Yet another adventure

It's time for a fun and exciting post after that boring essay that I last posted. Today in heat transfer we learned about the NTU method for optimizing the design of heat exchangers. It's an exciting method because you only need to know the inlet temperatures for the two fluids in the heat exchanger to calculate a heat rate OR an overall effectiveness! Just kidding...


This past Saturday was one of the most beautiful days that we've had over here, so of course I spent just about the entire day outside. We started out by checking out the weekly market that happens in Metz just outside the Cathedral, then hopping on a train for the cheap and short 45 minute ride North to Luxembourg. I heard some mixed reviews in the past regarding Lux so I didn't really have high expectations of the city..we just figured it would be a new and possibly interesting place to walk around on such a beautiful day, and it definitely overcame all expectations that I had.


Market outside of Cathedral St. Etienne in beautiful METZ!


What impressed me the most about the city was the amazing natural beauty that it possessed. The topography is really interesting--the main commercial and residential parts of the city sit on the tops of large hills that are separated by deep, stunning valleys with rivers, parks, and trails running through them. The hills created such a huge separation between the different parts of the town that each level had a different name: upper town and lower town, which is similar to the 'slopes' and 'flats' in Pittsburgh.

Some nice contrasting scenery in Luxembourg


We only spent a short amount of time in the upper town, walking through the dense, compact streets of the old town for a while before descending into the gorgeous green valleys. It was such a contrast from the hustle and bustle of the upper town. The valleys were quiet, peaceful, and serene, and it felt like we went from a city to a series of small villages connected by parks and biking trails. After wandering through the valleys for a while, we decided to check out the old fortifications of the city. From seeing the fortifications, it's pretty easy to be able to tell why little old Luxembourg isn't a part of France or Germany right now--it seemed like it was just about impenetrable back in the old days! Coming into the town by river, you're surrounded by soaring cliffs, castles, and walls that seem really imposing even today. The Luxembourgers (Luxembourgeoise? Luxers?) must have protected that place really well.

Sid the kid in the Old part of the upper town


Gorgeous view from the top of the fortifications


Contrasting layers



The hills reminded me of the burgh


All in all, it was a really interesting city. I could tell that it's a very wealthy place; there's no shortage of BMWs and Porsche's rolling around the city, and the town is filled with quirky little art galleries and expensive cafes, but we walked through a neighborhood of shacks not more than 2km away from the city center in one of the valleys. The topography of the place makes it so much more exciting than most other European cities--I thought of it as a place with all the excitement and culture of a cosmopolitan city combined with the natural beauty and quaintness of the European countryside. Lux is definitely a winner.