Oddly American Luxembourg provides a holiday of deep relaxation

Saying you've been on holiday to Luxembourg provokes some very strange reactions. People expect you to be lying on a beach, heading off for culture or even adventure trekking through the developing world. They don't expect you to spend 10 days in a landlocked European backwater that's famous for little more than being tiny and having the world's highest GDP. I wouldn't have been here, of course, had it not been for the temporary residence of my friends Cora and Didier in the Grand Duchy. But I have to tell you: the tail end of Benelux provided a fine and deeply relaxing holiday, awash with wonderful scenery, picturesque outings and stupendous food and wine.

Despite an ancient history, a ruling Grand Duke, a generous sprinkling of castles and natives speaking the remarkably odd Luxembourgish, the place reminds me more of America than anywhere I've been in Europe. Large, well maintained highways lead out of the city centre to a ring of prosperous suburbs filled with generously proportioned houses. The city is about the size of a mid-range Midwestern town, filled with small high tech office buildings. A remarkably prosperous population shops in impressive supermarkets, returning to the big cars they use to go everywhere. Everything seems tidy, well maintained and remarkably modern, even if the skyline is broken by castle towers and church steeples.

Evidently I'm not the first to notice this; many people I spoke to said it was a frequent observation. Perhaps it comes from the heavy post-war American presence, perhaps from the huge expat community living here now. Or maybe I was just getting the lingering influence of the American Womens' Club's Fourth of July Party, at a local park complete with line dancers, Elvis, a mechanical bull and copious amounts of free food and drink given to anyone of any nationality who turned up. God Bless America.

My top impression of Luxembourg is landscape. Not dramatic mountains or seascapes, but lovely, rolling acres of hills, valleys, fields and forests. It's a soothing countryside, filled with simple pastoral pleasures. Golden wheat fields dotted with poppies and cornflowers, patchworks of agricultural abundance stretching to the horizon, the Moselle river meandering lazily through vineyards. It's a great place for aimless walks or slow drives with the top down.

Visiting wineries along the Moselle was probably my favourite excursion; so good I ended up in the riverside town of Remisch three times in the week. First for a post-prandial riverside stroll in golden evening sunshine after a remarkable meal (of which more in another post), second for some vineyard visits and a river excursion, third because I really wanted to get back to that one vineyard that we missed the first time...

We discovered some fantastic wines at reasonable prices, all the more exciting because none of this stuff gets exported. Who's ever heard of Luxembourgish wine? Anyone dining at my place in the next few months, to be sure, since my cellar is now stocked. I was particularly impressed with the region's sparkling whites, similar in taste to fine champagnes (that region is only two hour's drive, after all) but with a bit less sparkle. I also became a big fan of the pinot noirs, especially a lovely light red from St. Martin vineyards that will be great with poultry white meat or fish. It would be fantastic with the Thanksgiving turkey, but I can't imagine the six bottles I brought home lasting that long. My particular recommendation goes to the Caves Wellenstein, which has a modern tasting room staffed by a friendly attendant who offers a huge range. We liked their sparkling wine under the brand name of "Cult" enormously.

Boat rides leave from the town centre at regular intervals. At about £5 for an hour's cruise this seemed a great deal. For an extra Euro you can bring your dog aboard. What a civilised country. The views from the water are as gentle as the wine; a few castles and charming village roofscapes, but mostly just zigs and zags of vineyards stretching up the hills, highlighted by the occasional gash of an exposed limestone bluff.

Luxembourg city centre is the obvious tourist attraction here, and we were in and out of it several times throughout the week. There aren't any real blockbuster sites; the appeal is more in the mix of old and new buildings in a striking setting. The city grew up around a deep valley, really more of a gorge, with fortified buildings at the various high spots. Today the gorge is crossed by a series of dramatic bridges. There's an old town filled with buildings with a vaguely Austrian feel in the valley. (This was, after all, part of the Habsburg empire for a few centuries.) The newer buildings sit above the valley, but they share street space with castle ruins, old churches and the Grand Duke's impressive palace, which looks like it's just dropped in from the Loire Valley for an urban getaway. The polyglot feel to the architecture continues as you wander about the main streets. The main town squares feel defiantly French; some buildings support resolutely Germanic towers; a modern stretch filled with bank offices looks disturbingly like Clayton, Missouri.

Though it's not a top tourist spot, there are sightseeing buses. We hopped on one that looks like a miniature train and provides a one-hour loop through upper and lower towns, complete with town history. And myth. The medieval knight who built the first castle here was supposed to have sold his soul to the devil and started his dynasty after pairing up with a water nymph who was the prevailing spirit of the place. Yes, there's more character here than you'd expect.

I suspect the modern residents of Luxembourg, whether the natives or the 60% who are expats, are just as fond of their pleasures as that first ruler. The streets are remarkably laden with cosmetics and interior decor shops, restaurants are of a lavish quality and we went to a marvelous spa. Of those sybaritic adventures, more tomorrow.