This kind of LUXEmbourg's for us! - 26th April 2026
- Brett Sedgwick
- May 11
- 4 min read
Hallo, from Luxembourg.
Has anyone been to Luxembourg or know of anyone who has?
Does anyone know any facts about Luxembourg??
Nuh, me neither.
But, Jen-Jen drove us here, so I’ll do my best to learn about this joint!
After our biggest drive day yet - over three hours - so we decided to stop somewhere for a break. We decided on the cute little town of Dinant - known as the “Daughter of the Meuse” as it is situated on the Meuse River. We parked Delphi in a timed carpark and walked up each side of the strongly-flowing river. Everywhere we looked there were statues of saxophones, as we discovered that the bloke who invented the sax - Adolphe Sax - was born here. True story.
But man, that guy has a lot to answer for…i.e. Careless Whispers, slow jazz, fast jazz, any jazz, Muzak, Kenny G and that shirtless steroid dude in The Lost Boys - as seen below. Don’t get me started. Also, it’s funny how his first name has fallen out of vogue. I wonder why???
Anyway, back to the main narrative.
We pulled into Camping Bon Accuiel in the Alzingen suburb of Luxembourg in the early afternoon, and the girls at reception were very friendly and were pretty amazed to see an Aussie passport.
We parked up. Chocks under the wheels, power connected, water filled, and bikes off the back. A few drinks, a baked dinner in the tiny oven, and we were happy campers.
The next day was a pearler, and the soft, spring sunshine was perfect. We booked a walking tour for 3 pm and decided to ride our bikes into the old town - a.k.a. Luxembourg City. Part of the attraction for staying at this caravan park was that the Euro Velo 5 was outside the front gate. For those that didn’t know - like me - the Euro Velo 5 is the biggest bike track in Europe and starts in Canterbury, Kent (how appropriate) and ends, six countries later, in Brindisi, Italy. It goes for over 3200 km, and we were now staying right near a section of it.
One of the receptionists told us to simply turn right, go through the park and follow the track to the city.
Sounds simple?
It wasn’t.
We got lost 20 times in the first 10 minutes and then second-guessed ourselves, turned around and got the free bus and tram into Luxembourg City (simply called Luxembourg)
Luxembourg Fast Facts
Population of about 680,000
Tiny landlocked country
50% of the workers in the city are foreign nationals and drive in each day from France, Belgium and Germany. - Hence, the free public transport - so that the workers will park and ride.
It is a Grand Duchy - i.e. it has a hereditary Head of State - The Grand Duke.
One of the richest countries in the world due to mining and commerce.
The official language is Luxembourgish, but French and German are also spoken. English is prevalent.
Our walking tour guide showed us where to eat, showed us “The Bocks” that were stone cliffs that contained rooms and tunnels - used as garrisons in every war - and showed us the Grand Duchy’s offices.
The town itself consists of the upper level - The Old Town, below that is the river, and Bohemian village called “The Grund” (The Ground),) and the other side of the valley is where the tech and financial giants have their HQ.
The town was a stunner, the people well-dressed and pretty gorgeous (well, Jen-Jen and me anyway), and the spring sunshine was energising.
We caught the tram and train back and worked out that we WERE on the right bike track, so we rode in the next day. It took us an hour and was a mix of bush trails, bike-only roads, public roads and bridges, with large sections right next to the river. It was spectacular and not to sound too wanky, but we felt FREE!
We got to ‘The Grund” and stopped at the Up and Down Bar, so-called for the elevator next door. We caught the said elevator - with bikes - to the Old Town at the top. A quick cycle before we came back down and saw the mermaid sculpture - Melusina. Our tour guide had told us about this legend, and I’ve copied it from Google AI to get it right:
“The legend of Melusina is a founding myth of Luxembourg, telling of a mermaid who married Count Siegfried in 963 AD on one condition: absolute privacy every Saturday. When curiosity compelled Siegfried to watch her through a keyhole, he discovered her fish-like tail. Horrified, he gasped, causing Melusina to vanish into the Alzette River, never to be seen again.”
Anyway, the Dude got a pic with this fishy minx and then had a local beer - a Bofferding - back at the old Up Down Bar, and Jen-Jen had a Bailey’s on ice, before the cycle home, which only took us 40 minutes this time.
We went back into town one more time to try the local delicacy Judd mat Gaardebounen (smoked pork with broad beans) and potatoes. It was ok, but very salty. A turnaround at the food markets saw us head home for the night and get ready to drive back into France.
Luxembourg was a fantastic surprise, and when anyone found out we were Aussies, they were friendly AF. The beer was good - Bofferding, Batten, and Diekirch were my favs - and the weather and people were top shelf.
Life is good, my friends.
Guess that LUXE really is for us.
Addi
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