Weekend Getaway to Luxembourg

     When I signed up for this study abroad program, I was told everyone spends their weekends traveling throughout different countries in Europe. Right away I was making a mental list of the countries I wanted to visit, but never did I consider Luxembourg. To be quite honest, I did not know much about Luxembourg at all. It was not one of the countries we studied in my world history class, nor did we talk about it in my International Business course. When our main instructor was giving us our orientation of the school and introducing us to the structure of the program he suggested visiting Luxembourg. “It’s a short trip there, and a great place to see,” he said, and I am so glad I listened.

     When we first arrived we decided as a group that we wanted to visit Switzerland, Amsterdam, and Nice. The first weekend, we were planning on heading to Switzerland but it seemed like it would be a long and expensive trip. We then decided to look into Luxembourg and were pleasantly surprised. It was less than an hour train ride away, and the roundtrip was only 28 euros. We decided to stay in Luxembourg City Youth Hostel which cost each person 41 euros for two nights and included breakfast each morning. I mean, it was a weekend trip to another country which cost less than 70 euros! Opportunities like this don’t come around in the United States! 

Walking to our hostel

     Since we were very busy with classes and the different activities that were organized for us, no one had much time to do research about what to see or do once we got there. That was not a problem! When we arrived at Luxembourg we easily found a bus that took us to our hostel. It seemed that most people spoke English, which later made much more sense since the city/country was flooded with large groups of tourists. The bus driver was even nice enough to let us on without paying! Merci monsieur, for saving us a couple of euros! When we arrived at the hostel, we found out that the people in Luxembourg just like the French hate the idea of people laying separately. The man at the reception told us very loudly multiple times how long it would take to process each person’s check in separately but we had no option, since some people had to pay with credit cards. In all reality, it was a very quick procedure. As a customer I did not feel that I had to wait much at all. I think Europeans in general (at least those I have experiences with) are used to making logistics easier for the businesses rather than for the customers. As one of our Professors told us, “They are a business, they are big. You are a customer, you are nothing to them.” It is a very different philosophy than the one that businesses operate on within the United States, but it seems to work for them so why not?

     The hostel was flooded with Americans. There were students from all over the United States, and as well from Australia, Asia, and of course other Europeans. And I am not surprised, the nightlife in Luxembourg was like nothing I have seen before. The bars were so crowded there were groups of 30-40 people standing outside of the bars drinking beer and laughing. Music was blasting everywhere and laughter could be heard throughout every corner. We discovered what I can only describe as an amusement park for nightlife. We were looking for a place to go, and a group of locals told us to follow them. Since we were a big group, and they seemed very friendly and were around our age, we decided it was safe to do so. We arrived at these gates where security guards checked our IDs. I am not sure what age you had to be to get in because there were kids who looked like they were no older than 15. I passed the test, and I was stunned when I walked in! It was a huge area full of bars, cafes, and nightclubs. They were literally one next to another, like an outdoor mall. It seemed like each place was different from each other. There was no cover to pay to enter a place, so we got the chance to explore a lot of them. One dance club, was beach themed. The floor was covered with 5-6 inches of sand and there were palm trees everywhere! Another club had dinosaur bones as decorations! Overall it was a really good place to go out in, and it seemed very safe since there were policemen and security guards everywhere.

     Saturday during the day we were able to explore the city. I found the architecture beautiful. It is much different than any other country I have visited. The roofs were very unique - tall, large, and dark. It was very consistent throughout the whole area. The city was not build on even grounds. There is a huge hill up to the main center area, there are many bridges, towers, and a river. It is a very beautiful place to see. And I am proud to say I saw it in 4 inch heels. Most tourists were wearing gym shoes, but you could tell the natives weren’t intimidated by walking uphill as all of the women also rocked high heels. We did not take any guided tours since we wanted to save money but I could tell the town was full of beautiful history. It is a very rich country and the prices at restaurants were a little too high than what we wanted to spend. The streets were filled with cafes, bakeries, and high end stores. There were also the European favorites: Zara, Mango, and H&M. It would have been a lovely place to be stranded at if I had a platinum credit card that someone else was paying for J

The town's center was transformed into a market Sunday morning

 
     I would definitely recommend Luxembourg as a place to visit for a young person in their early twenties. There are many beautiful spots that make you appreciate life. The sophisticated people and luxury items are a reminder to keep your head in the right place so one day you can experience these things first hand. And really, the beauty of the city is serene. You can stand over one of the bridges for hours just absorbing everything and reflecting on your journey. Be prepared to do a lot of walking, and bring clothes you can layer!

