Octave Procession (May 29 at 3pm)

If you’ve been in Luxembourg any time over the last three weeks, you’ve probably strolled through the giant fun fair set up on Place Guillaume II. There, you’ll find enclosed restaurants that have popped up on the square to serve fried fish and other items, you’ll find carnival style games, more sweets stands than you could ever imagine; and of course, the infamous Jean le Gauffre Luxembourg’s most recognizable waffle man, who is out in full force with a VIP waffle room set up for the occasion.

7 June Events You Won’t Want to Miss

If you asked me which one month of the year I’d recommend for visiting Luxembourg, it would be June, hands down. The weather is warm, outdoor cafés are bustling with customers soaking up the sun, sausage and beer truck season is well underway, the hiking and biking trails are full of happy people, and there’s an event on the calendar practically every weekend. So, if you happen to find yourself in Luxembourg next month and you’re in the mood for a Luxembourgish folk festival, a street party, a major sporting event or a centuries old tradition, read on for dates, locations and a bit of background…

Trier & Cochem: The Ultimate Day Trip

Whether you’re in search of castles, vineyards, charming villages or outdoor adventures paired with astounding views, there are loads of great places to visit in and around Luxembourg. But if you’re going to leave the Grand Duchy in search of a cross-border outing, I’d argue that there’s no better bang for your buck than a day trip to the German towns of Trier, Germany’s oldest city, and Cochem, a postcard-perfect wine town on the Mosel.

Before you read on, though, I think I should give you fair warning: this is almost too much blog for one post.

You see, when I take friends and family on day trips, I typically take them to Trier or to Cochem – or to both, on separate days – because there’s a lot of ground to cover in both places. But when my good friend Kelly came to visit last month, calendar constraints meant that I had to rise to the challenge of squeezing both places into one jam-packed (or in our case, Reisling-packed) German adventure. Here’s a rundown of our trip, in case you’d like to attempt the same feat:

User's Guide: Getting to Paris (and the rest of France) on the Cheap

What do Big Foot, Sasquatch, the Loch Ness monster and the 25€ Luxembourg to Paris TGV special have in common? You’ve got it: none of them actually exist.

At least, that’s what I thought. But then I spent an afternoon clicking around the web site of France’s national train service, SNCF, and made a life-changing discovery: even though the 25€ Lux to Paris special never, ever appears when you try to book a ticket, there actually are ways to get to Paris on the cheap, for very close to 25€.

In addition to that, if you’re willing to make a few extra clicks on the SNCF web site, there are ways to get to other places in France for much less than you’d expect. And there are other inexpensive ways to explore places in France that are a little closer to home, too.

So, Francophiles: read on for my roundup of cheap ways to get to France:

Take a Hike

Walking through
Little Switzerland

It’s been an incredible spring here in Luxembourg. The sun has been shining consistently for at least a month with few rainy, gray days to speak of in between; the air is thick with the scent of flowering trees and I can’t dust fast enough each day to keep yellow pollen from instantly re-coating every surface of our apartment.

Normally, Nick and I would take advantage of this perfect spring weather to take out our bicycles and explore one of the extensive cycling trails that run throughout Luxembourg. But, with five stitches in my left hand from the recent unfortunate tapenade incident, biking is out of the question for the next couple of weeks. So, this past weekend was a perfect time to try something that’s been on our list of things to do in Luxembourg: hiking.