Luxembourg – To GT-Europe…and Beyond!

Top 5 Day Trips from GTE

Written by Lilian

November 21, 2022

Looking to save some money, but still want to explore Europe? Consider taking a day trip to one of these places! Each of these towns can easily be visited in the span of a day from Metz using the Eurail pass!

Luxembourg

Train Time from Metz: 1 Hour

Number of Connections: Direct

Once you get off at the Luxembourg train station, head north towards the upper city of Luxembourg and cross over La Passerelle, one of the many bridges that soar over the valleys which surround the city. Feast on hot chocolate from the Chocolate House and typical Luxembourgish meals of potatoes, stew, and meat while strolling around the Upper City. Spend time exploring the Bock Casements: the walls and old forts that offer some of the best views of the city. These tunnels were used to defend the city during wars and were also used as bomb shelters during WWII. As you make your way down to the lower city using the Chemin de la Corniche walking paths, a river appears, covered with weeping willows and ducks. You are now in The Grund, a small shopping district at the bottom of the valley. Once tired and satisfied, public transportation is completely free for a quick and easy way back to the train station!

Colmar

Train Time: 1.5 hours (direct) or 2.5-3 hours (with connections)

Number of Connections: Direct (with Eurail seat reservations) or 1 connection at Strasbourg

As you walk through Colmar’s tight alleys and crowded streets, half-timbered houses dominate your view. Each of them brightly colored with dark wooden accents. Wreaths and tinsel are hung up under the shuttered windows. Underneath, stores advertise cheese covered pretzels, windows are filled with small bready pastries neatly lined up, and all signs are in French, German, and English. Colmar resides forever in the holiday festivities and the city is a perfect model for Alsace culture. Because of this, the town hosts one of the best Christmas markets in Europe! When you are there, try the Kugelhopf: an iconic almond pastry in the shape of a mini Bundt cake to get into the Alsace spirits!

3. Strasbourg

Train Time: 1 hour (high speed train with Eurail seat reservations) or 1.5 hours (no reservations required)

Number of Connections: Direct

After disembarking from your train, head into Strasbourg’s historic downtown, the Grande-Île, which was inducted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. As you walk through the streets admiring the medieval architecture, one building will stop you in your tracks: the Strasbourg Notre Dame (the most visited cathedral in France). The cathedral is jaw-dropping; it towers over the surrounding buildings with its gorgeous Gothic architecture. When it was first built, it was the tallest building in the world. My favorite part of my trip was viewing the astronomical clock housed in the cathedral which displays the real position of the Sun and the Moon. Next, head over to La Petite France, a district of canals which are surrounded by picturesque half-timbered houses built in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

Paris

Train time: 1.5 hours

Number of Connections: Direct (with Eurail Seat Reservations)

Train reservations to Paris can cost as little as €10 with the Eurail pass (if purchased far enough in advance). This makes Paris a good day trip option especially when overnight hostels and Airbnb’s can cost more. When in Paris, spend time walking through the countless museums in the city, including the Louvre and Musee D’orsay, or attend one of the hundreds of concerts held in Paris each year. Whatever you decide to do, it is very easy to fill an entire day with Parisian activities. One thing to keep in mind is the Paris subway system can quickly fill during rush hour, so make sure you leave enough time to catch your train on the way back to Metz.

Metz

How could I talk about day trips without mentioning one of the best: Metz! Downtown Metz is only a quick bus ride away and is very easy to visit for a full day or even a half day after classes! Explore the Metz cathedral, which has the largest stained-glass surface in the world at 6,500 m^2. Spend time strolling around the cobblestone streets and immersing yourself in the small but quaint village. There’s also an ice-skating rink, a rock-climbing wall, and a contemporary art museum! Metz is also home to one of the best Christmas markets in Europe!

Finally!

