All of my adventures so far in 2014 have been in Ireland. I was getting itchy feet and feeling the need to fight with Ryanair about overhead storage space, so a couple of weeks ago I booked (very cheap) flights to Frankfurt Hahn from Kerry. I have family living an hour and a half from the airport, on the Belgium/Luxembourg border, who I haven’t visited in a long time, so it was the perfect location for a last minute weekend adventure. We are not big fans of Valentine’s Day so the fact our trip away fell on that weekend was pure coincidence. I took a half day from work as the flight was at 4:30 and Farranfore (where Kerry airport is located) is about an hour and twenty minutes from where I work. I assumed (correctly) that there may not have been many vegan lunch options in the small airport so we stopped en route to have a very romantic Valentines lunch in the car park of Tesco Abbeyfeale. True love I know. I won’t make you jealous with the details of our Michelin starred dining experience. The flight is under 2 hours so we arrived at about 7:3pm local time. My cousin’s boyfriend collected us from the airport and drove us back to their beautiful house near Tontelange on the outskirts of Arlon in southern Belgium. A very thoughtful vegan meal had been prepared for us by my fabulous cousin so we gorged ourselves on risotto and avocado salad forgetting to leave room for the urn of fruit salad she had made for dessert! We had an early night as Saturday was the only full day of our trip and we had a lot planned. We had also made early breakfast plans for the following morning. Early the next morning we met up with my other cousins for breakfast. Even though my family have lived in Belgium all their lives it was a typical Irish family gathering with everyone talking at once, babies being passed around for a cuddle and of course there was plenty of tea. I had purée de marrons (chestnut puree) on local organic bread and I forgot how good it was. The last time I had it was couple of years ago when I spent a few weeks in France one summer during college. After breakfast we headed for Luxembourg City. I have never seen the city properly before though I had passed through it many times. When I think of Luxembourg I think of a small state covered in petrol stations selling cheap alcohol and cigarettes. I think of a VAT free haven, where young well paid ex-pats earn incredible salaries; like the Dubai of continental Europe. Some of those assumptions may very well be true, but there is also a beautiful old city hiding behind the glass facades of the many multinationals that are based in Luxembourg. We started our morning in Place Guillaume II. The weekly farmer’s market takes place there every Saturday from about 7:30am until lunchtime. It is a good place to wander and as we didn’t have a set itinerary of what we wanted to see it was a nice way to spend an hour. The stalls sell all kinds of organic vegetables as well as different kinds of cheeses and and meats and baked goods. You will see a good selection of international cuisines as Luxembourg city attracts people from all over the world because of the different companies that have their headquarters based there as well as the European Parliament, the European Union and the European Court of Justice to name but a few of the institutions which have a seat in Luxembourg! For anyone interested in the vegan element of this blog, there were no specifically vegan food stalls in the market. There were however many vegan options if you know what you’re looking for! I snacked on stuffed vine leaves (feuilles de vignes),fresh figs and berries. For the carnivorous, dairy consumers there is a fantastic selection of everything from German würst to Italian gelato and French cheeses. Even though we visited in February there was a beautiful selection of fresh flowers on display. After the market we wandered through the very quiet streets of the city. Wandering is one of my favourite things to do in a new city. If you have some time and there is nothing you specifically want to see or visit, wandering through a city will often lead you to far more interesting destinations than if you stick to the often overly beaten tourist track. I like not having a plan sometimes. It is when I don’t have a set plan and time limitations that I really know I am on holidays. It was surprising to me just how quiet the city seemed to be for a Saturday. As a lot of people working in Luxembourg commute from neighbouring Belgium, France and Germany, it appears that there is a mass exodus at the weekends. Our wandering brought us a short distance to Constitution Square which looks out over the gorge that runs through Luxembourg City. In that area you can see The Gelle Fra Monument which commemorates those Luxembourgers who fought and died in The First World War.

You also have a panoramic view of the gorge itself, Adolphe Bridge and Metz Square. We took some pictures here and enjoyed a natural beauty that you do not often get to experience in the heart of a European capital. From there we made our way back to Place Guillaume II and had some hot drinks in one of the cafes that surround the market place. I had my favourite winter warmer vin chaud/Glühwein (mulled wine) and we watched the market begin to wind down.

