Our trip to Luxembourg was horrifically unplanned and we were extremely unprepared and whilst trip planning is an area we do occasionally fall down on, this time, it really wasn’t our fault.
Kind of.
We had four nights booked in St Petersburg in Russia which we were really looking forward to. It is a country we have both wanted to visit for some time and the buildings look magical!
However, we were completely unaware of the visa conditions. The face to face interview, the costs involved and the fact that actually, after all of that we may not even be granted entry! We also found this out just three weeks before we were due to fly.
Massive error.
We made the difficult decision to cancel the trip and change where we were going to go.
A habit I have to admit that I have been battling for some years. Cancelling and changing trips. I am not proud.
Anyway after looking at flights on the dates we had booked for annual leave we chose the most obscure place that came up on sky scanner. We really hadn’t heard much about Luxembourg at all and had no idea what was there.
So I set about googling information about Luxembourg and I have to say it barely helped at all with the planning of our trip but I certainly learnt some interesting facts about one of the smallest countries in Europe!
But what we discovered when visiting Luxembourg was a hidden gem!
Fact number 1
Luxembourg is the only remaining Grand Duchy in the world with a Grand Duke as head of state. Now we love a bit of heritage and this was something we were excited to learn more about when delving into Luxembourgs rich cultural history.
Fact number 2
Luxembourg’s current Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, was the first gay EU leader to marry. He married his partner, Gauthier Destenay, in 2015. After experience less than friendly attitudes to gay marriage in some other European countries this for us made us extremely happy.
Fact number 3
The entire country’s population is approximately 600’000 and 43% of which are foreign residents. It has the highest number of ex-pats among European countries and after visiting we can easily see why people want to live there! It has some of the greenest stretches of land we have seen.
Fact number 4
One of the country’s most famous attractions is the Bock Casemates, a 21-kilometre underground tunnel network. We had to visit these tunnels and found them extremely interesting, a ton of history, loads to learn and explore, and totally in the shelter so if it’s raining, you can still continue your sightseeing!
Fact number 5
This one amazed us…… Luxembourg has over 100 castles! 100 castles! For a country this small it packs a punch! We had nowhere near enough time to even scratch the surface but a reason to go back right?
Fact number 6
Luxembourg has 7 national parks so if you enjoy walking and beautiful scenery then this stunning country could be your perfect next trip! Most famed for its Lord of the Rings esque, Mullerthal trail which is conveniently known as “Little Switzerland”‘
Fact number 7
The country has three official languages and Luxembourgers are typically tri-lingual, with the country having three official languages: German, French, and Luxembourgish
Fact number 8
Luxembourg’s cuisine is heavily influenced by both French and German food traditions which if you are like us and enjoy trying diverse foods and tastes then you will be in heaven visiting this gem of a country!
Fact number 9
Luxembourg has the highest rate of car ownership in the world, say whatttt?
Fact number 10
Hiking! The famous Mullerthal trail runs through the heart of Luxembourg and the Little Switzerland area and is around 112km long with three loops. If you want to hike in Lord of the Rings esque scenery then this cannot be missed! We managed a full 20 minutes before feeling tired and returning back to the lodge to drink wine.
If you would like to check out our five things you cannot miss when visiting this magnificent country click here
