Gelle Fra Memorial Luxembourg 31.7.19
From our berth at Bernkastel it is a relatively short coach ride into a completely new country as head off to visit Luxembourg. We open with the Gelle Fra (Golden Woman) Memorial which is dedicated to the thousands of Luxembourgers who served with the Allied Powers in both World Wars and in the Korean War and volunteers with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, although the monument was unveiled in 1923.
Dodgy Sausages 31.7.19
My wife has a distinct aversion to sausages and so I felt that a representation of the local food market should be recorded as being the closest I managed to get to strange foodstuffs during this excursion.
Grand Ducal Palace Luxembourg 31.7.19
We are in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg which it has been since March 1815 although until 1890 it was in personal union with the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is the only sovereign Grand Duchy, although since 2008 new laws no longer require the Grand Duke’s approval – he had refused to approve a law on euthanasia – merely that he promulgates them. The Palace was originally the City Hall from 1572 until 1795 and from 1817 was headquarters of the Luxembourg Government as it became the residence of the governor and from 1890 became the residence of the Grand Duke and family. It has been extensively modernised internally in the 1990s.
Dipso Luxembourg 31.7.19
Sometimes one sees an establishment whilst on a walking tour and you wish that perhaps you had the time to sit down and indulge. Sadly not today.
Luxembourg Walls 31.7.19
Luxembourg is small – the country has a total population under 700,000 and the City holds around 140,000 of them. The IMF records that it has the highest GDP per capita – $140,310 in 2024. Over 70% of the capital’s residents are foreigners largely working within the banking centres based here, or in connection with European Union Court of Justice and other significant European administrative offices. It is regarded highly for personal safety.
In 2020 after our visit all buses, trams and rail services became free for standard travel, first class remains chargeable. This has been done for the environment.