Hallo Traveltootsers!

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on my travels. Let’s just say I have travelled but I had technical difficulties and it was a bit difficult to document the experiences. So after weeks of an internal war raging on inside my head I have decided to go ahead and write about the lovely trip I had a few weekends ago and I’ll include a few of the very few pictures I took!

Another solo journey and another bus ride this time to the nearby Luxembourg! Now correct me if I’m wrong but it seems to me that Luxembourg is one of those countries that everyone knows is there but doesn’t really bother travelling to?  Or was that just me?

So whilst I was counting sheep and trying my best, yet failing horribly , to fall asleep the other night,  I decided that I’d make a trip out to Luxembourg . (Drink a shot each time I write Luxembourg) Right there and then in my sleepy state, I booked the bus Flixbus and hotel room at the lovely Hotel Carlton via Booking.com.

After the most comfortable bus ride I’ve experienced in a while, we arrived at Luxembourg Gare Centrale at around 14.00hrs . Now I wasn’t aware of this when I arrived but if you do decide to travel to Luxembourg City, switch off your roaming and enjoy the cityFree wifi as it’s available everywhere – ok almost everywhere! I only discovered this on my second day there and trust me you will need Google Maps to get around. The first thing I noticed about Gare is it is crowded and very busy. I tweeted about it when I arrived you can check that out on my twitter page. I was totally disappointed and annoyed with myself for doing something so impulsive. I hardly ever research my trips before I embark on them , I like discovering things on my own, but this is the one time I felt like I had truly messed up. Add that to the cold autumn air  and I was down in the dumps! I took my tablet out and tried to find my hotel because my new plan was : check-in , get some food , stuff my face with food all weekend, watch tv or YouTube and then cry myself to sleep- in that order.So there I was cold to the bone (I had not checked the weather forecast), standing in front of the train station and very very hungry. I walked for about half an hour (I kept getting lost) and finally found the hotel. The reception was empty when I got there and I had to wait an extra 8 mins for the receptionist to check me in.

The sweet old man came from the back office smiling radiantly , I mumbled a ‘hello’ (I was still annoyed with myself- haha) then he went on asking me for my passport and booking details and at that very moment, my ‘luck’ started to change. In his sweet but broken English, he managed to tell me that I had been upgraded to the double standard room! Score! I still had my ‘feel sorry for myself’ plan in mind so this would definitely help it along I thought. The room was comfortable, warm and a bit dated for my liking but at this point,  I didn’t really care. I just dumped my things on the floor and headed out to go buy my 2 min noodles from the grocery store I had seen earlier. I came back boiled my water , had my noodles and sank into the covers. Checked my time and it was only 15.30hrs.  I felt myself slowly sinking into my self-pity. It was there and then I decided to get up, dress warmly and head out. I walked around aimlessly for a while but the more I walked the more I started liking my surroundings. After a few hours, I stopped by a food chain restaurant and had my dinner. Went back to the hotel, had a warm shower and I decided the next day will be better would be better and it was!

Now, like I mentioned my camera wasn’t working to my advantage, the batteries froze and it stopped working. So here are a few pictures I could take whilst it was still working. The hazy ones are from my tablet.

 

 

Bathroom Pic

My second day was well spent touring different parts of Luxembourg City, I spent about 5-6 hours walking before it started raining and I then had to travel by bus everywhere. Getting around on foot is ideal, though. It was a truly amazing experience. The negativity of the previous day had disappeared and I was more than delighted with what the city had to offer.

Will I travel solo again? Definitely! Will I at least do my research before I set off? Most likely not! This trip did teach me the importance of being willing to seek out the treasure in what seems like an unfortunate mistake ! Silver lining

I will, however, tell you not to spend too much time in Gare if you don’t like huge crowds, definitely hit up Luxembourg City and spend some time in the many beautiful restaurants there.

The official languages of Luxembourg are Luxembourgish , French and German. The official currency is the Euro!

 

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