Luxembourg Unfolded
Living & Learning In the "Little Fortress"
Over the six years living and learning in Luxembourg (derived from the Old High German word “Lucilinburhuc”), which means “little fortress”, we built friendships, nurtured connections, and engaged deeply in mentoring across a multilingual community.
Those years shaped not just our understanding of the city but our sense of hospitality itself, how curiosity, care, and shared experience create enduring bonds.
Mornings along cobbled lanes, conversations in bustling markets, and the community we built during extraordinary times remain vivid, layered like the city’s centuries-old architecture.
A Gateway to Europe
Luxembourg offered more than its own richness; it became a gateway to the wider world. From Paris and London to Rome and Milan, from Mallorca and Marbella to Valencia and Barcelona, and onward to Morocco and Dubai, travel was seamless, offering contrasts that sharpened the experience of returning home.
Each visit reaffirmed the friendships cultivated over years and the community sustained through unprecedented times.
Hotels and Spaces That Welcome
Our stays at Sofitel and Novotel reflected Luxembourg’s thoughtful approach to hospitality. Sofitel, whose name in French evokes elegance and the art of living, welcomed us with attentiveness balanced by freedom. Novotel offered reliability and considered service, allowing exploration to unfold naturally.
Evenings at Sofitel became opportunities to. Inger. At Radici, Italian dishes celebrated seasonality and craft. Later, Sixty Four, the lobby bar, hosted meetings with a dear friend, aa we traced the arc of projects in continued education and shared ideas for the year ahead.
These moments felt less like appointments and more like extensions of our shared history, where conversation and collaboration intertwined seamlessly.
Culinary Connections
Afternoons were reserved for another friend’s café, a Scandinavian haven of open-faced sandwiches, smoked fish, and pastries shaped by precision and passion.
Over a glass of Crémant from Alice Hartman, sparkling from the Moselle, we toasted both the present and the promise of what comes next. Food, wine, and camaraderie combined into a reflection of Luxembourg itself: layered, inventive, and alive with relevance.,
Heritage, Culture, and Craft
Luxembourg, the Grand Duchy cradled by rivers and hills, carries a history beneath its modern tempo, from medieval fortifications to squares that have witnessed centuries of trade, diplomacy, and daily life. Its local cuisine mirrors this heritage, dishes such as Judd mat Gaardebounen, artisanal breads, and pastries shaped by neighboring France, Germany, and Belgium.
It was here, during the stillness of the pandemic, that I wrote my book on hospitality, shaped as much by the city’s multilingual, multicultural life and enduring friendships as by the gestures, spaces, and stories that revealed the essence of care.
Hospitality in Motion Today
As we step into 2026, the lessons of Luxembourg illuminate what hospitality can be when it is understood as an evolving practice. The community we built during COVID, and the book it inspired, underscored that hospitality lives in relationships, culture, and fellowship, not just meals and service.
New developments highlight this evolution. Last year, showed one of the strongest tourism growth rates in the EU. Tourism Awards spotlight creative, immersive, and sustainable projects that redefine what it means to host.
These developments remind us that hospitality is a living dialogue between place and person, one that embraces diversity. It thrives in the clink of Crémant shared with friends around a café table, in meals that honor both tradition and innovation and in spaces designed to welcome the world thoughtfully.
Looking Ahead
Luxembourg shows us that hospitality is not static; it is built through foresight, collaboration, and the willingness to adapt. Here, the experience is shaped as much by preparation as the presence, by relationships maintained, the cultures respected, and the future thoughtfully considered.
“Hospitality lives in preparation & purpose, in the decisions made to welcome not just today, but what comes next.” Kiran Robinson
Loved this piece. The way hospitality gets reframed here as an evolving practice shaped by relationships and culture rather than just transactions is something the industry needs to hear. The pandemic stories about building community while writing the book adds real weight to the argument. What stands out is how the multilingual environment of Luxembourg seems to have naturally taught lessons about welcoming across difference. Small cities with global mindsets tend to do that in ways bigger places cant replicate.