Hello Châteaux: Picnicking at Bourglinster Castle

Mëttwoch, 29 Juni.

With just under two weeks left in Luxembourg, I have been frantically trying to cross as many things off my bucket list as possible. Today, that meant paying a visit to one of Luxembourg's many castles: the adorable Château de Bourglinster.

Bourglinster Castle is, to put it simply, old. In the thirteenth century, the castle was the property of the noble family of Linster. (Get it? Bourglinster ... Bourg Linster?) It passed from family to family over the next eight hundred years, gradually being transformed from fortified fortress to Renaissance castle. Click here to learn more via Visit Luxembourg.

Despite its advanced age, Bourglinster looks pretty great! The castle has been fully restored and boasts a fresh coat of (baby pink?) paint on its tiny towers. As you might remember from my visit to the Musée de Maquettes des Châteaux et Châteaux Forts du Luxembourg, the majority of Luxembourg's châteaux forts are no longer in great condition. Those that are not in ruins tend to be privately-owned or have been restored for some specific purpose. Bourglinster Castle is no exception: today, it is home to multiple restaurants. (Click here to check out their website.) You can even book the castle for your wedding!

 

Although the castle itself is not open to visitors except for previously-arranged private tour, the castle grounds -- including the ruins of some of the oldest parts of the property -- are free to be explored. We found a particularly sunny spot and plopped down for a picnic.

Bonjour, Bouillon!

Freideg, 6 Mee.

Yesterday, as you probably know, marked Ascension Thursday. (Also Cinco de Mayo, but that's a story for another day.) As you might not know, Ascension is an official jour férié in Luxembourg ... meaning no work or school.

Although I've spent what feels like a lifetime on the train between Luxembourg and Brussels, I have not spent much time in the region of Wallonia itself. To take advantage of our time off and to get to know our northern neighbors a little better, my housemates and I decided to take a quick day trip to Belgium! We spent the day in the towns of Bouillon and Dinant. Our first stop was Bouillon, a historic town located just a few kilometers from the French border!

Bouillon is, by all accounts, pretty darn old. A castle has existed on the site since at least 988, which is -- just for context -- one thousand and one years before Taylor Swift was born. For most of the Middle Ages, the château fort de Bouillon belonged to the Ardennes-Verdun dynasty. The most famous of these lords, Godfrey of Bouillon, inherited his title from a childless uncle in 1082 and then sold the castle in order to finance his involvement in the Crusades. (As people did in the eleventh century, you know.)

Given its strategic proximity to France, Bouillon was nicknamed "the key to the Ardennes" by military strategist Vauban. He fitted the castle with state-of-the-art artillery and defense systems in the seventeenth century. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Bouillon belonged to France, to the Netherlands, and finally to Belgium. Click here to read more about the history of Bouillon.

Hello Châteaux: Castle Ruins in Dudelange

Samschdeg, 26 Mäerz.

Since arriving in Luxembourg last September, there have been a handful of cities and towns that have been on my 'must-visit' list because of their political significance (Schengen), their museums (Clervaux, Diekirch), or -- let's be honest -- their castles. Dudelange was NOT on this list.

Located just a fifteen minute drive from Esch-sur-Alzette and only a few kilometers from the French border, the town of Dudelange boasts a population of just under 20,000, a history as an important industrial center, and little else ... or so I thought. While aware that Dudelange was home to castle ruins, I knew little about the castle itself and assumed that it would pale in comparison to the châteaux forts in the north of the country. In fact, until today, the most exciting thing for me about Dudelange was its official Luxembourgish name: Diddeleng.

However, today's visit to Dudelange and the ruins of its medieval castle has forced me to consider that there may be more to this town than meets the eye!

This plaque imagines the castle in its 15th-century heyday. 

With Catherine, my fellow Fulbrighter and castle-exploring buddy!

  

My first surprise was learning that the castle ruins at Dudelange are not actually located within the town itself. Rather, they sit on the top of Mont St. Jean, a heavily-wooded hill that rises 400 meters above the town of Dudelange. 

Hello Châteaux: Cold, Wet, and Totally Lost at Bourscheid Castle

Donneschdeg, 28 Januar.

Let's begin this post by quoting the Rolling Stones, who in their infinite wisdom informed the world that "you can't always get what you want." Like, say you want to bake a cake but you realize you don't have any flour. Or you have a crush on somebody but they don't like you back. Or you just want to go see a nice castle but everything goes wrong and it's cold and it starts to rain and you get lost in the woods.

With that last example particularly in mind, let's talk about Bourscheid Castle! Known as Buerg Buerschent in Luxembourgish, this castle dates back to the eleventh century and is one of the most picturesque châteaux in Luxembourg. (At least, according to my "Castles of Luxembourg" pamphlet.) This past weekend, some friends and I decided to check it out.

The map to which we ought to have paid a bit more attention.

If you see this beautiful view, then you are NOT ON THE RIGHT PATH.

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.

 

Hiking in the Our Valley: Exploring Vianden

Sonndeg, 29 November.

I've spent a solid portion of the last two months talking about how much I love hiking in Luxembourg. And it finally come back to bite me in the butt, when a Fulbright friend and her boyfriend came to visit and told me they didn't care what we did "as long as we went hiking." Hiking. On a weekend with a high of 39 degrees. Riiiight.

But on Saturday morning, we decided to brave the cold! We bundled up as we had never bundled before, hopped in the car (or, more accurately, walked to the train, took the train, walked to the bus, took the bus, and only THEN hopped in the car #publictransportation), and headed to the northeast of Luxembourg. We decided to visit the town of Vianden, the home of one of Luxembourg's most popular tourist attractions. I had visited the Vianden Castle when travelling through Luxembourg in November 2013, but hadn't been back since! The area was just as beautiful -- if not more so -- as I had remembered.

It wound up being a chilly but wonderful day ... and hey, the cold never really bothered me anyway! (LOL.)

Hello, Châteaux: Esch-sur-Sûre Castle

Sonndeg, 8 November.

I have been interested in "the other Esch" ever since I found out that I'd be living in Esch-sur-Alzette and since arriving in Luxembourg, I've only become more curious. What was the other Esch like? Was it better than MY Esch? Which Esch was the first Esch?

So today, Catherine and I decided to go check it out! And while Esch-sur-Alzette is still my home sweet home, Esch-sur-Sûre juuuust might be the most adorable spot in all of Luxembourg.