Monday, September 5th, 2022

Written by Lillian

My initial trip to France was a whirlwind, and I was not sure that I was going to arrive on time and with all my things. I spent the summer interning in Seattle, Washington, but the day after my internship ended, I was on a plane headed to Newfoundland, Canada. I spent two weeks biking across the island with Georgia Tech’s Outdoor Recreation program. From there, I flew to Washington, D.C. where I met my dad who was waiting patiently with my luggage which I had prepacked and shipped from Seattle. I flew to Paris immediately, without even saying goodbye to my family. Afterwards, I dealt with TSA, customs, jetlag, and locating the GTL Shuttle. As I sat down in the Shuttle with all my belongings, I was relieved that all my travel plans were executed successfully, although it tiring to go through. Then, it started to dawn on me: I was finally in France!

The past three years have been building to this one moment. During my first year at Georgia Tech, I applied and was accepted to GTL for the summer. Unfortunately, it was canceled due to COVID-19. The next year, I planned to study abroad once more during the Fall semester, but I received a last-minute internship which I decided to take instead. Well, you know what they say: third time’s the charm! And for me, it was! After all the planning and purchasing of the Eurail passes and plane tickets, I started to get exhausted from stressing over all the disjunct pieces in my travel plans, wondering if it would all work out perfectly. I completely forgot to look around and just be thankful that I was here. Once I took that step back, I was full of pure happiness. While I know that busy travel days and exhausting weekdays await me, I am so excited to get out of my comfort zone and experience all that Europe has to offer me!

View outside my plane arriving into France. Even the farmlands are laid out differently. In the US, it’s a grid system, but here is more anarchy.

After a four-hour bus ride, the shuttle dropped us off at my Lafayette dorm room: a small room without air-conditioning located on the first floor. A pizza party was thrown for all the GTL students, and a couple of my newfound friends went out for €0.50 coffee from a vending machine and ice cream. My lack of French hit me as I stepped up to the dessert bar cashier. “Je voudrais une… chocolate ice cream… s’il vous plaît?” I attempted – butchering the words. Thankfully, the cashier understood my attempt and helped me with my pronunciation. Even though I was initially unsuccessful, I was over my fear of speaking French, and I look forward to the opportunity to redeem myself in the future.

A well-earned ice cream

In just this first week, I have been able to explore the cities of Metz and Luxembourg. On first impression, what struck out to me was the many cultural differences that I did not expect. I figured that Europe was more fashionable than the United States (hello– Paris fashion week), but I did not expect it in the airport and grocery stores. For Europeans, pants and red-tinted sunglasses are more favorable when compared to jeans, shorts, and black tinted sunglasses, in the U.S.. Other oddities which struck me as well: groceries and restaurants are much cheaper here than in the states; however, items such as batteries and gas are more expensive. The public bathroom (or WC) is not free, usually costing around 0,50 €- 1€. I was astounded when I was charged 4,50€ for a bottle of water at a restaurant in Luxembourg. It was more expensive than soft drinks and alcohol. When entering a grocery store, you must bag your backpacks in plastic to prevent theft of items. You also must scan self-checkout receipts to exit! While the differences are small, they add up.

Me in Paris at the Pont Neuf Bridge and my stylish gummy bear earrings. If this didn’t fit in with French couture, I don’t know what would.

Overall, France and Luxembourg have been amazing to explore these first few weeks. However, I am so excited to continue traveling and see as many sights as I can. I think the activity that I am most excited for is hiking along the ridge lines of the Alps in Switzerland. I cannot wait to continue to travel in weeks to come, so I can learn more about European culture outside of France!

A Birthday Weekend Spent Country Hopping

The title of Mira’s latest blog says it all, join Mira on an exciting adventure through Luxembourg and the Netherlands!

Friday, September 24, 2021 | Written by Mira

My actual birthday was the Monday following this weekend and would be celebrated by a day of classes. So, I decided to celebrate early and check some cities and experiences off my bucket list! What started as a stressful Thursday turned into the most memorable birthday weekend. A physics lab and a Covid-19 test later, two friends and I were on our way to Luxembourg for leg 1 of our weekend adventure.

