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Past Peak Bloom at the Tidal Basin
We visited Washington, DC in the morning today to see the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. It was, unfortunately, well past peak bloom.
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Flying Home from Zurich
After breakfast at the Kameha Grand Zurich, we checked out and took the tram to Zurich Airport. After checking in and passing through security and passport control, we went to the Swiss Senator Lounge to pass the remaining time before our flight. We then boarded a United 767-400 for the flight back to Dulles.
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Chur
After breakfast at the Kameha Grand Zurich, we decided to visit Chur, a city in Switzerland that is easy to get to but we haven’t been to before. Upon arriving, we took the Chur Bergbahnen up to Brambrüesch on a mountain on the south side of the city. There was snow on the ground and soon there was heavy snow falling from the sky! After enjoying winter, we descended and had lunch in the Altstadt. We walked through the area, visiting the Martinskirche and Kathedrale St. Mariä Himmelfahrt. We continued on to the Haldenhüttli at a wonderful viewpoint above the Altstadt. On our way back to the train station, we encountered the Swiss Army engaged in a ceremony! After returning to Zurich, we had döner before returning to the hotel to end our last full day of this trip.
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From Luxembourg to Zurich
After a quick breakfast at the Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa, we checked out and headed to Zurich by train. This was not originally part of our travel plans as we were going to return to Belgium but due to the SNCB strike decided to go to Switzerland instead. After a late arrival in Zurich, we visited Uetliberg, a small mountain on the west side of the city that we’ve never visited before. After enjoying the view and a tiny bit of snow on the ground, we visited the Lindt Home of Chocolate where we enjoyed some free chocolate and bought some chocolate as well. We returned to Zurich to check in at the Kameha Grand, a hotel we’ve stayed at before.
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Bourscheid Castle
After a big breakfast at the Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa, we took the tram to the north side of the city to walk over the Pont Grande-Duchesse Charlotte again as the weather today was much better than two days ago. We then took a train and bus to visit the Château de Bourscheid. Unlike Vianden, this castle was outside of town and was in a ruined state. We returned to Luxembourg for a very late lunch and then visited the city’s fortifications on the east side of the Alzette atop the Plateau du Rham before returning to the Marriott after sunset.
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Vianden Castle
After breakfast at the Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa, we headed north by train and bus to Vianden, a town in Luxembourg next to the border with Germany, to visit the Château de Vianden, a beautiful castle atop a hill overlooking the town below. After our visit, we had a huge lunch at a local restaurant before returning to Luxembourg to end the day.
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A Wet and Foggy Day in Luxembourg
We woke up at the Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa to a dark and foggy morning. After breakfast, we walked across the Pont Grande-Duchesse Charlotte to visit the Musée Dräi Eechelen within Fort Thüngen. We then walked down into the Pfaffenthal district in the valley formed by the Alzette and ascended back up the Ville Haute via the Pfaffenthal Panoramic Elevator. After lunch, we walked to the south above the cliffs and walls of the Luxembourg Fortress and the Chemin de la Corniche until reaching the Citadelle du Saint-Esprit at the south end of the Ville Haute. Later in the evening, we returned to the Ville Haute to see the view at night and to have a light dinner.
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Trier, Germany’s Oldest City
After a nice breakfast at the Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa, we took the train over to Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Starting at the ancient Porta Nigra, we saw the Kirche St. Gangolf, Trierer Dom, and Konstantin Basilika churches. After lunch, we toured the ancient Roman Kaiserthermen, Amphitheater, Barbarathermen, and Thermen am Viehmarkt. We ended the visit with döner before returning to Luxembourg in the evening.
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Luxembourg City & Casemates
After breakfast at the Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa, we walked to the north across the Passerelle to the Ville Haute. We enjoyed the view of the remnants of the Fortress of Luxembourg, briefly descended to the Grund via elevator, and visited the Notre-Dame Cathedral before walking through the Bock Casemates. After, we had lunch in front of the Grand Ducal Palace before visiting the Pétrusse Casemates. We walked back up through the Pétrusse Valley, spending more time in the Ville Haute before returning to the Marriott via an interesting walkway suspended below the Adolphe Bridge.
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From Dulles to Namur and Luxembourg
After flying from Dulles to Brussels on United, we took the train down to Namur. We spent most our time there visiting the Citadelle de Namur, accessed via gondola, and even got a private guided tour of its underground tunnels, although it was only private because we were the only people who booked today! We also enjoyed lunch and a short walk through the city before continuing on to Luxembourg where we checked in to the Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa.
(more…)airport lounge, Belgium, Brussels, Brussels Airport, cable transport, castle, Citadelle de Namur, flight, food, hotel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg (city), Luxembourg Marriott Hotel Alfa, Namur, Polaris Lounge, Téléphérique de la Citadelle de Namur, tour, train, tunnel, United Airlines, Washington Dulles (IAD)
Here and there but not quite everywhere!