The little writer: travelling

19 April 2014

Stop No. 2!

Step by step I'm completing the trefoil of Benelux. Belgium - check. The Netherlands - check. Luxembourg - check. Noticed the order? Yeah, I know... Anyway, today I'd like to write about my trip to Luxembourg :).

Luxembourg is really like a cute puppy - once you look at it, you can't take your eyes of it. Being so small (city population of app 103,000; area 52 km²) a city tour can be comfortably managed in one day. Unfortunately, Luxembourg failed to win the weather gods' favour but I'm sure you have plenty of sunshine at home so you'd better cease to hope for a sunny day. Simply said don't wait for the rain to stop to get out. (A sunny day equals national holiday)

Casually enjoying cake and coffee

with my fellows at the European Commision ;-D

What I noticed immediately - Luxembourg is literally soaked in history (its grounds were laid in the 10th century). However, it managed to infiltrate modernism quite well, too.

It’s a bit of a polyjuice potion of languages and ethnicities. You come across French, German, English, and the domestic Luxembourgish. Being the seat of important European Institutions there’s huge immigration from all over Europe (and certainly from all over the world).

Once you reach a bridge it promises beautiful views since a deep valley runs across the city. Woods and parks are whenever you go.

If you are a fan of chocolate then, my friend, this is the land of your dreams. It definitely learnt a thing or two from its bigger trefoil fellows.

Definitely not sisters. Coincidence!

If you think you'll need two suitcases for your journey to Luxembourg - one for clothes and stuff, and the other would be filled with money for your ultimate survival I can assure you that it's really not that bad. We managed to find good accommodation for a reasonable price (app 32 euros/night including breakfast, if you need to know, hostels are even cheaper). Besides you can feel free to add at least one star to your notion of what a hotel is going to look like (meaning 2 stars in Luxembourg equal 3-4 in Slovakia...).

On the other hand, you may consider eating a bit of a luxury. Fortunately, everything is so close that you rarely need to use public transport, so you can save here.

I would say that people there are not well…wild party animals to put it as you can hear your voice echo walking through town in the evening. But knowing which bars are worth visiting you will find a lively and joyful atmosphere. And happy hours.

Luxembourgers have a peculiar sense of humour: See for yourselves.


Vomit bag on bus

Choose one of your own liking (save up from 1 800 to 12 600 euros and you can brighten up your loved one's day ;-))

Art...or something.

Minimalism

Fun fact: Luxembourg is the last grand duchy in the world! The picture on the right shows the Grand Duke Henri's humble dwelling. :-)

Finally, in Luxembourg people apparently invite you to peek into their homes because they very often don't have any curtains. (Although if you were to do it, you can't be my friend anymore. Sorry...)

To sum up: A HUGE THANK YOU to you, Sis, for your hospitality, professional guidance, and all the fun. And to you, my dear sis, for sharing this experience with me and completing my sentences. Spending a few days in Luxembourg was truly magical!Go and visit it. Period.

27 January 2014

I feel like Lou Bega!

A.K.A. I've got some serious travelling to do...

When I realised how many of my friends, to be specific "girlfriends", where out there, scattered in the world, I really could relate to Mr Bega singing I got a girlfriend everywhere!

First stop THE NETHERLANDS

There are some things I've noticed about this country

1. It's freaking windy there (not even stepping properly on the Dutch land, right on the top of the stairs from the airplane it was as clear as >the cloudy< day)

2. Something went wrong with German and English (watching the flight safety instruction video, listening to conversations in the shuttle bus from the airport; I actually enjoyed the sound of the language, even felt proud when I recognized some "mispronounced" German or English words :-))

3. Bikes. An overwhelming lot of bikes. (it's impossible to recall when I saw the first one, but after a few minutes on the bus the two-wheel friend is in every view)

4. Awfully nice people (the bus driver wishes you a nice day, I mean, come on!)

5. I weight 2,5 loafs of cheese :-D

My journey started with quite a few butterflies in my stomach. Not only had I to travel on my own by plane, catch the right bus, find the train station in an unknown city and get on the right train but there was also one thing I could do absolutely nothing about. A thick, heavy, solid, and especially unnerving fog. Not just a fog. It was a fog fog. Don't take me wrong, I like the fog. But this was far over the top. If you still think I'm exaggerating, then imagine the Vienna airport (or basically any airport) - there is a gianourmous 109m high Control Tower. Now imagine it's not there...not that easy, right? I haven't seen even its tiniest light. There was an announcement that the flight to Krakow was cancelled due to bad weather conditions. So there I was trying to keep calm and carry on. As the misty veil hung for a few minutes in front of my window (I actually got a window seat, yay!), we were ascending when suddenly - bright blue sky, beautiful sun resting on the white duvet. And after sipping a very luxurious cola (the price rocketed sky-high) I felt much more at ease. Luckily, no more travel-trouble till the end.

In the few days I'd got to spent with Deni, we managed to see a lot. The Hague (city tour, Madurodam - Miniature Park), Leiden (city tour, Uni buildings), Amsterdam (the whole old town on foot). The architecture, the canals, the colourful flowers, the well-kept environment, and not to forget about the clogs in every size, colour, and material you can imagine. I think that the photos will speak for themselves.