Day 1: Luxembourg

Maybe one of the artsiest pictures of mousse I’ve ever taken.

The train from Metz to Luxembourg is covered by the 3-month unlimited Eurail pass without any extra reservation fees. After one of my friends finished her class, we hopped on a train for dinner in Luxembourg. We walked around a town square, passing by calm coffee shops and beautifully decorated side streets. Luxembourg seemed to be one of the calmest cities I’ve been to. After dinner and some delicious mousse at Café Veneziano (1 Pl. d’Armes, 1136 Luxembourg), we walked towards the sunset and into a large park, meandering with no set destination when one of my friends noticed a column of bright blue lights, which we just had to follow.

The German-Luxembourgish fair was so vibrant and colorful!

To our utter surprise, we stumbled upon a German-Luxembourgish fair with many carnival games and rides( maybe Luxembourg isn’t as calm as we initially thought)! After some confusion of how to get tickets for rides due to the language barrier, we ended up in line for a ride called “Circus Circus,” a ride that spins in three frames of reference at the same time! In our little group of three sets of seats, we were definitely screaming the loudest and were laughing constantly, which led some Luxembourgish teenage boys to laugh at us, but hey, at least we had fun. Finding this carnival was a gem and we considered it a promising sign for the rest of our travels this weekend… what else would be stumble upon?

Something I find absolutely fascinating about Luxembourg is the emphasis of languages. We looked up what the official language of Luxembourg is, and there’s actually three (Luxembourgish, German, and French), but most Luxembourgers speak at least four languages! The employees at the hotel we stayed at seamlessly transitioned between German, French, and English when talking to different guests. The next day on the train, we sat near two girls who were speaking all three languages to each other, sometimes all in the same sentence!

Day 2: Trains

Making the most of our train struggles with my first official Belgian waffle!

I could probably write a whole novel about the trains we had on this trip. On Friday, we experienced everything from a surprise transfer in a run-down Belgian train station, a cancellation of said transfer, a last-minute platform change for said transfer, a delay of said transfer (while we were on the train), and a missed connection (because of the cancellation and delay). Nonetheless, we made it to Amsterdam! Even though we were an hour behind schedule, we weren’t too stressed because the Eurail app allowed us to easily find and change itineraries, especially since none of the trains required seat reservations.

The Royal Orchestra performed in the square with this background!

For our first evening, we decided to take it easy, find some dinner, and walk around the canals. After scoring a 5 euro dinner at an Italian-Argentinian restaurant in the Netherlands, we stumbled upon another great surprise! In the town square in front of the Royal Palace, there was a concert set up. Fancily dressed people were scanning a QR code and entering the gates. One of the security guards told us that this was a once-a-year Royal Orchestra concert and tickets sold out two weeks ago. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go in, but since the concert was outdoors, we could still hear it. We stood outside the gates listening to the lovely orchestral music with a view of a Dutch Royal Palace with cyclists zigzagging through the crowd. Everything seemed so cinematic.

Day 3: Amsterdam

Today was our first and only full day in Amsterdam! For popular attractions such as the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House, you need to make reservations well in advance, which we were unaware of, (so maybe we will revisit Amsterdam later in the semester) but we made the most of what was available to us on short notice. The night before, we reserved tickets for the Royal Palace, so we started our day in regal style, walking around the palace, learning about the history of Amsterdam and the architecture of the building, which had a large Roman mythology influence.

Found a cute bicycle on a canal bridge and just had to take some photos with it!