After doing a bit of window shopping we headed for lunch. I had done a bit of research in advance in relation to vegan food options in the city. My cousin chose an organic (bio) cafeteria style restaurant called EXKi. It serves fairtrade, seasonal, organic lunch options as well as desserts and some fairtrade ingredients/foods. EXKi is not a specifically vegan restaurant but it did have some vegan options. I had a Constantine (a wheat semolina and mediterranean vegetable bake) and some nice sides. The food was OK. It didn’t blow my mind but it was very filling and the staff were helpful and friendly.

We left Luxembourg after lunch and headed over the border into Germany. I love being on the continent and having the ability to pop into another country if I feel like it! I suppose coming from an island the idea still excites me. We drove the short distance to Trier. The journey takes about 40 minutes depending on traffic. The city is in Mosel one of the wine regions in Germany so we enjoyed views of the vineyards as we drove. The city sits on the banks of the Mosel river and as you descend into the valley where Trier is situated, you can enjoy some really beautiful views. My first impressions of the city were not great to be honest. The is a lot of graffiti on beautiful old buildings and the outskirts had a bit of a shabby appearance to them.

That impression completely changed however once had had parked the car and were facing the Porta Nigra; the Roman entranceway to the old part of the city. The sandstone structure is like a gateway to a different world! Once through the Porta Nigra I completely changed my opinion about Trier. The architecture is stunning, showcasing many different styles. My favourite buildings were the Dreikonigenhaus and the Steipe und Rotes houses. The quirky architecture really lends itself to the fairytale feel of Trier.

We also did a bit of shopping as the cost of cosmetics and perfumes seemed to be incredibly well priced. I picked up some make up and brushes and skin creams (keeping my Ryanair limit of 100mls in mind!) while himself went on a mini spree in Mango Man. I was so impressed with the shopping the small city had to offer. There was a great atmosphere in the streets which were busy with weekend shoppers and tourists. Different food stalls, both local and international, lined the way to the main market place so we had to make a compulsory pit stop for freshly made pizza. The market was full of flowers mainly tulips and roses. You could buy 40 roses for €10! I am assuming this was something to do with Valentine’s Day having been the day before . Perhaps the German are not as romantic as the rest of the world!

OK. So the best part of my weekend happened next. A lotto win you ask? A proposal you might think. No. Much better. I found vegan cheese! This may seem trivial to you but it has been the food I have missed the most since becoming vegan. My cousin brought me to a health-food shop/cafe/happiness emporium called Biogate. I cannot find a website for them but the shop is located just off the main market place and is not difficult to find. The address is Palaststrasse 3. The shop was like a boutique health-food store offering everything from vegan food alternatives to food supplements and an organic deli. There was a busy counter where you could sit and have lunch as well as a good selection of organic wines and beers. This shop caters for everybody not just over excited vegan cheese lovers like me. I could have spent all day and all of my money in there. I bought an obscene amount of fake cheese, in a couple of different flavours, while the others bought organic cloudy apple juice and fairtrade chocolate. After a fantastic afternoon in Trier, we headed for home. We decided to stop for dinner en route as by that stage we were ravenous. We had a lovely relaxed Indian meal in a restaurant called ‘La Porte du Bengale’ in a small town called Strassen on the Luxembourg side of the Belgian border. We ate quite early so the restaurant was quiet when we arrived. We didn’t have a reservation but they were able to accommodate us. I am not going to lie. The decor in the restaurant is not going to win any awards with it’s unusual combination of Indian and Chinese themes. That didn’t matter at all however as the food was terrific. Our server who’s name I didn’t get was really fantastic. He accommodated the English speakers at the table and a allowed me to practice my French with patience. The restaurant began to fill as our main courses arrived and the atmosphere was fantastic. I had the vegetable biryani and roti bread. The server/maitre d was the only employee working on the floor and was incredibly efficient and polite to everybody. We had an enjoyable, reasonably priced, relaxed meal before finally making our way home. We decided not to do anything too wild on the Saturday night as we were leaving for Hahn early enough the following morning. After a frantic greeting from my cousin’s crazy Samoyed ‘Woola’, we settled down, with some good Italian wine, in front of a movie for the remainder of the night. We said our goodbyes the following morning and made our back to Hahn. The airport really is in the middle of nowhere but you get to see some nice countryside on the drive. It is also quite a good area to spot birds of prey I was told. All in all we had a great weekend. I feel that we really saw a lot without being under pressure. If you want my advice about that corner of the world I would say: Luxembourg is nice for a brief visit but if you want to take advantage of the Ryanair base in Hahn, Trier is a must see. The people are so friendly, the shopping is great and reasonably priced and there is a lot to see and do in this small accessible city.

Originally posted on http://adventureeatrepeat.com/