Luxemburg, the altstad

So our plan to do a roadtrip to Germany in the spring vacation with my sister got cancelled due to my back problems and the icy weather predictions. But we changed our plans to a train ride to Luxemburg city.  That turned out to be ridiciously cheap as all public transport in Luxemburg is free and we only had to pay a local Belgian ticket to the border. 

After a few hours on the train through the snowy Ardennes valleys we arrived at our destination and we checked in at our hotel near the train station. 

And so we were ready to explore this city for a few days. At first impression I find it a very confusing and impractical city as it's situated on some high rocks that are carved in with steep valleys.  After a few blocks walking you either need to search for one of the big bridges linking the city quarters to each other, or an elevator taking you up and down from the lower or higher parts of the city or doing a steep walk up or down.  Guessing walking time to some point makes it a bit harder to guess.  But..it also means there's a constant viewpoint over the valleys nearby. 

   

The historic city center die Altstadt is also the Oberstadt or Ville-Haute, built on one of the big high rocks.  In the center are some big squares that are near the cathedral, the ducal palace , the town hall etc.  

We explored a bit the streets around that seem like a bit of a maze, but a very small one because we were always surprised to find ourselves after a few turns back at the squares.  Hahah. 

The eternal flame is at the edge of one of the big bridges. 

The ducal palace  and Luxemburg parliament are connected in an old historic building. 

At the rocks edges are cute narrow streets. 

The cathedral seems a bit closed in with other buildings so you don't feel its size very much when wondering around. I was quite amazed by the ornamented pillars and organ in the cathedral. 

The freedom memorial remembers all the soldiers that fought for the Luxemburg and European freedom in the 2 world wars.  

Near the memorial is a bridge that crosses the valley and leads along the avenue de Liberté towards the train station area where we stayed. The avenue and quarter is filled with static huge buildings from banks. Especially the Luxemburg Sparkasse has some great buildings.