After the Royal Palace, I needed coffee. The night before, we had found a bakery called Lourens (Oude Leliestraat 15, 1016 BD Amsterdam, Netherlands) that claimed to have the best iced coffee in Amsterdam, so we had to put it to the test. Not only was the iced coffee delicious, but the workers were so sweet! After a not-so-quick impromptu photo shoot with a random light green bicycle on a canal, we headed towards the Tulip Museum, which has student tickets for 3 euros! The museum is quite small, but we learned a lot about how tulips ended up in Holland and how tulip fields are maintained. I guess this was as close to actual fields of colorful tulips as we were going to get in autumn (if you’re at Georgia Tech-Lorraine in the Spring, please go to a tulip field in April for me).

Our next stop of the day was one of my bucket list items: canal cruise in Amsterdam. There are many different places you could go to get tickets, or you can buy them online. We opted for the I Amsterdam x Circle Line canal cruise. A 75-minute tour of Amsterdam from the canals, learning about the history of Amsterdam and the canals – did you know that there are more than twice as many bicycles as people in Amsterdam?

After the incredible canal cruise, we stopped by a chocolate shop, Puccini Bomboni (Singel 184, 1016 AA Amsterdam, Netherlands) near the best iced coffee bakery and waved to the friendly barista who remembered us, and the chocolatier offered me a free truffle for my upcoming birthday! We spent the rest of the day and evening walking around the beautiful canals, grabbing dinner at one of the many Argentinian restaurants. The way the lights reflected off the canals was so picturesque, but no phone camera could capture the way the water glistened.

I don’t think you can capture Amsterdam in a day. Honestly, I don’t even think you could see Amsterdam in its entirety in a weekend or even a week. I hope I get to come back at some point during the semester and see the things we missed, see the golden leaves in later autumn, and eat a famous stroopwafel.

An Afternoon of Good Eats

Kaela is back on the blog and her latest adventure will make your mouth water. Join her as she eats her way around Luxembourg on a blustery day trip.

Monday, October 5, 2020 | Written by Kaela

LUXEMBOURG

My mood is easily affected by the weather and my comfort in said weather. The past few days, Metz and the surrounding area has gotten extremely cold and rainy, seemingly out of nowhere: a stark contrast from my sunny beach trip a week prior. When dressing for my day trip in Luxembourg, I underestimated the weather. My outfit of choice: leggings, a t-shirt, and a blazer. Since we were up before the sun, I expected it would be cold and warm up throughout the day but I was definitely wrong. The forecast for Luxembourg was windy and cold with on and off rain.

PRO TIP: Trust the forecast and always pack rain gear and an extra layer when traveling.

Don’t get me wrong: Luxembourg is a beautiful country. My personal experience was just clouded by the temperamental weather (no pun intended). I fully plan on revisiting Luxembourg to give this country the credit it deserves. Despite the weather, the trip to this small country just above Metz was all made worth it by the food.

BRUNCH:

I am usually not a fruit on pancakes type of person. I am more of a nutella, chocolate chips, or syrup kinda gal. A person sitting near us in the restaurant, however, had the most beautiful stack of pancakes so I decided to branch out for once. Fruity coconut pancakes are, according to the restaurant’s menu: four fluffy pancakes with white chocolate, coconut spread and fruits layered in between, sprinkled with coconut shreds. These fruits include, but are not limited to, blueberries, strawberries and cranberries. When you take a bite of all three layers with the spread in between, you are overwhelmed by the sweetness and richness of it all but met by a burst when biting into a berry placed perfectly within the folds. The freshness and slightly sour taste of the berries offsets the thick and creaminess of the pancakes. I have no idea why I admired these pancakes so much, but I was taken back by how well the flavors worked together. If you visit Luxembourg, make sure to go to Gruppetto and get them. (It is just an hour train ride from Metz. )

LUNCH AND DINNER (LINNER? OR DUNCH?) :

