest building in the city is the European Centre, a concrete, square building with 20 or so floors. The building that can be seen from anywhere in the city due to its size doesn't fit in at all. It's too tall besides being an esthetic eyesore. But there is plenty of other beauty to make up for it. Luxembourg also has named itself Ville Europeeenne de la Culture 1995 (European City of All Cultures) and flags with that logo are accompanying you wherever you stroll. There is no escape.

Several of the fortress structures make use of the natural gorge that divides the city to form a barrier so tough and tall that enemies could not overcome it. The gorge is some 150 feet deep and crossed by two dozen bridges. Considering the size of the city it has an awful lot of bridges: 50 in total. To give you a feel for the size of the old portion of town north of the Grund, as the bottom of the gorge is called, it suffices to say you can walk around it in a circle in half an hour.

The Grund itself has only few private buildings. It is home for some historic defense structures dating back centuries and a completely desolate military hospital. The Benedictine monks relocated their abbey to the Grund after it burned down four to five hundred years ago. Due to the river and the forested walls forming the gorge, the whole Grund feels like a park even though it is just another part of town. There are plenty of places to relax down here. The dark, brownish water of the Alzette river flows by slowly. The water looks terribly cold. The side arm formed by the Petrusse is the portion that is visible from the Casino and the Plaza de la Constitution. On the way down I stumbled onto the Quirinuskapelle, a chapel from the middle ages, or at least it looks that old. It was a fascinating discovery. The Grund has many moods. On evening I crossed it on one of the main bridges and look down. The height was actually scary. Small wads of fog down on the bottom were adding mystique and the fear of the unknown. At that time I wasn't too sure if should even walk down the foot paths. I did but all I found was wet trails and solitude. Certainly not a happening place after sunset on a wet fall day.

The latest motto of the city Luxembourg is "1000 years of history in 100 minutes." While some of the history is 1000 years old, most buildings that are around today are about 300 years old. The motto, though, comes from a 100-minute walk labeled Wenzel Walk. I didn't have enough spare time to do the walk; so I never found out why it is named like that. I assume it's named after some royalty with the same name. Most likely they explained that in high school history, but back then it seemed somewhat remote and of less interest. The best known royalty in town is the Grand Dutchess Charlotte. Not only is there a boulevard named after her but there is also a statue in the heart of downtown. Right next to it are the Foreign Ministry and the seat of the government. I sneaked a look inside the Foreign Ministry and had to giggle. The "big" conference room wasn't even twice as big as the "big" conference room in our company.

Most of the old buildings are occupied by banks today. The banks at the Plaza de Metz are a good example. Banking in general seems to be the biggest business in the city. Many people claim that it is the new Switzerland. I don't know about that. But I do know why my interest rates are so low. All these banks are housed in palaces and other gorgeous real-estate. No wonder that there is little return on investment left for average folks like you and me. It is unusual to work in buildings like these. The workspaces are less logically arranged in comparison to structures designed and built for corporate USA. Some offices can only be reached via twisty stairways, and the walls are sometimes a yard thick. Nonetheless, interior design is from the finest as far as I could tell. Plush carpets, pieces of art hanging from the walls, and lusters instead of neon light. I guess corporate life needs to be good in a world where most employees will never change their employer. Personally I would take away some of their glitter and use the money to pay bonuses to make life more competitive and more rewarding for the contributors. People there will be glad to know that I have no say. Business life is very orderly. 8 to 5 with a lengthy lunch break with French cuisine and wine. Work problems are discussed at length. Discussions are part of life here. Decision making less. Decisions making is in many cases delegated downwards. While this is very democratic and gives power to the lowest layers, in also leads to ill defined directions.

So much about corporate life. Private life is better than I expected. Taxes are lower than in all three neighboring countries and to my delight shops are often open even on Saturdays, a not-so-common thing in Europe. Restaurants are plenty and the cuisine is great. French is dominant but Italian, Belgian, and German cuisine are equally well presented. Above all I love the Belgian beer. The winter evenings must have been extra cold, so they have created this dark strong beer. To follow the tradition one would have to drink it out of a glass with a wide opening, a glass that looks more like a thick cognac glass than a beer glass. It's nearly three times as strong as the standard US beer. The bakeries are also excellent offering a wide variety of bread from my favorite dark German breads to French baguettes. Fast food is not en vogue. I can't recall ever seeing a capital that had fewer McDonalds than Luxembourg. I only spotted one Mickey D and no 7-Elevens, KFCs, Burger Kings, etc. Really amazing.

