Luxembourg!

Don't ask me why, but I have always wanted to go to Luxembourg! Some people have said, "Luxembourg, really?" or the Croatian family I ran into on Place d' Paris (Plaza de Paris) waiting for dinner when I told them we live in The Netherlands, "What are you doing here in Luxembourg?". Needless to say, I was super excited to only be 2.5 hours from this beautiful place and to finally make it there to visit! I totally over planned the trip and got super stressed out when we got to Luxembourg City (the capitol) later than I had planned, Sean had to intervene and tell me we were on vacation and to chill out. So I did and so glad I did!

First a little history of Luxembourg: Luxembourg is first mentioned around 963 as a castle on the Bock rock that was exchanged to Siegfried, Count of Ardennes.  It became a strong hold through many wars and changed hands many times (Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria) before finally gaining its own independence in 1867.  It was later occupied again during the 2 world wars and was liberated from the Germans in 1944 by the Americans (yay us!).  Even though the town is very old, there are very few really old buildings (pre-1700's i would say) because the town had been town down an rebuilt many times because of either fires, wars, or changing of hands.  It is the only Grand Duchy in the world with their monarchy headed by the Grand Duke. It is a tri-lingual country, which everyone learning Limbourgish, French and German.  I think that is amazing! Many also speak english so they speak 4 languages!

Onto the trip! We got in a little late so decided to just walk into the center (10ish minutes) and go to the tourist office to figure everything out.  The people at the tourist office were super nice and very helpful! Instead of doing a museum or tour (we had been in the car for a bit) we decided to just walk around and found the Chemin de la Corniche which was a beautiful path on that is very well known and pictured quite a bit. It winds down from the centre to the Grund, which was considered the suburbs back in the day.  Now it is known for its cafe's and music!

A dream come true!

Daddy and Bella looking down onto Grund 

A good smile! 

My baby girl!

Bella wanted to go down a path and we came upon the Bock Casemates (which was below use in the rocks) which I totally missed in the travel book.  So, Bella gets points for this one.  The Bock Casemates was once Count Siegfried's fort around the city (the city sits on top of these rocks, remember!).  It was amazing to see what had been carved out of the rock and build inside.  It has been used as many different things, even a shelter for the locals during the world wars.  Most of the casemates had been destroyed through history to make Luxembourg a more neutral city, so I can't image what the original fortress looked like! The price was really good but I would not advice on a stroller, we brought ours cause the lady said it would be ok and it really was not.  The kids had a great time and both ran all over the place.

In one of the casemate openings

One of the Cannons

Admiring the view of the Grund!

 We were a little sweaty and tired and set off for some dinner.  We came to the main square, Place d'Armes and through any restaurant would be good here. We were kinda wrong.  We picked Le Boucherie (The butcher) which looked like a good steak place.  I would say for the price it was not spectacular.  The best part was the glass of beer that I got that was a big as my head!

Beer as big as my head 

My lamb chops, which weren't bad 

Sean's mixed grill with some over cooked meat.

 We called it a day and got some much needed rest.  The next morning it was pouring, and luckily the sights we wanted to see where inside.  We promised Bella we could ride this train (Petrusse Express) which gave a tour of the Grund area as well as an audio tour in the language of your choice. It was interesting 50 minutes, Zerek was done after about 30 so that wasn't so much fun.

Bella and the train

 Cathedral Notre Dame - It finally stopped raining and we started walking around some and walk through this beautiful church! Note, 95% of Luxembourg are Roman Catholics, which actually really surprised me. The stained glass was beautiful!

Daddy, Bella and Zerek at the back entrance

View from the back to the Alter

Front View

A much needed coffee break at the Coffee Experience (note Sean's girly chocolate drink!)

Yes, this is how Zerek says cheese!

Luxembourg History Musuem - After our coffee break we headed to this really cool building that brought together 4 old buildings to hold this exhibit.  All the signs were in French, German and English so we could actually understand all of it! It was interesting to see the origins of Luxembourg and how it developed over time eventually becoming the small nation it is today (it was actually a lot bigger but certain area's were absorbed by neighboring countries).  There were interactive screens and models that showed the city growth. The area on WWII was interesting and how the Nazi occupation affected the country. This was really inexpensive and a great museum.  The kids even liked it!!!

The Royal Palace - It is only open for a few months in the summer when the Grand Duke vacations in the South of France (must be tough).  It was a small palace but the tour guide was super nice and gave some great information on the history of Luxembourg.  There are only 2 tours in English daily (1600 and 1700) so the kids were pretty much done by this point.  It was cool to see but if it wasn't open or the tour was full, you wouldn't miss much.  Couldn't take any pictures inside so here is one of the outside.