While nearing the end of our visit at The National Museum of Art and History, we started to look up places to eat. We found Lux’Burgers: a burger restaurant with FIVE stars and almost 700 reviews on trip advisor. ( As a self proclaimed restraunt finding expert, this good of a rating is unheard of.) It seems there is always that one person who decides to give an undeserving restaurant a bad rating, but in this case it seems even that person decided this restaurant was too good for that. We were on the other side of town an hour before they closed, but we had to see what magic these burgers possessed. We sped walked, through rain and sun, down to the lower area of Luxembourg and back up. We made it with just enough time to sit and eat before they stopped serving for the day. In the wake of COVID-19, many restaurants and stores close early making it difficult for travelers to find places to eat. After careful consideration of each burger on the menu, with the help of a french speaking travel companion, we all decided, to get the Obama burger. It consists of a natural bun, a beef patty, sauce, iceberg lettuce, bacon, cheddar, and red onion. On the side, they give a small (and I mean SMALL) salad and crispy fries. In my opinion, the best part of eating the Obama burger was the way the bun held up to the juiciness of the meat and sauce. My GTL blog review is similar to the ones on trip advisor – five stars and a “would come again”.

A (Not So) Lonesome Traveler

After many weekends in a row of traversing Europe, Blanca is ready for a more calm weekend. In this blog, read about her tranquil trips around Metz and Luxembourg City as she details her enchanting experiences of traveling solo.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020 | Written by Blanca

As much as it is part of the allure of a semester abroad, traveling week after week (or rather, weekend after weekend) can get tiring. While destinations like Venice and Barcelona certainly are glamorous, sleepless nights spent sitting on airport floors, shivering while waiting for the late night bus, and dashing across train platforms to catch your connecting train are decidedly less so. To compound matters for the worse, while scurrying about during my travels in weeks prior, lack of sleep and unfavorable weather contributed to a slight but persistent sniffle that simply would not go away.

So, while my friends had planned an eventful weekend excursion to Munich and the surrounding areas of Germany, I elected to stay back in Metz for some rest, relaxation, and work catch-up this past weekend. During this time, I also embarked on two day trips of my own, first exploring the twists and turns of the historic cobblestone streets of downtown Metz, and then, on the next day, the equally-cobbled streets of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

Each time, I was able to fully observe the nooks and crannies of the cities in question. In Metz, I wandered around the Ancienne Ville, strolling past artisan craftsman shops and ducking in and out of uniquely stocked concept stores. During a visit to boutique called POPWHITE CONCEPT STORE (82 En Fournirue), which was handsomely outfitted with twinkling string lights, vibrant faux flowers, luxurious homewares, and lavish charcuterie, I saw some uncannily realistic bread-shaped lamps, which I am now seriously considering purchasing and bringing back with me to the states for dorm décor. Downtown Metz has quite the smattering of home goods shops, and as these are some of my favorite places to visit while I pine for the days I might own a property of my own and furnish it top to bottom, they make day trips into Metz the interior design lover’s dream.

The next day, after a good night’s sleep and a morning trip to Cora (which is, by the way, the time of day when you get the best pick of produce and of pastries), I hopped on one of the many trains between Metz and Luxembourg. A quick 50-minute train ride and an even shorter bus trip to the city’s center later, I found myself, once again, in Luxembourg City. In a previous blog post, I detailed the events of my day trip with a large traveling group, but this time, I was visiting solo.

A charming, tucked-away street in Luxembourg City

I have to say, traveling alone makes for an even more intimate experience in getting to know a place. While doing so obviously requires a heightened sense of caution, as you now lack the safety in numbers, I realized in Luxembourg that you truly get to explore on your own terms. Making and following my own itinerary gave me the freedom to wander as far as I pleased or to stand in the same spot for as long as I wanted, staring at the same artifact in a history museum. Alone in an otherwise bustling city, no architectural detail goes unnoticed, and no side street is too humdrum, too lacking in interest. Each avenue warrants a visit, even if it’s a quick stroll-through, and when traveling solo, the quaint shops and cafes that beckon do so just for you. Though I might’ve been unaccompanied by other people, in the welcoming embrace of a city abuzz with life and character, I definitely wasn’t alone.

