Dijon (FR) to Luxembourg (LU)

August 15, 2023

Tobias woke in a very sunny mood (unlike the actual weather), but on a train day him being happy is much more important. We had a big tunnel to pack our bikes in and the rain stopped just in time to ride to the station. We were there just as the platform was announced, but even so we weren't fast enough to get there first. There was only one bike carriage, and only space for 3 bikes and two were already on there. Luckily we had a leniant conductor who let us put James' bike in the wheelchair spot (provided he would move it if someone needed the space). At least 5 other cyclists showed up for the train and were turned away.

We got chatting to the Dutch couple who were ahead of us. Their trick is to wait down in the corridor for the platform announcement which means they only have to take one lift. They also didn't have nearly so many bags so can fit in the lifts better. They were trying to escape the thunderstorms on their way home and hadn't yet worked out how to do that. Tobias had a great trip snacking, playing with his cars, and generally seeming like a pro traveller.

At the second to last stop another 3 cycle tourists squeezed in and when we arrived in Nancy we all worked together to get the Dutch bikes out so they could race to their next connection. We weren't in nearly so much of a hurry since we opted for a 2.5hr stopover in Nancy. We had some very average sandwiches for lunch (not much was open because it was a public holiday in France) then loaded Tobias into the trailer and took a tour of Nancy while he had his nap. James planned a really nice route which took in lots of the sights then finished along the river path.

Tobias woke as we arrived back at the station. We discovered that you could ride down to the underground corridor through the car park which meant only one lift to get to the platform. This time our train had two bike carriages, each with space for 5 bikes so we could relax a little bit. We even managed to leave them loaded up. This is a real advantage because of we need to take off the panniers we then have 10 pieces of luggage in addition to 2 bikes, a trailer, and a baby.

In Luxembourg we again took a wee tour through the city before heading to our hostel. There were some awesome bridges with a great view over the city. James failed to notice that the route included a giant elevator. Luckily it was big enough to leave everything loaded and the trailer on and there were enough people around to help us manouver around. It did mean we had to gain back a bit of elevation to get to the hostel.

We have a family room at the hostel which is basically a normal 5 bed dorm, but not shared with anyone else. Its was far more affordable than anywhere else in town and is better than a hotel room anyway because we have more space. Tobias is really into climbing so clambered all over the bunks while we made the beds. We didn't arrive until after 6 so we had the €15 set menu here which was perfect - soup, salad, a main, and then icecream for dessert. There is (surprise surprise) a Dutch family here so after dinner Tobias was off to the playground again.

We are only staying one night here in Luxembourg. Its a shame really, we've visited 3 times in transit on bike tours but never really spent any time. The first time we were on our race bikes riding to Munich via Switzerland, but it was during Covid and we weren't technically allowed to stay in Germany after being in Luxembourg so we just crossed the bridge and rode 10km down the river and crossed back to say we'd visited. The second time was a stop over on the train while we were bailing out of our disaster Mossel river trip with a 15 month old Tobias. We wanted to stay an extra night this time but the hostel is full tomorrow so we are back on the train again, all the way to Brussels in one go.

Today's ride: 9 km (6 miles)
Total: 2,926 km (1,817 miles)

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