Luxembourg City is a beauty. One of my dear former team members, Tun de Jong, is from here, and he has not promised too much. A charming little old town that is separated from the new city, the Kirchberg, by a valley along the Alzette river, and with magnificent sites.
We arrive there in the early afternoon, have a late lunch at the place d’Armes, some of us wash off the heat at the nearby fountain, and then we stroll through the little streets down to the city wall, enjoying the view over the valley to other old and more recent parts of the city. We feel at ease here, and the contrast to Brussels, to which we did not that much connect, is apparent to us.
We spend the evening with friends who have invited us to stay at their place (even though they are about to move into a new house and have packed up most of their belongings already). Our host and I wrote our doctorate dissertations together back in 2005 and 2006 in Berlin and had fabulous two years together.
We have been a little of touch over the last decade. Our children connect immediately, just as we did back then, and wander off into the wild. Funny to see how the next generation continues to develop family relationships. We sit until late at night and catch up on the last ten years and life with a growing family in Luxemburg. Serendipitous moments all along, and we leave our friends hoping to see them again soon.
The next morning, we go and check out the European Court of Justice, that is such an important institution particularly for us as Europan lawyers. And I must say, we are rather disappointed. The place looks like a fortress and appears completely inaccessible to the general public. A concept that does not match my democratic expectations and which leaves me rather puzzled.
We leave with Luxemburg on our minds and in our car. Next stop: Dijon en Bourgogne, et j’ai l’intention de continuer ce blog en français à partir de là until further notice…
