We were looking for a weekend break, but something not direct, so that we had the chance to discover new airports. It was a frustrating search and most of the destinations weren't suitable, because it gave us either too few time to see something from the destination or took longer than two days. In the end we typed into the search field Luxembourg and voila the destination was covered.
Our flight took us with Swiss to Zurich, starting later in the day, so we could try Caviar House and Prunier in Dublin Terminal 1. We knew them already from London Heathrow.
It wasn't busy at all. Our hostess and we had time to chat. I ordered gravad lax and found out it was our hostess' favorite, too. My better half had Pata Negra Ham. We were offered wine, but it was too early for us. It's nothing unusual, though, to drink vodka or other hard stuff to breakfast in Eastern Europe. We have seen it ourselves in Riga and Vilnius. We had coffee and water instead. Being interested, where the coffee came from I asked and found out it was Nespresso. That explained the smoothness. We were also asked if we preferred dark or milk chocolate with our hot beverage. The food was delicious and we were pleasantly surprised, when we received dark chocolate again when the bill arrived. It was sixty seven Euro.
Our flight to Zurich was efficient and event less. One of the reasons to choose Swiss and other airlines (City Jet, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa to name just a few) are one free piece of luggage, free drinks and a snack. In our case it was a cheese sandwich and Swiss milk chocolate.
At Zurich Airport renovations are going on. All the airport shopping is very exclusive. We bought two watches.
There were two Caviar House and Prunier outlets, one is more like a large delicatessen, while the other offers a small shop and a sit down restaurant.
Our time flew by and soon we boarded again Swiss to Luxembourg. Our fellow passengers were a mixed bag, ranging from Spanish to Italians to a priest.
It was early evening, when we touched down in Luxembourg. It's a small airport.
A taxi brought us within fifteen minutes to the Melia Luxembourg. Check in was efficient and friendly. The room was modern and in brown colors. The bathroom was medium in size, had a bath tub and shower combined and Etro amenities. There was even a dental kit, very rare to find in European hotels.
The bed was king sized (two single beds pushed together). We also received a welcome gift of a bottle of free water, pistachio and walnuts, a truffle and marshmallows. There were magazines available, but only the Melia magazine was in English, the rest French. We had booked a Level room, which included access to the Level lounge on the ground floor. Unlike any other club lounge there was no staff, but enough food and drink was provided for two people.
We admired the artwork and the modern furniture.
On the second floor are the Aqua Restaurant and Bar. Guests can use the thoroughly modern staircase or the elevators.
We decided to have in room dining. Thinking we were quite hungry, we ordered antipasti, pasta bolognese, and a fruit and cheese dessert. All was yummy and the portions huge. We could have fed at least another person. It was delicious, though, but sad to waste so much food.
The bath tub and bed were comfortable. After a restful sleep we went to breakfast. It was buffet style and served a wide range of bread, cold cuts, eggs, omelets, cheese, yogurt,fruits and fruit salad, but no fish. The waitress just checked the room number. We could choose our own table. We weren’t asked if we wanted tea or coffee. We found a tea corner, hot water was provided. The choice was great with at least six different tea sorts. We had the Dragon Green Tea.
After breakfast we packed and checked out. It was quick and friendly. The day was really sunny and warm, so we went to take photographs and explore the area. We realized, that the Melia was on one side higher than on the other, like houses in the Old Town of Edinburgh.
The Melia is very well integrated. On the Place d’ Europe are trees planted for each member of the EU. The European Court of Justice, the Museum of Modern Art (Mudam), the Philharmonie and the New Convention Centre are within walking distance.
We crossed the street after passing the Philharmonie and checked out the Suite Novotel and Sofitel Europa (There is also the Sofitel Grand Ducal in the New Town, where we stayed three years ago.) At first it looked like they were closed for renovation or still under construction, but it turned out they were open for business. We went to the Sofitel and up to the first floor, where a big surprise was expecting us. There is a huge atrium and it is dedicated to restaurants, a bar and a lounge as well as meeting rooms. The European Court of Justice was using the meeting facilities.
We went to the bar Glacon Rouge. My better half had a Pina Colada. It tasted more like Rum than pine apple juice or coconut milk and was strong. We had juices, water and shared tapas (olives, cheese and ham). It was tasty. The service was obstructive and discreet.
Originally we hoped to make it to the Mudam. Instead we thought the time was too short to see all the exhibitions, so we went further down the road, passing the electricity plant, and to D’Coque, Luxembourg’s sports complex.
The architecture of Kirchberg is modern, imaginative and unusual. Anyone interested in contemporary, integrated city planning is going to enjoy it.
The Old City is also great with it’s quaint streets and shops.
At our return to the Melia – the architect was the Luxembourger Jim Clemes – we ordered a taxi to the airport. It arrived within minutes. A taxi ride to and from the airport shouldn’t cost more than thirty Euros.
The check in and security were passed quickly. After security is duty free shopping and one restaurant. Because the airport isn’t big, there aren’t many shops, but they offer designer clothing like Pucci or Hugo Boss. Another sells alcohol, cigarettes, cosmetics and sweets. We loved the milk chocolate with cereals by Oberweis.
Of course we tried the restaurant, too. The food was great, but it’s simple cuisine (sandwiches, soup, salad, desserts). Unfortunately we had high hopes on Frankfurt Airport dining and didn’t eat a lot in Luxembourg. On the very short flight to Frankfurt with Luxair we still received sandwiches (salami or cheese) and drinks. The snacks were tasty.
Normally we had good experiences with Fraport. This time we arrived at one of the older parts and didn’t like it. It’s a little bit confusing, where to find shops or how to get to your gate. The duty free shop doesn’t have a clear order. Normally you find cosmetics and perfume in one place. Here came first the perfume, then the alcohol and sweets and then the cosmetics.
The food outlets weren’t to our taste either. The lesser evil seemed McDonald's. The beef was too salty and the curry sauce way too sweet. We felt bloated afterwards. We hoped the food would improve at Lufthansa. We had heard they had created a new in flight menu. It was true. Last time we flew with Lufthansa the food was inedible. Now the chicken wrap was modern and Asian inspired. I liked it, while my better half wasn’t completely convinced. He thought the wrap was too one sided and the soy sauce was too dominating.
The flight was comfortable and on time. We arrived shortly before 11 PM in Dublin.
©2011
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