A whole bunch of languages are spoken. Most of the locals speak at least two to three. The protocol for finding the language for a conversation is usually the following: The initiator starts in the language of his choice which in most cases is French. The responder replies in her or his preferred language if she/he doesn't feel comfortable with the initiator's choice. The initiator will then switch to that or start with a third choice if still no match has been found. French and German are the languages that are obvious given that these are the languages spoken by the neighbors. But Luxembourgers have their own culture and pride and with it they have created their own language: Luxembourgerish, a modified mix of German and French. If you speak German you can understand about a third of the Luxembourgerish. The official business language is English. There is a big difference though between "official" and reality. Most signs are in French and Luxembourgerish. If signs are only in one language it is always French. I haven't noticed too many signs in English. The currency is Belgian. The TV has 30 stations evenly split between all four languages, well I guess with the exception of Luxembourgerish where there are fewer. Luxembourg is quite a powerhouse in European broadcasting. RTL (Radio and Television Luxembourg or something similar) is well known, especially for reruns and barely dressed women in late night shows. European advertising is breaking new ground too. While it always was okay to show naked woman to sell anything from soap to clothing, this time I saw for the first time a couple having sex (the real thing, not just hints) to advertise wooden paneling based on the well known "I think I pain the ceiling beige" joke.

From this short experience I would call the people friendly but not excessively warm hearted at the first encounter. Things are without exception more expensive than in the US and the rest of Europe. For the most part I'd say prices are an average of 30 percent more than equivalent US prices. I didn't have time for any night life but from the short walk around town on Friday evening, I discovered that the city has a large number of small restaurants, sometimes three within 50 yards. The number of bars is much smaller, one every three blocks maybe. In that brief stroll I didn't find a single dance club. Karaoke hasn't caught on yet, and I am sure it never will.

After working my behind off during the week I used Saturday for a round trip through some rural areas. Despite the fact that I drove only 100 miles I saw more chateaus and palais than I could digest in a single day. It started out with Schoenfels and Hollenfels. Then came many more. By the end of the day I saw Beaufort, one the best know castles in Luxembourg. As the name indicates it is a beautiful fort located next to a pond with swans and surrounded by a forest. All I could say by then was "Oh yeah, nice". The highlight of day clearly was Esch sur Sure. The Sure lake is a picturesque recreational area without any tourists, actually it felt deserted. Just a few people were out to enjoy the sunshine while walking around or surf on the lake. The jewel of all villages around the lake is Esch. It has two forts, one of them is currently being restored, that one can explore. The walls are huge, the windows narrow, the old chapel even has some broken stained glass windows left. As a kid I would have loved it even more, but even now I was delighted. Best of all was the view. I was lucky to get a sunny afternoon. From up there I watched to village with narrow crooked roads and the people leisurely strolling around. I had to assume that most of them where on their way to or from the cafe. The chestnuts were falling from the trees exposing the shiny brown nuts that made perfect objects to be thrown into the river for no good reason, just to pass time. They had perfect size and weight to go for record breaking distances in a competition between you and yourself.

Another great area, well worth visiting, is the Mullerthal around Larochette. The air was crisp and fresh. As clean as the water in the creek. After all the rain it was no surprise to see the cows and sheep feast on the green fields. They feasted on the grass and I feasted my eyes on them and the surroundings. A win-win situation. The road is windy and works its way along the creek and in and out of forests. Now and then a village popped up, a handful of houses, an old church, a few farms, maybe a chateau or some other old building acting as a reminder of the rich-and-famous of days gone by. After the scenery was downgraded due to my short attention span, I enjoyed the twisty road through the refreshing rural countryside. With no traffic and fresh air whirling around my head it was a pleasure to speed through this uncharted territory. The windows rolled down, nothing on my mind, I inhaled road and scenery all at once.

You got to try it yourself. Bon route.