Gibralter of the North
On arrival in Luxembourg, ‘the Gibraltar of the North’, our excitement turned into distress due to sheer carelessness. Stupid that I am, on reaching the hotel, I locked my car with the key still in the ignition. Imagine my panic and frustration as I was away from home in a foreign country with a limited time at my disposal. I did not even have any backup in Berlin who could assist me in experimenting with the untested concept of opening the car with the help of a signal from the duplicate key transmitted through a Cell Phone I had read in one of the chain mails. I wonder if that works at all! Anyway, a kind, patient and, thankfully, pretty receptionist made extraordinary efforts and got through to the Mercedes Service Centre. The response from the Merc was positive but not quite encouraging as a wide time span of 24 hours was indicated for the response to materialize. That would have meant the entire duration of our proposed stay in Luxembourg. It was not easy as I had a frowning wife who anyway thought of me to be the dumbest and clumsiest living being. Keeping fingers crossed, I just prayed and the Lord answered my prayer by sending the mechanic within an hour. Half an hour later and about a hundred Euro lighter (the price for my stupidity), we had finally arrived. Well, after that we discovered that Luxembourg was, indeed, beautiful.
[simage=1948,320,n,left,]Landlocked and squeezed from all sides by Belgium , France and Germany, Luxembourg is one of the smallest but also one of the prettiest countries of Europe. Its spectacular valleys and plateaus with their self protective characteristics combined with its strategic location, perhaps, led to its being nicknamed ‘the Gibraltar of the North’. The heavily fortified Luxembourg City, though now most of the fortifications stand razed down, is home to a people of mixed cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds living in great harmony with one another. The Gare, the Grund and the areas adjacent to the William Square, perhaps, offer the best sight seeing opportunities in Luxembourg.
The magnificent statue on a horseback of the famous Grand Duke William II, also the then King of the Netherlands, dominates the Square at the City centre. [simage=1924,320,n,right,]Across lies the impressive Grand-Ducal Palace where the present Grand Duke of Luxembourg lives with family. Just behind the Palace is the old town area leading down to the lower part of the city popularly called the Grund. [simage=1925,288,n,right,][simage=1944,288,n,left,]The Gare is the area surrounding city’s main railway station. There is a lot to see in Luxembourg and the best way to do that is to cover the areas on foot. You get a magnificent view of the deep valley when you take a leisurely walk on Chemin de la Corniche, which is rightly called “Europe’s most beautiful balcony“. After seeing the Bock (the Rock on which Luxembourg was founded in the 10th Century by Count Siegfied, the Casemates (a subterranean tunnel system), the Cathedral (Notre Dame), the famous Bridges, etc, the place to wander around actually is the Grund where some of the oldest houses of Luxembourg are located on its meandering, cobbled streets. It is a lively place where you can really have fun times in one of its many bars and restaurants. Fire & Ice is one such pub that we had visited during our wanderings.[simage=1934,320,n,right,][simage=1941,320,n,right,]
Before I conclude, I’d like to repeat a poignant and romantic but mythological story associated with the story of origin of Luxembourg I read on the Internet. It is said that when Count Siegfried built his castle on the“Bock” in 963, he also found Melunisa, an enchantingly beautiful woman, who became the love of his life. Melusina had told Siegfried that, whatever happened, he should never watch her when she was taking a bath. If he did so he would lose her. Siegfried, however, could not control his curiosity, watched Melunisa once through the keyhole while she was taking her bath and discovered that she was, actually, a mermaid. Melusina saw Siegfried and jumped out of the window down into the river Alzette. Though Siegfried never saw her again, she could sometimes be heared singing from the bottom of the river.
“Gibralter of the North”