Luxembourg is a small country located in Western Europe between Germany, France, and Belgium. According to this article, Luxembourg has the highest GDP per capita in the world. This is not so surprising, as the country is well endorsed for being a haven for financial institutions and companies, alike. Being a very (!) international country, despite its small size, it is also no wonder that Luxembourg hosts many European institutions as well, such as the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors. I didn't know about the latter until nI looked it up. But working in an audit firm myself, its interesting to see that even the EU financial institutions have an independent body that audits them.
Next to Luxembourg's importance for Europe (and for companies to avoid paying high taxes), the country's history is equally mesmerizing. Since its full independence in 1983, Luxembourg has flourished into becoming an international city and a role model regarding multilingual education.
Almost every person who grew up in Luxembourg can speak 3 languages: French, German, Luxembourgish (not to speak of English). The most surprising fact although, is that Luxembourgians speak either of the languages with almost no accent! The many languages are also present in every detail when straying through the city. The church masses are announced in all three languages, newspapers are available in all three languages (without ordering them by language in the store!), English movies are shown in original version with both French and German subtitles. Most surprisingly to me, the local event guide has articles about whatever happens in Luxembourg in either of those languages and translated into one more. For example, a movie review is written in German with translation into French, the latest art exhibition is described in Luxembourgish with translation in English, and theater discussions are written in French and translated in Luxembourgish. People in Luxembourg seem to be able to switch between spoken languages as well without an effort. Amazing.
Topography of the city is also very unique. The center of Luxembourg is situated on higher ground with almost all of the important buildings. Then, there is the valley of tranquility and a paradise for joggers spanning an area along the Petrusse river.
When moving along the river, the picturesque Grund district can be reached.
Amazingly, there is also a public elevator/lift between the upper and lower part of Luxembourg available for free.
The most famous sight of Luxembourg are the casemates, a kind of military fortification. Unfortunately, they cannot be visited during the winter months, so I took a picture on top of them instead. In the background, skyscrapers located in the district of Kirchberg can be seen. Kirchberg hosts the majority of the financial institutions in Luxembourg and also the largest cinema and entertainment complex.
The museum of modern art (MUDAM) is also located in Kirchberg. The museum is definitely worth a visit. Usually, there are different works by multiple artists on display. This week there was a really interesting exhibition by Korean artist Lee Bul, and an even more interesting exhibition by Taiwanese artist Chen Chieh-Jen, the latter of which incorporated the fate of his nation and family under the oppression of the Kuomintang into his work. The picture above is unrelated to these two exhibitions but really caught my attention. A fountain not with water but with ink (by Luxembourg artist Su-Mei Tse), symbolizing the power of words and the cycle of creativity.
Pictured above is the building of the Luxembourg Philharmony by night, a stunning architectural marvel.
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