I was striving to steady my steps on a snow-covered footpath in Luxembourg. Shreyas, my husband held my hands to keep the three of us from falling. Me, him and our unborn son.

We reached Luxembourg early that morning by FlixBus. The journey was long yet comfortable. It was in our minds that this was probably one of our last trips before having our child. We were determined to explore Europe, where we migrated in 2022 together, until we had the freedom to do so. We may not be able to travel with the kid until he turned one at least.

Luxembourg was still not out of its blanket when we arrived. We took the free local transportation to ascend the snake-like roads up a hill and check in to our guest house. A warm kitchen welcomed us with the aroma of coffee. Our freezing hands were finally out of the gloves. My body thanked me as I ran some warm water on it after being in a cold -9 degrees while getting there.

Soaking in the Place D’armes

Our brunch was unconventional at the Place D’armes near the famous Notre Dame church of Luxembourg. We surfed through an array of stalls set in the open sun, to find some grilled chicken to dig into. This square became our best-loved due to the colourful visuals and smells of shops, souvenirs, music, tourists and exotic views of the city. We entered a few stores to soak in the styles and colours. More importantly, to warm ourselves each time it snowed.

I was well into the fifth month of my pregnancy, so we had to take strategic breaks throughout the day. A cosy Café Fischer became our refuge that afternoon. It was appropriate that the Café was not far from the golden statue with a view of the Petrusee Valley. The view of the valley was white as far as our eyes could see. Few bridges, roads and houses were dispersed throughout the white valley. My eyes followed the footmarks in the snow throughout the slopes. I wondered who left the remains of their adventure behind.

We took a walk through the traditional Grund district with the heritage walls around sunset. The walls gave us many photogenic spots. We found the winding roads of the district treacherous due to the presence of partially melted snow all along. This was when Shreyas kept warning me to slow down with each step. He appeared more worried than me for the whole duration of the trip. We were lucky to spot an Indian restaurant to pick up dinner not far from this district. It satiated us enough to slumber into a deep tired sleep through the night. The warm quilt became our igloo.

Along the Historic museum

The following day began with a lovely conversation at breakfast involving our neighbours at the guest house. The boy was from the French military and his girlfriend worked in the romantic city of Paris. Even in their early twenties, their life experiences were already quite rich. They were one of the few Europeans we met, who were highly aware of Indian food and traditions. Luxembourg spoke French, German and Luxembourgish. So it was only fitting for two couples from Germany(us) and France(our neighbours) to meet in this guest house kitchen.

We packed our bags and parked them at the guest house to be picked up before our bus journey. Kirchberg district Philharmonie was our first stop that morning. In January of 2024, there were no shows being performed yet. But the beauty of the white building on the white roads was mesmerizing. I was travelling with my book “Need Over Want” that day, to click some photos with it. The pillars of Philharmonie provided a good spot to do that.

This district appeared to be full of offices and people wearing suits. We weighed our options before deciding where to head for the remaining half day of our trip. The Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art sounded like an inviting venue. There were real remains of the prehistoric species to see. Shreyas enjoyed some of the animals displayed as much as the kids over there. At this moment, I realised that I am going to soon be living with two kids. Two bundles of joy. The Museum Café provided a calm spot for my long evening break. We sipped coffee to the sounds of the river flowing next to the café. The river pierced the white valley as if the snow was rising like foam above the intoxicating water.

In this phase of pregnancy, I was able to walk upto ten or twelve kilometres a day but with breaks. In contrast, I would walk up to 25 km a day during trips before pregnancy. This trip though, showed me some moments of shortness of breath each time fatigue engulfed me. We carried electrolytes to energise me when my breath ran out. And of course, we planned the trip to have slow days. It is generally not our style to cover every tourist spot on the list. We may walk longer to explore each spot deeply but never rush from spot to spot.

The church of Eglise Jean du Grund stood next to the museum along this river. The church was grand and provided a great setting for the city view. This time, from valley towards the slopes. We crossed the Neumünster Bridge to come back from the museum side of the river and waited for our bus back. The Neumünster Bridge gave us the moment of our trip. A sunset view standing on the bridge as we crossed it. Our hearts were overwhelmed as we said goodbye to this chilly but beautiful white holiday in Luxembourg.

Please leave a comment about your experience of this lovely city.