Right now they have a Summer in the City program going on and we were there when they had kids games on the Place d'Armes.  The kids had fun, but it was so overwhelming with all the groups of kids. Here are some highlights!

Observing the street proformer, who was really weird. But hey, whatever will get them to sit for 20 minutes I can take!

Zerek and a board game with blocks

Zerek loved walking on this maze!

Bella mastering the blocks!

After the long day, we decided to find a place to eat by our hotel at the Place d'Paris.  The hotel manager recommended a place called "La Siene" and I am so glad we listened to him! The food was probably the best Italian food I have had other than the stuff from Italy. None of us could stop eating and stuffed ourselves!

Le Parc Merveilleux - Saturday was dedicated to our kids as we headed a whopping 15 minutes outside town to this awesome kids zoo/fairytale village!We got there around 1030 and didn't leave until almost 4! The kids would have stayed longer but they were totally worn out! For the price (9 euro adults/6 euro kids 4-12) it was so worth it. If we lived closer I would buy a season pass and be here all the time.  There were really awesome playgrounds great exhibits and shade (which was nice on a hot day!). I would highly recommend this as a must do with kids!!!

A train ride that Zerek came off kicking and screaming because he didn't want to leave

Looking at the Amazon exhibit

Zerek loved the Lemur's!  

This one was right over our head!

One of like five play grounds!

Even a small one for the little ones!

This one had lots of climbing things!

Farewell! Can't wait to come back!

We headed into town one last time for dinner to hit up the Nespresso store and grab some dinner.  I don't remember the place we ate but felt a little too old and not hip enough to be there.  But, the food was good and the Mojito's were even better!

Sean's Salad

This was Nacho's...really nacho toppings on a large tortilla!

 Our stay in Luxembourg City was awesome! I really recommend it! There is a wine area that we didn't make it to because of the weather, but we can save that for another trip! Our hotel was awesome, The Golden Tulip Central Molitor.  The room's had A/C which was amazing (haven't had that since we left Virginia).  The hotel staff were super nice, rooms were great, and the breakfast was great too.  Only a little 5-10 minute walk into the center of town!

On the way home we stopped in Vianden to visit their castle.  Many remaining castles are in ruin's but this one was reconstructed from 1978-1987 using the original plans.  It happened to be their Medieval Festival weekend so it was quite busy, but there were some cool things and reenactments to see! It was a really cool place and the kids had a good time! Really wanted to check out the town more but it was down pouring and there was no parking because of the festival at the castle and also something else going on in town.  But, on the list to visit again!

Scenic point driving up to the castle

Beautiful owl!

Looking down onto the town of Vianden

One of the dining rooms

The kitchen

One of the main hallways with vendors

Beautiful views!

Zerek loved the birds! 

This is what you see as you walk up the path to the castle

Sorry this is so long, we had a great trip and I wanted to share all the stuff that we did.  Luxembourg totally lived up to everything I thought it would be and I can't wait to come back and explore more (the wine country to be specific)!

Beautiful Bruges!

I got to write this entry enjoying some quiet time at our hotel bar while Sean put the kids to bed in our room!

What an amazing city! For those of you who know nothing of Bruges, it is a beautiful Flemish town in Belgium about 10 miles south of the coast.  It was the trading center of Europe from the 11th through the 16th century when the harbor had dried up and there was no link to ocean.  It was known as the dead city until the late 18th century when a new port opened in the area. Now it is mainly a tourist area with lots of chocolate shops, lace shops, canals and charm!

Bella was super excited to moment we got there and proclaimed that this was her town! It was so fun seeing her so excited to go sight seeing since the last time we really went sightseeing was in Italy when she was almost 3 which was not pleasant experience (screaming toddler through the Sistine Chapel anyone?). I started to at first try to cram everything in to the 2ish days we were there when I had to take a step back and realize that this was only a little over 2 hours away an easy day trip back. So this is what we did:

Carriage Ride: We got in around 830 (2030 for those military types and Europeans) and after being in the car for a bit the kids were dying to get out and walk around.  Our hotel was right around the corner from the Markt which is where the Horse Carriage rides started, so we were off!  It was a great preview to the city and what we might like to see.  It was a little spendy (39 Euro) but well worth it for the look on Bella's face.  Halfway through we stopped at the Begijnhof which is a beautiful little convent inhabitied by Benedictine nuns. The kids loved the swans and ducks that swam in the canal below!

Bella got to sit in the front!

