One dominant geographic feature of
Luxembourg is the grund. Most of the city is located on top of a series of bluffs, but deep, steep
river gorges cut into the city, so a steep elevation change of over 100 feet in height is part of the geography, and forms a natural
defensive barrier to any armies choosing to move across the country. But because the gorges are steep, they are also relatively narrow, so they can be bridged. Which means the city is a prime candidate for fortification. More on that later, but suffice to say that Luxembourg has been fortified since the 11th century. The bottom sections of the city are very old, and known as the
grund.
So today was orientation day, and we started out taking a long walk. My cousin's townhouse is on top of the plateau, near the train station but it is located on a hill leading downward. So we started out, took a left and walked down into the grund. We walked along a line of houses with a river (I don't know which) where I was again struck by one of the differences. There was a very old factory there, probably from before World War II, but still in use. Things are older here, and it's normal to take the exterior of a building, and leave the facade while totally replacing the guts. There are also gardens planted by people who do not live there, but plant alongside the water. We crossed a bridge and went into the more commercial part of town, with narrow streets, homes shops, and restaurants, with many Dekierch beer signs, a brand that may be going out of production after a takeover. They are smart though, and have located an elevator at the center of the grund which leads to the top of the plateau near the Grand Princes palaces. So we took the elevator up.
From there we walked through the town, past the palaces, through the market, and then back across the bridge to home. I nice long 10K walk. Good for my fat middle-aged American body. We went back had a bite of toast and then went to the supermarket. In America we tend to shop once a week and spend a smaller percentage of our income on groceries. We also eat out a lot more, because it can be fairly cheap (you can buy pizza cheaper then you can make it) and time efficient. Europeans eat out far less, and shop a lot more often. And so the American supermarket is built around low cost and staples. There are gourmet markets in the better-off neighborhoods where the selections of meats and cheeses are good, but really the American market is built around cheap milk and meat. This market was a gourmet market, with a large selection of high-quality produce, breads, cheeses and pastries. I would have loved to have shopped there regularly, as it really did look a lot better then where I regularly shop.
Then it rained, and we planned further activities, including a visit to the battlefield of Verdun. But the rain, though hard, did not last and I began again, choosing a different route into the Grund and then back up the elevator to the casemates. And now we return to our lesson military geography. When you look at the cliffs of Luxembourg it's pretty obvious that the high ground is quite commanding, particularly if you can emplace a few cannon. there is a narrow tongue of rock that not quite crosses the gorge, quit bridgeable, despite the height. And so there has been at least a castle there since the 11th century, which has been expanded and improved over the years. Gun casemates were installed in 1664, carved out of solid rock and in the late 18th century the great military engineer Vauban was commissioned to expand and improve the casemates and defense system. The ground was carved out to a depth of over 40 meters in some spots. The result was an exceptionally powerful fortress, compared to Gibralter. The defenses were partly dismantled in 1867 when Luxembourg was neutralized, but they casemates were hewn out of solid rock so they could never be totally removed. The defenses are visible everywhere near the grund, and dominate the territory.
Of course I went in! And right then my camera's memory card filled. And this led to the last difficulty of the day. I bought the camera back in 2003 when it was a fairly sexy piece at 4 megapixels. Of course when you mention 'pixels' you're talking computers and computer years run way faster then dog years. Anything built back then is thoroughly obsolete. Given the extremely non-standard USB cable it requires (and that I left the damned thing in Ohio) I think it time I bought a new camera. I'd rather not do it here, but with 10megapixel Canon's starting at $100 the time to upgrade has come. And upgrade I shall, because I have pictures to take before I go!