Autumn daze

So, what's in Luxembourg, you ask? I would say a) castles, b) ill-tempered hospitality staff near spectacular look-outs and c) gloriously vivid autumnal colours.

Friday 13 October
4pm Edwin declares the soup diet finished, and we stock the car with peanut MMs and Wokkels to eat on our journey from the Netherlands to Luxembourg.
4.30pm Leave Eindhoven using Tom-Tom (Ed's beloved GPS navigation device). Tom-Tom reckons it will take us 2.5 hours to reach Vianden.
5pm Become aware of a Friday afternoon traffic jam (!) and that one of the headlights of the car has blown.
5.30pm Take a detour through Belgium to avoid the crawling pace.
9.10pm Four hours and 40 minutes on the road, roughly twenty minutes from our lodgings, after winding through largely unpopulated villages and the extreme dark, Tom-Tom loses battery power and multiple roadwork blockages bar our only known route to destination Vianden, Luxembourg.
9.30pm After having used sign-language, grunting and some anciently-learnt French, Edwin gets directions in various Luxembourg taverns. We arrive at our hostel.
9.45pm We dine at a little bistro where the 20 year old waiter speaks French, German, Dutch and English.

Saturday 14 October
8.30am Early rise. Delicious and filling breakfast. We notice from the dining room we have a view of the Vianden castle. For €30 a night, we're pretty happy.
10am Find the VVV (info centre). Post my blog about Mary for her first birthday. Check out Vianden and meet some of the locals. Commence roadtrip southwards.
11am Arrive at Bourscheid castle ruins. Take silly photos galore. Meander towards the capital.

2pm Eventually arrive in Luxembourg city, no thanks to the street signs which are extremely confusing and test even Edwin's patience.
2.15pm Meet the "foxy lady" - a woman participating in a protest against cruelty to animals and is wearing a live fox on her shoulders. I pat the extremely beautiful creature.

2.30pm We look at antiques at the markets and then get sucked into the vortex of shops. In one store I buy 14 items of clothing because I don't have much to wear here in Europe and the prices in Luxembourg are crazy-cheap.
4pm Have a cappucino and then shamefully down a burger from Luxembourg's answer to Maccas.

6pm Leave Luxembourg city, drive to Echtenaar. I wax on about the quality of "proper" coffee, made with actual coffee grains, with separately warmed milk poured artistically on the top. I see that the bar we have entered has a familiar machine (i.e. not your push-button variety that riddles the cafés of the Netherlands). After tasting the coffee, I admit that the push-button variety will be better in the event that the operator of the traditional machine has not yet been trained in its use.
8.45pm Arrive back in Vianden. Try to get a meal in a tavern, but kitchen is closed. Go to the "Victor Hugo hotel" across the road for a cordon bleu and a goat's cheese salad. Privately, Edwin and I ponder the gender of the waiter/esse who is rather ill-tempered. We realise it's a girl. Oh.
11pm Bed!

Sunday 15 October
8.30am Early rise. Delicious and filling breakfast.
9.30am Go for a walk in the "medieval film" woods. Take silly photos galore.

10am Explore the castle of Vianden. Take silly photos galore.

11am Drive towards Clervaux. Along the way stop at various rest stops to see the view. On two occasions when pausing for coffee, we are met with ill-tempered ladies who don't want to be working on a Sunday and have a strong dislike for cheerful tourists. One woman looks afraid of us. Another tells us we must order two pancakes, not just one, because it won't be worth the effort. Or cracking an egg. We explain we only have €12, but are met with stony-faced resolve. We leave.
1pm Arrive at Clervaux. Explore the church. Take a handful of silly photos.

2pm Eat lunch at a boulangerie. Take a cursory glance at the castle as we drive by, and then make our way to L'Abbaye, where there will be a concert of french "Gregorian-like" chants performed from 3pm. Could be really very good as people seem to be coming from everywhere to get a seat nice and early. But there are so many more things to see and do.
3pm Leave Clervaux and drive towards Maastricht.
5pm Cross the border to be back on Dutch soil, (yeah!) and patriotically appreciate the nicer highway lights design and the better quality roads. We also notice it's taking a bit longer for autumn to hit our country. The verdant trees seem to refuse to change colour let alone shed their summer hide. Have a quick look in Maastricht. Jane looks at shoes in (thank god, thinks Ed, closed) shop-windows. Jane makes mental note to come back and do some shopping here.

5.30pm Drive towards Landerd, Zeeland.
7pm Arrive at Edwin's parents place where I tell the story of our weekend in pigeon Dutch. The in-laws are astonished.
8pm Go to a sauna near Nijmegen. Snooze in the bar. Generally relax to end a perfect weekend.
12am Home to our comfy bed and crash.
It's another beautiful autumn day in Eindhoven, I'm soon off to meet another Aussie-in-Eindhoven for coffee this afternoon (whom I also met on line). I will cook a nutritious and tasty meal for dinner tonight. Things are good and happiness-making.