Luxembourg by Daniele Somenzi

Luxembourg I have now been to Luxembourg twice. The first time I passed through in my first-model Fiat 500, the one with the rear air-cooled engine where you have to double-declutch when you change down, coming from neighbouring Belgium, to be precise from Spa-Francorchamps, the Formula 1 circuit where I watched Friday practice; then the shortest road back to Italy led me to cross this small state from north to south, its whole length. The second time, a few years later, I arrived by train, travelling all night through Italy, Switzerland and France to reach Luxembourg the following morning; here, from the train station, which is very modern by the way, I walked into the centre, strolling around the city waiting to pass a bit of time, and then took a public bus to the intercontinental airport, where the airline Luxair rules the roost as the flag carrier.

In the city I noticed the multitude of banks, almost as if I were in Switzerland; evidently this is a tax haven too. In the evening I then boarded my first Boeing 747, the short version, the so-called SP, of Luxair, bound for Johannesburg. bye