Would I want to live and work in Luxembourg City?
Is Luxembourg as expensive as people say on the Internet?
Why did I buy a Montblanc card wallet in Luxembourg City and not anywhere else?
Was my club sandwich at “Urban Bar & Restaurant” good?
What did I think about the coffee in Luxembourg’s “Bloom: Specialty Coffee Shop”?
How did I feel seeing European Institution buildings in Luxembourg City?
We woke up a little over five in the morning. We did not drink coffee. We just took showers, put on our clothes, locked the doors, and went to the tram to get to the Brussels-Schuman station. With tickets already purchased, we waited for our train to Luxembourg City—a first-time visit for my wonderful woman and me.
Trains from Brussels to Luxembourg depart roughly every hour. The journey takes almost three hours with a couple of stops. For four tickets I paid around 68 EUR (including return tickets). I’ve heard stories that some people live in Brussels and work in Luxembourg, or the other way around. Seems hardly true, since I can’t imagine spending six hours every day on a train. That kind of commute would kill someone. At least mentally.
We arrived in Luxembourg safe and sound. We did not have our morning coffee, so a walk to a coffee shop was first on our agenda. After virtually walking around Luxembourg City on Google Maps, we decided to head over to “Bloom: Specialty Coffee Shop”. A relatively short walk, first glimpses of Luxembourg City. The coffee shop looked modern, with high ceilings, white walls, and large windows providing lots of natural light. Love at first sight. We ordered two cappuccinos and two croissants; the cashier immediately spoke English, and the waitress who brought our breakfast did as well. The cappuccino was exceptional, and so were both croissants.
After a short bathroom break, we head out. No real plan, just a goal to see the city center and the European district. While walking towards the center I could easily see myself living here. A French-speaking country but extremely multilingual, proved already by our visit to the coffee shop. It has free public transport, rich possibilities for foreigners and a high standard of living. Yes, rents are high, but so are wages. Also, you can always live in Belgium or Germany, and work in Luxembourg, but would that be worth it? Currently I can’t tell.
Luxembourg City is green, with high bridges, beautiful parks, narrow streets and old-looking houses. While heading to the City center I noticed a small sign next to a large office building. The sign read “Mind Geek”. If you know, you know.
Luxembourg has the highest minimal income in Europe. Luxembourg has the highest GDP per capita in Europe. Thus it is no surprise that the center was full of various luxury shops from Christian Louboutin and Louis Vuitton to Rolex and Patek Philippe. Once I saw a Tudor sign I had to come and see if the display had a Black Bay 54 in it. It hadn’t. Upon the encouragement of my woman, I went inside and asked the AD directly. Apparently, they have not even seen the watch in person, yet. Thus I thanked her for her time and walked out.
After having explored enough around the center, we started our trip to the European district. It was a long walk, some solid 40 minutes with ups and downs. An ideal place to improve your endurance. But I did finally manage to see the European Parliament building in Luxembourg City. It was not as magical as the one in Brussels, but it had its own charm. We saw the building where the European Investment Bank is housed and of course the big building of the Court of Justice of the European Union as well. Yes, if you really need to know, I would like to work in this city, given the opportunity. But, not as an employee with a function group two. Function group four would be a best-case scenario.
After seeing these magnificent European buildings, we head back to the center for lunch. An acquaintance of mine recommended a place with, presumably, good food and drinks. Why not? We went there, and even though all tables outside had “Reserved” signs on them, actually none of them were reserved. We got a good table and ordered our lunch. I had a club sandwich with small fries, whereas my woman went for a tasty burger. We both were satisfied. Oh, and I washed it down with a white beer made in Luxembourg.
After lunch, I was determined to buy a card wallet I had previously seen at a Montblanc store window. Somehow, after seeing it, I could not get it out of my head. It is blue. It is made of leather. Enough said. Yes, it cost more than I was expecting to pay for such a thing. But it is made by hand. And it will last me a couple of decades.
Sorry, no picture. I am planning an article about leather goods. Stay tuned.
With that purchase completed, we head towards the train station. We did stop by a book shop, but I ended up not buying anything. When arriving at the train station, we noticed that we still had some 45 minutes until the train departed for Brussels. Long story short, we went to a sex shop. And not to some cringe, shady, back-alley establishment, but a big, bright adult shop with an extremely vast collection of various items. Did I buy something? Let’s just say I did not come out empty-handed.
Luxembourg City is beautiful. We will come back, since there were a lot of museums that begged to be explored. Also, Luxembourg produces good wine, and even though I did taste its beer, I most definitely want to taste Luxembourg’s sparkling wine. If it has one, of course.
The journey back to Brussels was uneventful. Until next time, you beautiful reader.
On a side note, recently I have found myself quite often questioning why I keep writing here. Probably only one person reads my posts. This is not the absolute best English, mainly because I don’t have an editor from whom I could learn and improve. It has been 10 months since I started this website. Should I change the design? Should I just stop writing? I will probably keep writing even though you say I should stop. Nevertheless, it was good to let this out.
Anyway, if you are a native English speaker and you would like to help me improve, drop a comment, an email, or DM me on LinkedIn.
Kind regards,
Olaaf
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