Luxembourg

Today we went on a group excursion to the small neighboring country of Luxembourg. It was originally a province of Belgium, but is now a Grand Duchy and a sovereign country that is part of the UN and NATO. In addition, it is home to the European Investment Bank, an institution of the European Union that we toured in the morning. We sat in on an informational session about the bank's activities, which essentially involve cheaply buying money of the capital markets and then loaning that money to member states of the EU (and small amounts to countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean as well) in order to build infrastructure, finance small businesses, and promote economic development. Interestingly, it is entirely financially self-sufficient, due to the fact that all 27 EU member states back it, and does not run on any EU-taxpayer money. It was cool to tour the building, but hearing presentations from EU representatives who obviously promote the good work of the EU is starting to get rather repetitive.

Afterwards we went on a walking tour of Luxembourg City, which has a little over 100,000 inhabitants and was originally an important fortress beginning in the 10th century. The city is dotted with many medieval buildings, castles and churches, many of which are still intact. And randomly, the president of Ireland happened to be in Luxembourg today, meeting with Luxembourg government officials. As part of his trip, he was given a walking tour of the city, which just so happened to be at the same time as our walking tour. And due to the fact that Luxembourg is pretty lax on security, we were able to stand on the sidewalk as the Irish and Luxembourgish presidents strolled down the street, talking about who knows what while being trailed by a posse of 30 officials and police officers. We were able to see these leaders from five feet away and snap photos, which was totally unexpected and awesome!

In the afternoon we travelled to a castle in southern Belgium, located in the Ardennes, which during this time of the year is filled with trees whose leaves are changing color, providing a beautiful backdrop to the castle. The castle was built in the 16th century and is still in great condition. In fact, descendants of the original owners still live in the upper floors! It is one of the few castles that remains intact in the area, despite the fact that 400 years ago there were dozens lining the countryside.

After enjoying a traditional Belgian dinner in a small tavern near Dinant, also in Wallonia in Southern Belgium, we travelled back to Brussels. All in all an enjoyable but tiring day. I can't complain too much when I see the EU Investment Bank, the presidents of 2 countries, and a castle within 6 hours.