Final days

The last couple of days on our road trip were quite lovely. The rainy weather left us and the air warmed up considerably. We spent one night in a capital city and one in a small village.

Heading south out of Belgian, we entered the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on National Day. We soon discovered that this meant almost everything was closed, including our hotel dining room. Fortunately, we found a delicious Greek restaurant just around the corner.

La Ville Basse from the Saint Esprit 

The next morning, we headed to the Saint Esprit parking lot on the recommendation of the folks at the hotel desk. As we exited, we found ourselves on a plateau overlooking the lower town. That was the first time I became aware of the remarkable topography of this place.

The Saint Esprit area.

Luxembourg City has twenty-four districts, but we only noticed three. Our hotel was in the Gare district, which as I mentioned already, was very quiet on the National holiday. La Ville Basse, the lower town, is newer but apparently quite picturesque; unfortunately, we never made it there. We spent all our time in la Ville Haute, the medieval core. This is where the tourist office was located and where the majority of the walking tour took place.

The Palace on the left; the Parliament of the right.

As we entered the medieval old town, we immediately noticed the Palace of the Grand Dukes. It is a modest place compared to those of other countries. A lone guard patrols the front of it. Adjacent to it is the Parliament building. The flags of the country were on full display on this day. We were not sure if this was because of National Day or if this is always the case.

Another view of the Palace

Nearby, we entered William Square, where a mid-week market was in full swing. This area also houses the City Hall. In the centre of the square an equestrian statue of William II, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, stands with his hat doffed.

Market in front of City Hall

King William II

Passing under an archway, we entered another square, la Place des Armes. Here there was a small combo playing in the grandstand, and young women from the tourist office looking to rescue any lost tourists. At one end of the square is the Cercle Cité, a former palace, now a convention centre.

Cercle Cité in la Place des Armes

Music in the square

This part of Luxembourg City is a pedestrian zone, a common situation that makes walking around European cities very pleasurable; however, we had to face traffic when we headed towards Place de la Constitution with views over the Petrusse Valley and the Adolphe Bridge (which was under scaffolding on this day). In the centre of the square is the Gëtia Fra, a monument to those who died in WWI. It has come to symbolize freedom and resistance of the Luxembourgers.

Gëlia Fra

Standing at Constitution Square

Very close by is the entrance to the Petrusse Casemates, which, due to lack of time, we did not enter. These are part of the fortifications of the city and highly recommended for tourists. For a long time this city had extensive bastions.

The Cathedral

Instead, we entered Notre-Dame Cathedral across the street. Like so many other structures in this city, this church seems relatively new in European terms, even though its origins go back to the early 17th century. Later, when I read about Luxembourg City, I discovered that even the "old medieval core" has had many renovations in recent years.This is a city that is aging well, it seems.

Typical street

Place Clairefontaine

We enjoyed strolling through the narrow streets of the city, passing through Place Clairefontaine, with a monument to Grand Duchess Charlotte in the middle, then heading towards the fish market and the modern art gallery.

The modern art gallery.

Eventually, we found ourselves back where we started, We picked up sandwiches and said goodbye to this charming corner of Europe.

The gorgeous Metz Cathedral on a beautiful day.

Detail of the portal of Metz Cathedral

Driving south, we soon entered France. We stopped in Metz to see its cathedral, a beautiful golden edifice, under a blue sky. It was very grand, very lofty. There were several magnificent windows as well.

Gorgeous window 

Chagall window

A little farther south, we stopped at Pont-a-Mousson to visit the Abbey there. This was an interesting place. Once a Norbertine Abbey, it is now a hotel and conference centre. At the same time, it is a tourist attraction which charges admission. So we two visitors were sharing the space with hotel guests.

The cloister windows are no longer open.

The cloister is full of lavender and flowers.

It is impossible not to notice this large abbey, called Abbaye des Prémontrés now. Its two towers dominate the skyline from a distance. I couldn't help but wonder as I toured it if the hotel experiment will be successful. I wondered too if Pont-a-Mousson has much tourist business.

The empty church

The church building

The church itself is quite barren, and a little decrepit. It is used very little these days. The refectory has new life, however, as the chief dining hall in the conference centre.

The refectory

After thoroughly exploring the abbey, we hit the road again, on our way to our destination for the night, the tiny village of Eguisheim in the Alsace region of France. Staying there was a last minute decision, but we are so glad we did!

Beautiful evening light

Main square in the evening light

In 2013, Eguisheim was voted the most beautiful village in all of France. It is just about perfect. We were able to see it in the light of the evening and then again in the morning. Either way, it is absolutely charming.

Love that little house in the middle

Colourful Eguishem

The village lies just south of Colmar; it appears less crowded than Riquewihr and Obernai, two other attractive destinations in the region. Certainly, it has fewer tourist shops, although there are several restaurants and wine cellars to choose from.

Main square in morning light

We shared Eguisheim, in fact the entire region, with the many storks who live on the roofs of local buildings, the higher the better. We found ourselves looking for their nests everywhere.

Storks in Rouffach

South of the village, we followed la route du vin until we saw a sign leading us to a site called Les Trois Châteaux. These are ruins perched above the vineyards. We decided to hike to see them close up; but to me, the best part was the view from this spot.

Two of the châteaux.

The view from the châteaux.

As we continued on our route, we spent some time in two other Alsatian villages, Rouffach and Guebwiller. We enjoyed the former but were not much impressed by the latter.

Church in Roufflac

The witch's tower with stork nest at the top.

 Rouffach's main square has several interesting structures, including a witch's tower and a former corn market. Guebwiller was a larger town, and although it lacked the charm of the other places we visited, Bob spotted a pretty spot and took the photo below.

Hotel de Ville in Guebwiller

By mid-afternoon, it was time to make our way towards Switzerland and Neuchâtel. Our road trip had come to an end.