Our third and last destination for this summer is the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe bordering on Belgium, France and Germany. The size of Rhode Island, it has a total population of just over half a million people. Half of them are foreigners who work and live here. The country is nicknamed "Little Switzerland"; rocky gorges in the northeastern Mullerthal region, the dense forests of the Ardennes and its beautiful Moselle river make for a very picturesque landscape. Its capital is Luxembourg City.
Luxembourg was a founding member of the European Union, OECD, NATO, and the United Nations. Children in primary school learn French and German and the real natives speak the original Luxembourgish, a Frankonian dialect of the Moselle region. Not everybody speaks English, however, in contrast to many other European countries, but often another additional language,e.g., Portuguese, depending on a person's migrational background.
Luxembourg is the site of the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Auditors, the Statistical Office of the European Communities ("Eurostat") and other vital EU organs. The Secretariat of the European Parliament is located in Luxembourg, but the Parliament usually meets in Brussels and sometimes in Strasbourg.
Luxembourg's history is impressive. Going back over a 1,000 years, many countries tried to conquer this tiny place. At some stage it belonged to Holland, Spain, Burgundy and Prussia. An independent state since the London Treaty in 1839, after the Napoleonic wars, its royal family is part of the house of Nassau. Given its rich history, there is so much to see to keep you interested for a while.
If we run out of sightseeing or archaeological spots, as a home swapper you can just enjoying living like the locals.
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