Suffering from a little Belgian fatigue, we crossed into Luxembourg in search of familiar faces and places. We sprinted through the hubbub of Luxembourg City and made a mad dash for our favorite hotel, Hotel Hoffman in Moresdorf. A familiar sign hung at an angle on the heavy wooden door: Geschlossen bis 16.30. Oh, well! There is always a pub open somewhere. We trudged down the street into the hotel and bar and entertained the local barmaid and barfly until Cati decided to come back from her half-day from the Hotel Hoffman.

After a few minutes of trying to explain in our bad German, one of the patrons recognized us from the wine festival a few years back. We all greeted each other heartily as we babbled in broken English, German, and French. But there was a snag. Cati had closed off the hotel and turned off the heat. If only we had called, she said, but now it was too late, and after all, we were only two guests. Peter looked at us with hope and sputtered, "The Hotel Chez Jean is open in Born." Where is Born? "Only about 3 kilometers," he scoffed, and gave a quick call on his cell phone.

After one for the road, we zipped north to Born, and it may have taken us 5 minutes. Across from the meandering Our River perched the Hotel Jean Chez. We poked about the deserted bar/lobby area until Ms. Kersch appeared from the back. Amid the clutter of the dim bar, we asked to see the room. Up a carpeted staircase and back down a lengthy hall, tucked in the farthest corner, was a cozy room with a shower and toilet. Just one thing—it was freezing in the room. After a few babbles in German to Mr. Kersch, we finally got the radiator to spew some warmth into the well-arranged room.

Although there were a shower and toilet in separate stalls as you entered the room, the sink and mirror hung on the opposite blue wall, next to the huge window overlooking the neighboring farm and river. A state-of-the-art TV with cable hung in a strategic corner above the king-sized bed, which was graced by frilly side tables with great reading lamps. Huge, firm pillows were plumped all across the blue-draped bed. Near my side of the bed, a sliding door gave access to a huge closet with towers of shelves and hanging space. All this at a bargain price of 48 euros, including a buffet breakfast

Necessities all accounted for and inspected, we wandered into the bar and found it to be occupied by the family children doing their homework, watched over by their grandparents. Not to worry, as around the next corner, we entered the pride of the Hotel Chez Jean, the Restaurant Brassiere Chez Jean.