Silly faces in front of the Benijnhof

Silly with Daddy

Love my family!

Euphoria!

Choco-Story- We were up early the next morning and plotted our day at breakfast.  I was super excited to go to the Chocolate Museum (as was Bella) so that is where we started! This was a really reasonably priced place (10 Euro for adults and the kids were free!) that was really cool to visit. It started with the history of chocolate dating back to Aztecs in South America. Unfortunately the kids really wanted chocolate that was at the end and kinda when through this part quickly. But, it was really interested of what we did see and all in English which was helpful.  There were some really cool video's and beautiful displays throughout.  They had a whole room dedicated to hot chocolate! There was a little demo at the end which showed how they make all the little chocolates in the shops with the molds that had free samples at the end.

Sean loved this part!

Solid chocolate egg

Some of the molds

All made of chocolate

Hot chocolate servers

Friet Museum (French Fry Museum) - Once I saw that they had a museum dedicated to fries, we had to check it out and it just so happens you can get entrance to this and the Choco-Story for 20 Euro with the kids being free. Wasn't sure what to expect but it was a really cool little museum! It started with the history of the potato which was imported into Europe from the Inca's.  I had no idea there were so many types of potatoes and it was interesting to see what grows where.  I now know that all the fields by our house are actually potato fields! The next part of the exhibit was all about the fries, which were created in Belgium (had no idea).  There was a nice little video that showed the process from seeds to cultivation to the friets being eaten. There was an awesome display of vintage potato cutters and friers. In the basement of the museum was a fry stand that probably had the best fries I have ever had (which means they are super unhealthy)!

Bella loves these things!

Lunch! Yummy Friets!

No words for this one!

Daddy and Zerek enjoying them as well!

Canal Ride -  Zerek needed a nap at this point so Sean took him back to the room and Bella and I decided to go on a canal ride! It was really cool to see the city from this view! I was surprised at how cheap it was (11 Euro for both of us for about a 30 min ride)!  Although we felt a little crammed on the boat, it was a beautiful afternoon and the breeze on the water was awesome! If anyone ever goes there, this is a must!

The nice French people next to us too this one! 

The Benijnhof from another perspective

Afterwards we did a little chocolate shopping (and eating)! There are so many different shops. Belgium is also known for its lace and tapestries so there are tons of these shops too.  

Historium - After Bella's and I's girls afternoon, we picked up the boys and headed to this really cool museum that is right on the Markt (center of town).  Everyone gets an audioguide in the language that you prefer and you are off as a group to discover Bruges and the story of the famous painting of Madonna and Child by Jan Van Eckye. Each room was intricately put together that had a video story to go along with it.  The room made you feel like you were really there in 1435 with temperature differences, smells and fog at times!  There were 9 rooms I think and it was really cool how they put this exhibit together.   The end was at the top of the building which gave you an amazing panoramic view of the Markt square.  There were a lot of extra things to read up here but Bella was done so we headed down stairs through the Duvel beer room (which we will stop at next time) and off to dinner!

The Flemish Pot - I deferred to one of my travel books (Rick Steves' "Best of Europe 2013") for dinner and so glad I did.  This little restaurant was so good that I can't wait to come back.  It is a little cramped but we go there before the peak dinner time so it wasn't so bad.  It was a little expensive but so worth it.  I cannot describe how good Sean's Flemish beef stew was.  I could only hope to replicate that one day.  Bella and I shared steamed mussels in wine which was equally amazing! The broth was so good to dip the bread in I couldn't stop myself.  I cannot wait to come back here and want to try it for lunch too where it serves up so many types of waffles!

We finally found it!

Mmmm...mussles!

The Flemish Beef Stew

I can't believe she likes mussles!

So full!!!

A couple other highlights from our trip:

    Belfort - AKA, Bella's tower (which is how she referred to it the whole time)! A really cool tower that you can climb up (366 steps, although Bella begged we fought her off) that was featured in "In Bruges" the movie.  It rings every 15 minutes and is a beautiful building right on the Markt. 

    Jan Van Eycky Statue - He is the famous painter from Bruges.  The kids ran around him for about 30 minutes while we waited for things to open. 

   The amazing architecture!!!

Another side of the Markt.  The Hisorium is on the left side of the building! 

Needless to say, this was a great weekend and I can't wait to come back and explore the parts we didn't get too!!!

Hotel we stayed at: Hotel Cordooeanier http://www.cordoeanier.be/en/index.php.  It was right off the Markt at a great value for a quad room! Breakfast is included and the Cafe Red Rose bar attached to the hotel had so many different types of beer it was hard to choose!!!