Musée Méindeg: the Musée de Maquettes des Châteaux et Châteaux Forts du Luxembourg in Clervaux

Méindeg, 18 January.

Good morning and happy Monday! Today on the blog, I'll be introducing you to my new favorite museum in Luxembourg, the Musée de Maquettes des Châteaux et Châteaux Forts du Luxembourg. Located in Clervaux Castle in northern Luxembourg, this museum is home to twenty-two models of Luxembourgish castles and fortified castles.

The museum brochure promises "a travel through time and dimension for the whole family, for the history lover, and for all those with a passion for scale models!"

I'll let you chuckle over that for a moment.

In all seriousness, the museum is an impressive piece of work. Each castle is presented, often along with the surrounding village, at a precise 1:100 scale. In addition to the models themselves, posters provide information about the location, history, and current status of the castles.

Do you recognize Buerg Fiels, or Larochette Castle from my October 2015 visit?

Information about each of the castles is presented in French, German, English, and Dutch. ("That's sooo Luxembourgish.") However, the posters give the names of the castles first in Luxembourgish. As it is relatively rare to see Luxembourgish in writing, this wound up being one of my favorite parts of the entire museum!

For example, did you know that in Luxembourgish, Clervaux is actually Klierf? Or that the Château de Beaufort, which I've visited on two separate occasions, is more accurately known as the Buerg Beefort?

 

I've visited Beaufort Castle twice (in November 2013 and October 2015) and loved seeing the scale model!

Hello Châteaux: A Day in Snowy Clervaux

Sonndeg, 17 Januar.

Ever since the first snowflakes hit Luxembourg way back in October, I've wondered what this country would look like under a blanket of snow. This week, as a warmer-than-average December finally gave way to decidedly chillier temps, I finally got to find out!

The snow began on Thursday, coating the sidewalks and rooftops of Esch while I was teaching at the lycée, and has continued falling on and off for the past three days. Apart from work, I have spent the majority of the last couple days at home, enjoying the weather from the comfort of the Maison Kohlenbierg. (Can we agree that, no matter what country you're in, there's nothing better than curling up under a blanket on a snowy day?) Yesterday, however, Catherine and I decided to brave the cold to check out -- what else -- a castle.

Bundled up in our most wintery gear, we ventured north to the Ardennes region of Luxembourg and to the sleepy town of Clervaux.