The oldest town in Luxembourg and Little Switzerland

Just a tiny portion of the Echternach Abbey that was founded in 698 and became the most powerful institution in the country; Charlemagne even controlled the abbey for a year (797)

The Orangerie (1735) and the abbey gardens; the tourist office had a helpful pamphlet that gave commentary for a good walking tour of the town

The Basilica of St Willibrord; a church was built around 800 that was about the same size as the current church

The tomb of St Willibrord in beautifully carved Carrara marble; he is the country's only saint and a national hero who also founded Echternach

This wooden footbridge is named after the creator of the Luxembourg-Germany Nature Park; the Sure River here is the boundary between the 2 countries

The Denzelt building (originally 1444) is the centerpiece of the town's main square; the building has gone through many transformations through the centuries and now mainly hosts weddings

This is the most famous waterfall in the region and draws hordes of people (I waited until everyone was out of my photo); it's cool how the water has carved ridges in the rock

On Whit Tuesday morning the famous Dancing Procession travels 2 km through town paying homage to St Willibrord;12000+ pilgrims take part every year (town population only 4900)

The Basilica of St. Willibrord, attached to the abbey, remains the most important religious building in Luxembourg; it has been destroyed several times and always rebuilt

Rococo pavilion built in 1761 in the former pleasure garden of the abbey; now it houses a small museum and provides shelter for a few homeless on the open ground level

Family outings here typically mean walks through the countryside; the trails are well-marked and villages are usually just a few kilometers apart

Her series of mysteries are set in Oslo; I laid on a park bench to finish this book which was better than the stifling heat in my hotel room

The small building on the left is an old customs and toll house since the bridge connects Luxembourg with Germany; I just love a borderless Europe

The Peter and Paul Church was built in the 11th century and is considered the oldest surviving Christian monument in the country

It's a strange situation to find neighborhoods with no one around while every village has lots of new construction underway; I wonder if some homes are just investment property with no occupants

The Place du Marche is the main square; the town has been called a miniature Salzburg

Monument to the US 5th Infantry Division which crossed the Sure River here under heavy enemy fire in February 1945 to reliberate Luxembourg

The Dancing Procession has been inscribed on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; it's an odd hop, skip and shuffle

Kayakers trying to avoid hitting bottom on the shallow Sure River that separates Luxembourg (left) from Germany (right)

Mullerthal is the center of a region called Little Switzerland; you have to really use your imagination to see the resemblance though

My SIXT rental car in Luxembourg is a BMW!; it wasn't expensive so I was surprised to get a BMW

Lots of people camping on the German side as if they are waiting for their chance to enter Luxembourg; some people are walking/swimming in the Sure River but no one is crossing into Luxembourg