Lovely Luxembourg & Crazy Coronavirus

It's crazy how fast a situation can change! Just a few weeks ago we were debating whether or not to fly to Barcelona given the whole Coronavirus situation. At the time, there was only one contained case in Barcelona and two contained cases in Germany. Since then, everything has changed… We've been watching the news about the virus eagerly waiting to see what we should do about our upcoming travels, and here we are, still waiting.

Last weekend, we decided to sneak away for one last hurrah. We've had a road trip to Luxembourg booked for a few months now and decided that it was still ok to go. We had a rental car, a room in a small Bed & Breakfast, and we weren't planning to spend time in the populated areas. Overall, we're glad we went. The time spent out in nature and in the fresh air was rejuvenating, and we hope it will help us through the next several weeks of spring hibernation. At this point, we've officially called off Jeff's 30th birthday trip to Scotland and are planning an isolated party at home. We're still keeping our fingers crossed that we'll be able to make it to Poland for Easter, but we're not holding our breath. We also have a trip to Ireland booked for May and another trip to Italy in June, we are hoping things calm down enough for us to keep those travel plans, but again, who knows. 

It's all so surreal, and even stranger to be experiencing the same situation, yet a bit different then we see and hear about in the U.S. We hear bits and pieces about what Germany's doing to contain the virus, but given the news is in German and seeing people still out and about, it's harder to understand what they want us to do. Unlike the U.S., the restaurants and shops in our area are still open, however, we feel like any day now they will be told to close down. Schools have closed and switched to an online platform and several businesses have told employees to work from home (including Deloitte). There seems to be some attempt here to slow the spread of the virus (ex. there are now lines of tape 6 feet apart at the grocery store check out and the playgrounds at the parks are roped off). However, we are finally experiencing our first week of sun and warmer weather, making it harder to stay indoors and away from social gathering. But, in order to get back to normal life and traveling again, we, like many others, would rather pay the price now and stay as isolated as possible. So, in the meantime, we're not stocking up on toilet paper, but we do have the recommended two-week supply of food. We are also following the German guidelines (that we know about) and using the recommendations from the U.S. to help make our "life" decisions. Someday it's going to be fascinating to look back at this time, reminisce about what it was like and the memories that were made in the midst of the craziness, and evaluate the impact it had worldwide.

Jeff's temporary home office.
Who needs a kitchen table anyway? 

At least we can still enjoy the outdoors!

Now moving on to happier times, our lovely trip to Luxembourg! Last Friday, we picked up the rental car and drove south to the petite little country of Luxembourg. We arrived at our B&B late in the evening and decided to head straight to bed so we could wake up early to start our adventure, and it was worth it! We woke to a breath-taking view of the beautiful valley and rolling hills framed by our bedroom window and the smell of a wood-burning stove mixed with the crisp fresh air lofting through the open window! That was followed by "room service" breakfast complete with warm crescents, fresh fruit, and fruit juice. #heavenonearth

Pulling ourselves away from our cozy room, we set off to catch the bus to town (did you know there is free public transportation in Luxembourg! #funfact). It didn't take long to walk to the bus stop, so to pass the time, we enjoyed an entertaining game of hacky sack, a gift Jeff brought back from the U.S., and a fun a reminder of Jr. High. 

After arriving in the heart of Luxembourg City, we hopped off the bus and strolled over to the Passerelle Viaduc (aka Old Bridge), then made our way to the Casements du Bock and Walls of Corniche. From there, we enjoyed a spectacular view of the river, valley, and old city, while standing on, what is said to be, "the most beautiful balcony in Europe." We wandered around a portion of open Casements, bummed that we weren't able to explore the tunnels and underground passages within the structure due winter/virus closures, but maybe next time!

Smile! #cheesygrin

Is anybody coming?

We made our way through the tranquil streets, back to the main city stopping for a warm drink at a local café before continuing on, admiring the Grand Ducal Palace, the beautiful Cathedral Notre Dame, an "All English Bookstore," and a small antique fair set up in the main square.

Open up!

We took a break for lunch and, during it, decided to head back to the B&B, pick up our car, and head to Echternach to check out a different city and the oldest settlement in Luxembourg. We enjoyed a beautiful drive through the countryside, a peek inside the old church, and a lovely walk through the city and by the river.

On our way back to the B&B, we stopped off for dinner (one of three families braving the restaurant), grabbed a bottle of wine, and enjoyed a quiet night in, cozied up in our adorable little room.

We started Sunday with another scrumptious breakfast backed by the views of the outstanding valley, then set off to hike a small part of the Mullerthal trail (known as "Little Switzerland" and consists of hiking trails connecting several cities in the north-east part of Luxembourg. Sounds beautiful right?!). We arrived in the small town of Nommern and stopped where the GPS said our trailhead was, however, once we arrived, all we saw were fields, farmhouses, and rain clouds… so, instead of traipsing through some random farmer's property in the rain, we decided it was probably best to just head on to our next destination, Vianden castle and save the hike for another time.

Instead of watchdogs, they have watch-chickens!

With our tunes playing in the background and the beautiful countryside around us, our second drive of the day was just as grand as the first. Everything was so green and full of life, and the small towns with their little churches were precious. It reminded us of our road trip through New England and made us excited for future trips back to that neck of the woods!

When we arrived at Vianden castle, we were surprised to find out that it was still open. We thought for sure it would be closed, like many other things, and were expecting to only admire the outside. But thankfully, we got to admire both the inside and out!

We started the tour by walking up the cobblestone path to the castle doors and were amazed at the size of this place. It was huge! And it felt even bigger once we were inside because we had the place to ourselves! Vianden castle was initially constructed in the 11th century, but in 1820, King William of Holland began selling the castle piece by piece, causing the castle to turn to ruins. However, in 1977, the castle was transferred to the State's ownership and was restored to its former glory, with the finishing touches completed in 2018. Talk about a unique story!

Our favorite part of the castle was the incredible view of the valley from the inner courtyard closely followed by a simple yet charming upper chapel.

Following the castle, we popped into the quiet town, grabbing a quick crepe before heading back to Düsseldorf. We had a few other stops planned for our second day but were itching to get home after we learned about Spain closing their borders and knowing it was a matter of time before Germany did the same thing. In fact, later that evening, Germany made the announcement that starting Monday several borders would close. Thankfully we made it back in time!

Overall it was a wonderful little getaway before officially locking down. We can now check the lovely Luxembourg off our list (although we would love to go back again in the fall to hike part of the Mullerthal trail) and patiently wait to see what the future holds. 

Fingers crossed, we can get back to traveling again soon!