CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG May 2nd, 2026 - BRUGES to LUXEMBOURG

 

5/2/26– Decision time as we contemplate whether to go out into Bruges a little more or make today a rest/travel day only. Our train ticket is open-ending so we can leave pretty much anytime before 6pm, but wouldn’t mind just getting to Luxembourg early enough to take a shower and relax. 

We check out of our AirBnb room at 10am, store our bags in the lobby and walk toward the town square ten minutes to Chez Albert for waffles. I’m surprised to see no line for this take-a-way place as it’s one of the hot food items to try, but shortly after ordering I notice a line of ten people suddenly show up behind us. We’re such trend setters.

I ask for the strawberry and whipped cream and am met with, “What kind of chocolate would you like, milk or dark?” Curiously, I ask if it comes with it and she says it’s extra. Wow, presumptive sale… very interesting. I graciously decline her request but thanks for the offer.

Eating this waffle along the way back to our place is a bit challenging but so worth it. I’m enjoying every bite as I try very hard not to entangle my hair in the Belgian flag on a toothpick impaled into the whip cream.

Soon after, we grab our bags, call an Uber to the train station and jump on board as soon as we can to secure seats with our luggage. Unfortunately, the train is medium full with no obvious place to store them, so I scrunch into a seat with my belongings and make due. By the first stop I notice there seems to be just enough space between and under the seat next to me which houses my large bag. This would be great if this journey was direct, however, we have two changes we’ll eventually have to make, with this first train lasting about two hours.

At our first transfer stop we only have six minutes to catch our next train. Nicely enough, there was a screen on our first one that tells us ahead of time what platform we’ll need to go to. Even though we have to maneuver down and up stairs, we safely get on board and find seats immediately. We do have to switch seats onc time as we apparently sat down in the first class section, but there’s plenty of space to move around.

Our second transfer station in Triosvierges, Luxembourg is a bit weirder. We expected to wait around an hour before we can board but soon find that due to track maintenance it stops short of our destination and will need to transfer to a bus in Mersch. This should be interesting. At least we’re able to jump on an earlier train and not have to wait the full hour.

The last stop comes up and we quickly try to locate the bus. It takes a few minutes but L11 arrives and takes us straight to Luxembourg City station. From here we call another Uber and get picked up by one of the glass top Tesla’s (which is always pretty cool) and arrive at our AirBnb shortly before 6pm.

Our instructions guides us through an outdoor restaurant to the main door and up two flights of steps (of course), but once we see the apartment layout we’re happy. Although the slanted ceiling will most likely be an issue at times… just say’n.

Not wasting any time, I change into shorts (because I’m smart now) and we go straight out to Chemin de la Corniche. It’s only a seven minute walk away but completely uphill, so much so that it feels like I’m on a stairmaster machine set for expert level. Once we power through that and the steps that follow, we’re met with a gorgeous view of Luxembourg. It’s no wonder why this is called Europe’s most beautiful balcony.

We only stay a few minutes before making our way back to our AirBnb to try out the Italian restaurant we passed through earlier. Outside seating is all they have, and of course they have some smokers, but the margherita pizza is very good (especially after we add their chili olive oil on top).

Overall it’s been a good day, albeit a long one with all the changes. We’re also officially one week into this trip with a few more to go.

Side note: The water pressure here is not very good. It takes ten minutes for the water to heat up and in the middle of my shower the water completely turned off for about five minutes before kicking back on automatically.