A Day Trip to Luxembourg

Blanca is back with her first travel story about her day trip to Luxembourg! Check out her blog to hear all about the fun she had on her sweet day trip!

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 | Written by Blanca

This past Saturday, I woke up bright and early to catch the B line bus to the Metz bus depot, and from there, a bus (from the delightfully whimsically-named company Blablabus) to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. After arriving at the bus station, my travel companions and I purchased all-day bus tickets for €4.00; although public transportation in Europe is generally already quite affordable, this feat in particular left us all patting ourselves on the backs for our financial literacy. (While it was revealed later, when the bus arrived, that certain bus lines run for free in Luxembourg on Saturdays, including the bus we were planning to take, for the moment, we revelled in our savvy saving.)

To pass the time while waiting for the bus that would take us into the city, and with a surprisingly strong eduroam wifi signal being emitted from the international high school across the street, we all pulled out our phones to do some quick fact-searching on Luxembourg.

Some Quick Facts About Luxembourg, Courtesy of Wikipedia and of Eduroam from a School Across the Street

The people of Luxembourg have the highest GDP per capita in the world
Luxembourg’s official languages are French, German, and Luxembourgish, the national language (but we also found that virtually everyone, or at least those that worked in business fronts and retail, spoke English as well)
Most of the authentic Luxembourgish cuisine shares the same flavor notes as those of neighboring Germany

Our bus took us into central Luxembourg City, where we immediately marveled at the local architecture: a mix of Germanic, Romanesque, and Gothic. Like a bunch of flamingly obvious tourists, we took pictures aplenty.

Off in the distance, we spotted a Hogwarts-esque castle tower-looking thing with a gold clock face, later revealed to be the Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État (Luxembourg has numerous banks; in fact, banking is Luxembourg’s largest economic sector, again according to Wikipedia), toward which me immediately decided to walk. Our trek across the famed Adolphe Bridge, pictured above, and through cobblestone streets lined with apartment buildings reminiscent of Parisian Haussmannian architecture eventually led us to a restaurant called Metropolitan, where we stopped for a much-deserved brunch.

Now fully fed and with a renewed pep in our steps, we made our way southward, back across the Adolphe Bridge, in search of the Palais Grand-Ducal (Grand Ducal Palace). Along the way, we stopped by the Cercle Cité Hall, where we saw an exhibit of contemporary and conceptual art pieces, contenders for the Robert Schuman Art Prize. Next, we walked through Luxembourg City’s lively shopping district, finally reaching the Grand Ducal Palace.

Not one to miss the arts scene, I popped into a local English bookstore, aptly named Ernster: All English Bookstore. Our group of eight then traversed the square to Luxembourg City History Museum, where we learned about Luxembourg’s city planning and history, first as a fortress city and then as a Grand Duchy. My favorite portion of the museum, the fourth floor, was entirely dedicated to the Schueberfouer, Luxembourg’s annual city funfair dating back 679 years. (Fun fact! The Schueberfouer was founded on my birthday in 1340.) A colorful range of displays showed us carnival lights, both old and new, rainbow-colored enamel carousel seats, and my personal favorite, a collection of vivid Schueberfouer posters, a few of which I desperately want as prints for my room.

The color! The composition! The typefaces! The Schueberfouer!!

Our time to return to the bus depot fast approaching, we took one final walk around Luxembourg City, taking in the buildings and the local culture alike. Luxembourg’s hilly landscape makes for great vantage points from which you can view the rest of the city, and we found yet another lookout point that offered us a stunning hilltop view of the quaint buildings below.

What a view of Luxembourg! — What a view!

My final stop in the city was at Cafe Veneziano, where I stopped for a cone of ice cream, in mid-30 degree fahrenheit weather, at that—the sweetest way to end a sweet day trip to Luxembourg.

