Continuing with our 'Making Memories with Moms' series since 2022, we are back with another trip with our moms this year. This time, our destination was Europe - Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. We kicked off our trip in Germany, and drove around the entire country in 10 days covering a total distance of 2856 kms (1775 miles), and continued our journey in Switzerland by trains. This was a hectic trip but we are so thankful for the opportunity to enjoy all the amazing places and sceneries with our moms, making memories that will last for a long time.
10-Days Road Trip Around Germany, Luxembourg & Liechtenstein
7-8 May 2025: Journey to Munich
9 May 2025: Neuschwanstein Castle, Rothenburg
10 May 2025: Nuremberg, Bamberg, Dresden
11 May 2025: Berlin
12 May 2025: Cologne
13 May 2025: Luxembourg, Trier
14 May 2025: Cochem, Rhine Valley
15 May 2025: Heidelberg, Gengenbach
16 May 2025: Black Forest
17 May 2025: Liechtenstein, Friedrichshafen
13 May 2025 (Tues): Cologne - Luxembourg - Trier (266.5 km)
Started our day at 8am with free breakfast at Holiday Inn Express Cologne - Troisdorf. The breakfast offering in this hotel was pretty weak but free is free. :)
Departed Cologne at 9am and drove 2.5 hours to Luxembourg. Crossing the border from Germany to Luxembourg was very uneventful...lol! Btw, the rental car company charges €10 per day for taking the car bross border (charged for entire duration of the rental), which made us contemplate taking a train to Luxembourg but we decided the saving wasn't worth the hassle. But we weren't charged extra for this so that was a win. :)
Arrived Luxembourg at 11.30am, parked at Parking Knuedler, and started our walking tour.
First stop...panoramic lookout point with view of the lush park in the Petrusse River Valley and the Adolphe Bridge to the west. The beautiful stone double-arch bridge was built around the turn of the 20th century during the reign of Grand Duke Adolphe.
It wasn't on our itinerary to visit this church but hubby automatically walked into ABC #7 Notre-Dame Cathedral and stumbled upon a military graduation. And of course, the ceremony ended as we were about to leave the church and we got stuck at the exit thinking we may have to shake hands with the 'officials' as we tried to sneak out...spot hubby in the bottom right photo...lol!!
Quick photo stop at Grand Ducal Palace, the official residence of the grand duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is small enough to walk around the city pretty easily.
Walked along Chemin de la Corniche (scenic corridor), “the most beautiful balcony in Europe”, which overlooks the old quarter and took too many same same but different photos...lol!
Wrapped up our sightseeing of Luxembourg at 1.30pm and headed back to Germany. Yes, this stop was intentionally planned for my country count (country #52). :)
Arrived Holiday Inn Express Trier at 2.30pm. Booked this stay for 18,000 IHG point/room. Unfortunately, the AC in the mom's room wasn't working and they couldn't move them since the hotel was fully booked so we had to make do with a fan. All they did was waive our €5 parking fees.
Our hotel was located along Moselle river, and we decided to walk along the river to the old town at 4pm. Mom certainly did not enjoy the shadeless walk...lol!
Trier is possibly the oldest city in Germany, with a rich Roman history. Had a quick stroll around Trier Old Town while we waited to meet MIL's friend's daughter for dinner at 5pm. The Main Square (Hauptmarkt) is a quaint cobbled streets lined with modern looking department stores and other smaller stores, giving way to the more traditional German-style buildings around the Market Square.
ABC #8 - Trier Saint Peter's Cathedral is the oldest Cathedral in Germany. It dates back to the year 326 during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine. The Cathedral is free to walk in.
Had dinner at Kartoffel-Restaurant Kiste with Alexis. She's working in the military base in Germany.
It was still bright at 6.40pm so we continued our sightseeing after dinner at Palace Garden Trier. Good thing about traveling during this time of the year is that it stays bright later (that means the bootcamp lasts longer...hahaha!)
Last sightseeing stop for the day...Porta Nigra, a large Roman Gate situated in the centre of the city. Trier was the capital of a Roman province, as well as the home of the Roman Emperor Constantine. The Porta Nigra is the biggest gate in the Alps and still serves as a gateway to the central, cobblestone area of Trier.
Stopped by Aldi on our way back to the hotel to buy some snacks and ice cream. Loaded up on hubby's favorite wafer (which he almost lost them at the next hotel...lol)
Next stop...Rhine River!
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