Being 42

Friday 11th September 2026, 11.20am (day 5,496)

Our journey yesterday ended in Luxembourg, which thereby has the honour of being the 50th country to appear on this blog in its fifteen-and-a-bit years. Admittedly this number has been achieved partly by splitting up the various bits of the UK and adding a few airport stopovers and flyovers but nevertheless I suppose it’s a reasonable number. (See the stats for the full list if you like.)

Like a lot of places in Europe, Luxembourg, the city, grew up where it did because it was a very fortifiable spot, and was getting along quite well until the late 18th century when — again, like a lot of places in Europe — Napoleon decided to roll his armies over it. It was decades until the place truly recovered, losing its fortifications along the way but becoming the capital of an independent state and, nowadays, one of the most affluent cities in the world. But the prices in the restaurants remain reasonable (somewhat against my expectations, I must admit) and it seems a rather agreeable spot. There will be more shots over the next few days. For now, a display in the city’s historical museum — because I always gravitate to them first, usually they are the best way of finding out about a new place. Hence, this photograph, and indeed this paragraph.