June 10 - Down to Zuidstation and catch a three-hour train ride to Luxembourg. It is a straight shot with no transfers. Rainy day, cold, pass through a lot of forests, densely green in this early part of summer. After a stop at Arlon, ticket checkers and Luxembourg immigration agents come down the aisle, checking tickets and passports. A bit odd, considering that we are passing from one EU country to another. But as I read later, Luxembourg, perhaps due to its wealth, attracts many immigrants and perhaps this is a way of keeping tabs on who is coming in.
Public transport in the country is free. This was done to reduce traffic and lessen emissions, though studies show that it has yet to achieve this. Many people working here live outside the country and drive to work every day. Since public transport across the border is not free, there is limited motivation to use it instead of a car to get to work.
The city streets, spotlessly clean and organized, are a change from Brussels. We take a tram, then a bus, out to our apartment north of town. It is technically in the city but feels like being in a forest. We go in search of a restaurant for a lunch/dinner, but find that nothing in our area is open. Go back downtown and have more luck. Do an impromptu walking tour after this.
Go down the cliffs to walk in the extensive park that fills the valley floor on both sides of the Patrusse River. The city is cut by this valley, which has eroded down through horizontal sedimentary beds.
