Day 9 - Castle of Vianden

We went to the north part of the country today, to see a castle in Vianden. This part of the country is on the border with Germany, in a mountain range called the Ardennes. The Ardennes are a very old mountain range; much like the Appalachian Mountains, so they are rounded at the top and covered by forests. The castle is on the side of St. Nicolas Mountain, one of the tallest in Luxembourg.

We ate lunch away from home for the first time this trip today. We didn't eat breakfast, so I was very hungry by the time we got to Vianden. The first two places we tried were closed, so we ended up eating at a hotel called Victor Hugo. Victor Hugo was a French author who lived in that area for quite awhile. Our server was a boy of 12 or 13, which was a bit surprising. I thought that maybe he is the son of one of the hotel owners, Charel thought that it might have been an internship. He did quite well.

 The menu had English, so at least I wasn't completely lost. We started with the soup of the day, which was a sort of porridge, and it was very good. Charel suggested one of the country dishes; I chose the smoked pork neck with beans and bacon potatoes. It looked a lot like ham (which I don't like) but didn't have the ham taste, so it was actually pretty good. Since my explanation would not really do it justice, here is a Wiki for you: Judd mat Gaardebounen. Remembering that I had expressed interest in trying Luxembourgish beer, Charel also ordered me a Diekirch, the most popular brand of beer produced there. It was pale, looking much like a Bud Light or the like, so I was a bit leery of it, but it tasted absolutely nothing like it. It is not a heavy beer, and it went well with the food. I plan to have one again before my trip is over.

After lunch, we began to walk towards the castle. I had not realized that we weren't going to drive up to the castle, so I was not mentally prepared for the hike up the side of a mountain in -9C windy cold (that's 16F). I was complaining quite a bit by the time we walked the half-kilometer up. At least the area was very pretty, with stone roads and lots of houses and shops.

We reached the castle and went inside. One of the first sights we saw was a group of about 20 secondary school students (high school) and a very loud and animated tour guide. Although I could not understand what he was saying, I could recognize that his speech had a lot more of a hard German tone to it than the softer Luxembourgish I have grown accustomed to listening to. Whether or not I should be proud of that fact, I am. We let the group pass us, and we began to tour the castle.

Vianden Castle (Wiki) is a restored castle that was expanded many times, starting as a small Roman fort and reaching peak size in the 1600s. Nowadays, it is set up as an obvious tourist attraction, based on the sheer amount of souvenirs that were for sale. Most of the castle was thankfully sealed off and heated, which was quite a welcome relief from the cold. It is set up much like a museum, with displays of armors, weapons, various stages in the castle's history, and items they used in that time period.

We ended up catching up to the tour group quite quickly, and decided to pass them, instead. That turned out to be a good decision, as the guide continued to ramble on and make jokes (judging by Charel's chuckling). There were a lot of really nice views of the town, too.

After the castle, and the very chilly walk down, we drove up the mountain again. After that, we turned around and drove back home. It took us both quite awhile to warm up, and the trip left me so tired that I fell asleep immediately for two hours before dinner

Full pics here: Castle of Vianden