Luxembourg

South of the city of Luxembourg, our stopover was 1.5km out of the town of Dudelange. We passed through a FairTrade town to get here. It reminded us of Stourbridge back home.

We waited until after the hottest part of the day and set off to explore. We passed a brightly painted skate park whose users were preparing for an upcoming competition. (We'd occasionally seen a skateboarder pop up to the stopover to stock up on free water before heading back to the ramps).
We indulged in some chocolate at a Fair Trade shop and lamented about the UK's Leave vote with the shopkeeper who spoke 'a little English'. She worried Britain was 'all about the economy' (i.e. rich people getting richer) and the people were forgotten about. She feared England would be isolated if they left, telling us the people of Luxembourg knew the value of migrants, with 60,000 French commuting daily, not to mention the Belgians and Germans who lived here.

A large proportion of the town centre was behind fencing as it was being turned into a shared area for pedestrians, cars and cyclists. The main square outside the town hall however was beautiful and laid out with red deckchairs for people to watch the Tour de France on a huge screen on the town hall. There were several cafes around the square and as our stopover was free we treated ourselves to ice cream and an espresso!

Loving the bright colours on the houses we've seen since crossing the border, makes things look really cheerful.Read more