Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

Luxembourg, a member of the European Union and an independent sovereign state with 400,000 inhabitants, isn't very big---about the size of Rhode Island. Luxembourg City is by far its biggest city with a population of 120,000.

I was here 25 years ago and again 20 years ago to visit corporate headquarters. In the photo you see a tall tower which is something new--the sphere whisks tourists up to the top for a photo opportunity.

This picturesque former fortress city is awash with medieval fortifications including bastions, steep ring walls, ramparts and tower gates---which is why I'm back.

 Steep gorges cut through the city

If you look way in the background you can see tall buildings. That area is home to several important European Union institutions including the European Court of Justice and European Investment Bank.

 Luxembourg doesn't have a king but, a constitutional monarchy headed by Grand Duke Henri. This used to be the royal digs but, when Grand Duke Henri took over from his father in 2000 he decided city life wasn't for him and moved out to a castle in the suburbs. He still keeps an office here for official duties and meeting foreign dignitaries (such as me).

When I was here to visit companies it turned out to be a joke. Headquarters for about a dozen of the companies consisted of nothing more than a post office box or mail drop. Seems Luxembourg is a tax avoidance haven for hundreds if not thousands of multinational companies. Corporations register in Luxembourg and reap the tax benefits. Here's a question that needs looking into: why do 250 foreign financial institutions have offices in tiny Luxembourg? After Qatar, Luxembourg is the world's richest country.

Back in 1996 I visited steelmaker Arcelor. In 2006 Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of steelmaker Mittal Steel (based in India), launched an audacious takeover of Arcelor and was successful. It's now the world's largest steelmaker (ArcelorMittal) with over $76 billion in revenues AND, its CEO Lakshmi Mittal is one of the world's richest men with an estimated fortune of $11.7 billion. Though he's the big boss, Mittal doesn't live here but in very palatial pad in London. I took this photo of Arcelor/Mittal's building and chuckled in finding several Indian/curry food places close by.

Yep, I'm back to do a more thorough inspection of Luxembourg's medieval fortifications. Why? For one thing the whole city is designated a Unesco World Heritage site. French military engineer Sebastien Le Preste de Vauban (1633-1707) had a hand in their design. Vauban's design principles were the dominant model of fortifications back in his day.  I took a self-guided two hour walk showcasing Vaudan's works. Over the centuries the French, Germans, Austrians and even the Dutch controlled the city.

Living down in the deep gorges meant hoofing it up steep grades. This industrial-size elevator whisks pedestrians as well as cyclists up the hill. The red, white and yellow van is a driverless vehicle taking locals home.

 View of ramparts.

 Homes down in a gorge.

 A medieval city gate sill standing in Luxembourg city.

Leaving Luxembourg city I make my way down to Colmar, France. Known as the "Venice of France" because of it's picturesque canals and beautiful old town Colmar (population 90,000) ranks as one of my favorite places in France. I've posted photos multiple times.

My plan to spend the night in Colmar doesn't pan out thanks to cyclists--to be more specific----many, many cyclists. I read about a brand new hotel recently opening in downtown Colmar and that's where I was hoping to lay my head. So, imagine my surprise upon arriving in town late in the afternoon to  barricaded streets, crowds of people and big police presence. Jeez, it turns out the Tour de France will be coming through in a few minutes.  

Quick background on the Tour de France. It consists of 21 day long stages over 23 days and covers about 2,200 miles. The route changes every year and towns/cities vie to be on the route AND for the race to spend the night in their community. Why? This traveling circus (riders, support staff, media, advertisers, officials and so on) numbers about 4,000. Besides being an economic boom for the community there's the international media coverage. Sometimes the Tour de France goes through other countries and I was Lausanne, Switzerland when the Tour de France spent the night in town.

So, when I heard the Tour de France was not just passing through Colmar but, spending the night here I knew I had to get out of the area quickly because it'll be difficult finding a place within 30-40 miles (as mentioned before I don't book hotels in advance as I like having maximum flexibility). I ended up cycling to Freiburg, Germany 30 miles away. That's Breisach, Germany (population 16,000) in the photo above taken before I crossed the Rhine river into Germany.