Day Trips Are Delightful

Maddie “took the weekend off” – which has very different sense when you’re at Georgia Tech-Lorraine. With day trips to Luxembourg, Nancy, and Colmar, her weekend was still packed with new sights and wonders. Check out her latest blog post!

This past weekend was the first weekend that I stayed in Metz since the start of GTL. On Friday I went on a day trip to Luxembourg, and on Saturday to Nancy and Colmar, but at night I came home to my blissfully familiar Lafayette dorm. I’ve loved all of the adventures I’ve had and the gallivanting around Europe that I’ve done so far, but after a busy and stressful week packed with three midterms, I was very ready to have a calmer, more chill weekend. It was quite refreshing not to have to worry about the usual travelling concerns, like lodgings, train reservations and schedules, packing my backpack within an inch of its life, and inevitably forgetting my pajamas.

Our hearts may have been set on the hot chocolate, but these beautiful rainbow-colored truffles were enticing as well.

Pear cinnamon isn’t a flavor combination I would ever have thought of for hot chocolate, but I’m glad someone did because it was marvelous!

It was a beautiful day as we walked around Luxembourg after our short morning train ride. Our first and most imperative stop was at The Chocolate House! They had hot chocolate spoons in a massive variety of strange and wonderful flavors, so we ordered some with hot milk and stirred them until they melted into perfectly delicious hot cocoa. After wandering the city and taking a nice nap in a sunny park, we decided to go to the Mudam, the museum of modern art in Luxembourg. This was definitely one of the coolest museums I’ve seen thus far. (And also free for students! Hooray!) It’s situated on top of an old fort, Fort Thüngen, and the juxtaposition of the ancient brick walls with the sleek architecture of the museum created a very neat aesthetic. The main exhibition was a series of kinetic sculptures themed around wind and water called Spaceship,by Susumu Shingu. My favorite piece was this fascinating moving water sculpture, which we sat and watched, mesmerized, for at least ten minutes.

This is only one side of an amazing sculpture we saw at the Mudam. As you can see, it was a conglomeration of all sorts of random things, including plastic plants, yarn, water, sticks, a fan, some tea, pebbles, etc. Some parts of it moved, too!

The next day, on Saturday, we went to Nancy! It was a lovely city, with lots of gold leaf and casually ornate facades and gates. First we ventured into the city’s cathedral, something I always like to do when exploring a new city. While Gothic cathedrals obviously share many similarities, each one has its own personality and character, and it’s always very calming and beautiful to amble along the ambulatory and look at the stained glass. Later, we stumbled upon a Japanese botanical garden exhibit in a square, complete with intricate sculptures, flowers, a koi pond, and many bonsai trees. It was incredibly beautiful, and it was wonderful to see the local residents enjoying the public art as much as we did.

I really love plants, especially succulents and bonsai trees, so stumbling upon this botanical garden in the middle of Nancy that had both of those things was the most pleasant of pleasant surprises!

After having a hearty lunch at a pizza place, we power-walked to the train station to avoid missing our train to Colmar. There, we wandered around the old town and admired the beautiful houses, cobblestone streets, picturesque canals, and innumerable dogs. We ate some yummy crepes and spent lots of time sitting in a park, just talking and people-watching as a group of teenagers did tricks on their bikes and as children played nearby in a fountain. On the whole it was a lovely, relaxing weekend to explore interesting cities in closer proximity to our home in Metz!

Colmar was just as cute as you would hope an old French town would be (it reminded me a bit of the villagee from Beauty and the Beast!).

Why Day Trips are the Best

Many undergraduate students take the opportunity of being at GT-Lorraine to travel to their hearts’ desire, crossing all of Europe some weekends, but that can be taxing. In her latest blog post, Quinnell highlights the merits of local day-trips, and just what she did during hers!

