Luxembourg

The last stop on our trip was Luxembourg.  The city is built on a hill, surrounded on all sides by rivers or deep valleys, which made it a virtually impenetrable fortress for centuries.  Most of the fortress walls were eventually destroyed, though not in siege, but as a demilitarization act after Luxembourg became a neutral state.  Now, only some of the city walls remain and two of the 'casemates.'  The city was fortified with three rings of walls, forts, and other works and the casemates were the underground tunnels used for storage, shelter, and other defense-related activities.  Most of the casemates have been sealed or destroyed (over 90% of the city's defenses are gone), but they weren't able to destroy the Bock casemates without seriously damaging the city, so it's been preserved.  

It was cool to wander around the tunnels, though there were more than a couple 40 ft stairways to nowhere- you mean we have to turn around, again? The casemates also offer a terrific view of the gardens below:

Finally, we wandered through the pleasant town center, found some lunch and enjoyed the view of the spectacular Pont Adolphe:

Ultimately though, Luxembourg got something of a short shrift from us.  We were tired and ready to be home (and to be sure, our hotel and its neighborhood didn't help.  Here's a tip- avoid the hotels across from the train station.  It's a very seedy area.  Lucky for Rob, he had the protection of two fierce women, so he was never too scared).  So, we piled back into the car for the last time and headed home.  

Somehow it's taken longer than the trip to write about it, but we're finally putting the pictures up on our Flickr page.  Enjoy!