Luxembourg's a nice small country with lots of hills, forests, beautifully surfaced roads and nice people. The cycling went very well, though at 30 deg.C. plus, I sweated a lot. I crossed the 10,000 kms mark just heading into Ettleburg and felt pretty happy with myself so I stopped in the village and, at a roadside bar, had an iced tea and some chocolate pastries.

I arrived at Luxembourg city near the end of the afternoon and took a bunk at the Youth Hostel. I learned that the old part of the city was a "Unesco World Heritage Site", so I decided to stay an extra day here to take a good look around.

A small country... I'm sure one could cycle through it in any direction within a day !... And so scenic... all in the heart of the Ardennes mountains... and a beautiful ride cycling... back on asphalt roads with impeccable surfacing (I guess they have the funds to maintain a good road network).

The people, however, I found to be less open and friendly than the Belgians or Dutch... must be due to the high percentage of bankers...

Luxembourg, like the Cayman Islands and Switzerland to a degree, is a tax haven... Everything is cheap because of low taxes... and the amount of funds being channelled through this country justifies the presence of at least a couple of hundred different banks maintaining offices there.

The main city, called Luxembourg as well, was declared a "World Heritage" site by Unesco... and it's pulling tourists like mad... but though pretty... and speckled with very old ruins... I've seen much nicer "undiscovered" gems in my travels so far... but I guess Luxembourg had the funds for lobbying successfully, and got their declaration (this is wild speculation on my part...).