Billy the Bus's Blog

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Big Billy Trip 18 - Esch to Bockholtz, via Luxembourg City

Route – Esch to Luxembourg City to Bockholtz
Distance - 72km (3730km total)

Today was a much better day than yesterday! I did lots of driving again, but instead of it being about covering distance, I drove around this really nice country just soaking it all up.

IMG_2408.JPGI had read nice things about the capital, so I headed there for lunch time. It is indeed a really nice place, very cosmopolitan feel, lots of people of different ages and different backgrounds all doing their own thing. I saw the ruins of the original castle (the reason Luxembourg became a place) and the caves underneath it, then had a sarnie.

IMG_2413.JPGI also liked Luxembourg City because the whole of it is one big WiFi hotspot. It's the future. So I sat on a bench as they cleared up the flower market, and uploaded a few photos and stuff.

Next I drove North, trying to find the fairytale Chateau I'd read about. My map is poor on detail, and the one in the Lonely Planet was no better, so I did quite a bit of driving around in circles to find it. But it was such lovely driving, I didn't mind at all. I also found a campsite to stay at, on the way to the castle, which is a bonus. The castle itself was nice enough, but mainly because of the nice views from the top of the pigeon-poo-encrusted tower.

IMG_2440.JPGMy new favourite road in the world is the Luxembourg N27. I only found it by accident, but it is so much fun. It's fairly flat for starters, which is good for Billy, but it sweeps around, following the flow of the lake in the bottom of this valley. At one point, you cross the river on a wooden bridge, take a sharp left, and then re-cross the river almost immediately back to the other side. If you were designing a fun race track, it would be a bit like this. If I lived round here, I'm sure I'd be doing time trials on it, like I used to on the A60 Lboro to Nottingham.

IMG_2432.JPGNot even 10pm yet, but I'm in bed. It's the easiest way to keep warm. I would definitely not do this trip any later in the year than this. The cold is just about manageable, but I can understand why 30 Sept is generally seen as the close of the camping season. Italy was hot and lovely, but you can't really avoid several days in the colder North to get there can you.

So two nights left after this – I think one near Brussells and one near Bruge. I may as well drive Bruge to Calais on Saturday morning – no point staying a night in the mingy North of France if I can avoid it. Night! x

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