When Moms Come to Visit: Leslie in Luxembourg

Donneschdeg, 16 Juni.

I'm officially feeling like the luckiest duck in the world. After listening to me brag about Luxembourg for the past nine months, my mom finally got to come check out the Grand Duchy for herself. She arrived last Friday morning and we have spent the past week exploring some of my favorite corners of Luxembourg.

Selfie time after an obligatory excursion to the Casemates du Bock!

In addition to Luxembourg City and my hometown of Esch-sur-Alzette (après neuf mois, je me considère comme une vraie Eschoise...), we spent a day exploring some of the more distant corners of Luxembourg. I loved having the opportunity to revisit some of my favorite places from the past year, including Larochette Castle. It rained on us a bit during our second day, but we didn't let the bad weather dampen our spirits. And hey, at least my mom got to catch a glimpse of the famous Luxembourgish weather! 

\

To Germany and Back Again: Hiking in Vianden

Sonndeg, 15 Mee.

Ever since coming to Luxembourg in September of last year, hiking has become one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend. I first went hiking in Vianden way back in November, when we took friends visiting from Belgium to hike and see one of the country's most famous castles. Because of the cold, we only did a section of the trail and I've been dying to go back ever since.

Before Madeleine heads back to the USA on Tuesday, we decided to squeeze in a visit to Vianden to revisit the trail and check out one of the Grand Duchy's most scenic spots!

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.)

Adventures in BeDeLux: les Châteaux de Luxembourg