Waking up with it still being dark outside is not always the most pleasant experience, especially when you are not a morning person. I was not the happiest person as I dragged myself out of my bed in the GTL dorms at 4:30 AM. Entering the train station, I immediately made a beeline for Starbucks, as it was my travel ritual and a dire necessity at this point. For the first weekend in a long time, I was traveling more locally around Europe. When I say travel locally, I am implying that the train ride would be less than 2 hours. This weekend, I decided to travel to Colmar, France and Luxembourg City, Luxembourg!

The first stop on my weekend travels was Colmar, France. My friend and I arrived at the train station in Colmar at 9 AM. When we initially planned our travel times to arrive in the city, we thought that the city would just be starting its day. Little to our surprise, the people in Colmar surely like to get their rest we found out, as everything was closed until about 10:30 AM. When the city did awaken, it was a peaceful experience to see schools in session on a Friday, coffee shops and stores opening, and the the scent of freshly baked pretzels filling the air in the market. We had a great time as we were able to go shopping, try new foods, do a boat ride in this small town affectionately called “Little Venice,” and see the beautiful, colorful, quaint little houses of the Old Town.

The awesome part of doing a day trip to Luxembourg the next day was that I was able to visit another country! Luxembourg was actually on my list of countries to visit because it is the second richest county in the world, and I was dying to see what the hype was all about. Stepping off the train, we entered a very modern looking city only for it to drastically change into an old, medieval-looking town. In Luxembourg City, the old forts and castle still stand in the city center. It was a great city to see in one day! Everything was conveniently placed in the center of Luxembourg, and there were enough museums, shopping, sites, restaurants, and local life to fill one day.

The best part about day trips is that we saw all the attractions we wanted to see and ate all the food our hearts desired, and then we were able to go back to GTL! It was so refreshing to take a train without a reservation, explore a new city on my bucket list, see the change in culture between French cities and neighboring countries, and be able to sleep in my bed at the end of the day. Another perk about day trips is that the stress of finding a place to sleep for the weekend, budgeting for meals and activities for three days, and organizing reservations and transportation is essentially nonexistent. It was also nice to not feel stressed wondering if you packed all the essential clothes needed for a weekend, or trying to bustle to the train station after classes.

While I can say that traveling to a place for an entire weekend is a more immersive experience, day trips are a great alternative if you are tired from extensive traveling, want to catch up on school work, trying to save some money, or visiting a smaller nearby city. I think it is a great idea to try a day trip at least once while studying at Georgia Tech Lorraine. Below I included a list of things we did in Colmar and Luxembourg City to give a small idea of what can be accomplished in a day trip!

Colmar, France

The city is absolutely gorgeous! It is colorful and full of little senior citizen tourist groups everywhere. When I visited here, I felt extremely comfortable and safe. The locals here were very kind, and many spoke English well. If you visit here, make sure to use your student ID for the Statue of Liberty museum, take a boat ride on the river, and eat one of their bretzels!

List of Things to See: Old Town, shopping, a boat ride in Little Venice, Musee Bartholdi (free with student ID), Presbytere Protestant de Colmar, Collegiate Saint-Martin de Colmar, Schwendi Fountain

Must Try Local Foods: Bretzel (pretzel with melted cheese) and kugelhopf (sponge cake with nuts and cherry brandy)

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

In comparison to all the cities I have visited so far, I would definitely say that Luxembourg City has been most of the modern. It was very safe, peaceful, and mainly everything was located around the city center. We only needed about 5-6 hours to get a lot done in our day.

View of Luxembourg City from the top of the Bock Casemates

List of Things to See: Notre-Dame Cathedral of Luxembourg, the markets of Place Guillaume, the statue of Duke William II, Bock Casemates (5 euros with student ID), Palace of the Grand Duke, Luxembourg City History Museum (free with student ID), Adolphe Bridge, Neumunster Abbey

Must Try Foods: Chocolate House and ice cream

To GT-Europe...and Beyond!

Category: Luxembourg