                                          Here are some pictures of the delicious food I had!
　

Pasta for dinner

Best breakfast ever

My first kebab ever

　

Bonjour from Metz!

     I have officially been on French soil for a week. What can I say, I love it! I am an European girl at heart! I thought I might have difficulties readjusting to the European lifestyle after spending the last 10 years in the United States, but that was not the case. Of course, there are many differences in the French culture from the Bulgarian culture I grew up with.

     I did start off on a bad foot with Paris thought. After an exhausting 12 hour trip and then waiting at the airport for 3 hours alone to meet up with my friends, the last thing I wanted to do was walk aimlessly around the busy streets of Paris looking for Gare de L’est. It did not help that my French vocabulary consisted of ‘Bonjour’ and ‘croissant’. I am very thankful that my traveling buddy Danielle had formally studied French culture and language before our trip. After lugging our luggage around hopelessly for what seemed like forever we finally got ourselves on a high speed train to Metz.

     My first mistake was that I underestimated the complexity of Paris. I thought that since I am able to get around without much preparation through the big cities in the United States I would be able to do the same easily in France. I was shocked by how much people flooded the streets, as I thought being used to the chaos of downtown Chicago and using the public transportation system was a big deal. So lesson number one of my learning experience: IT’S ALWAYS BETTER TO OVERPREPARE!

     Once we got to Metz and met our wonderful guide and instructor, I felt a little more love for France. The town of Metz is much more like the cities I have lived in Bulgaria, so it brought back wonderful memories and I honestly felt right at home. The first night we arrived we had dinner at our residence, freshened-up, and went out to a café to enjoy a glass of wine - legally! Even though we wore some of our most stylish outfits the locals were still starring at us whenever we walked past. To be honest, all I wanted to do was stare at them as well and observe their behavior and appearance.

     Over the weekend, other students from our program arrived. We quickly befriended each other on our adventures of exploring the city and French culture. We are all around the same age. Some people have no experience traveling or living outside of the United States but a few other students have also lived abroad. It is a good combination of knowledge and experience. The girls are trying more to blend in more by always looking their best, while the boys are proudly rocking cargo shorts and t-shirts. Nevertheless, whenever we are out as a group we always stand out as the "Rowdy Americans". As much as we shush each other, there are always multiple conversations going on which make us try to talk over each other.

     Taking classes here is not much different than our lectures in the United States. Of course, all of the professors who are working with us have experience with visiting American universities and I believe they are tailoring their teaching methods to what we are used to. Having worked with four different professors so far, I am enjoying the different backgrounds each professor comes from. I am definitely able to recognize the differences, and I think as a class we are able to tailor ourselves to fir that instructor’s style. Of course, some students are better at picking up the differences than others.

     The topics we have covered so far include history of the Lorraine region, geography of Europe, French Civilization, Self Image in Europe, History of France, and one French class for beginners. I think the most unique class was Self Image in Europe because the professor specialized in working with French politicians and business executives to determine which colors, glasses and hairstyles work best on them to help them portray different images they want the general public to see. The aspect of the course that was the most exciting for us was when Professor Ceccarelli told each of us our color pallet, body shape, and square shapes. She also gave everyone recommendations. I don’t think this would happen in the United States because students would not be as open about professors actually taking a look at their body even though it is in a completely formal and non-sexual way. Needless to say, I have gotten some really good advice on how to portray myself as the intelligent yet approachable young woman that I strive to be!

     In the last five days that we have had organized activities, we have already visited two museums and participated in two guided tours. It is amazing how much history one can learn just by walking the streets of a couple of neighboring towns. What is most amazing about Metz, is that even though it is very close to the German boarder and is in an area that was fought over by both the French and the German, barely anything was destroyed here during World War I, World War II, or any of the smaller wars between the two countries. Most of the buildings are older, full of charm, and tell a story.

     This weekend a group of 16 of us are headed an hour north to visit Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The train ride there and back is costing us less than 30 euros per person! Imagine, not only being close enough to go on a weekend trip to a different country but also having it be relatively affordable! A lot of the native students I have met, have traveled throughout the countries of Europe multiple times. It saddens me how isolated we are at America and how much we are missing out on experiencing other countries culture.

    So far, we are planning on visiting Luxembourg, Amsterdam, and Nice (Southern France) in the three weekends we have to ourselves. What countries of Europe would you like to visit?