If I told you my family and I belonged to the wealthiest country in the world, would you believe me?

Hang on, let me explain. First things first! This post is going to be lengthy. It’s a special one to me. One that requires careful documentation. So thank you for being patient while I thoughtfully gather my photos, videos, and the collection of our family’s lineage.

First, A Bit About Luxembourg

When I first started talking about traveling to Luxembourg, the first reaction from people was, “where”?

“What is that?”

“WHERE is that?”

“Is that a city somewhere?”

To say the least, many people didn’t know it even existed. And once we landed there, I too, was wonderstruck with how beautiful this country was and I couldn’t believe it was real.

Luxembourg is a tiny county between Belgium, Germany and France in western Europe. It has approximately 660,000 people living there and is about the size of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It comprises Portuguese, French, Italian, Belgian and German nationalities and is quite the melting pot.

In 2019, it was named the safest country in the world and despite its size, has the world’s highest GDP (gross domestic product) per capita. Luxembourg ranks miles high above the world’s second and third wealthiest countries.

Many workers in Luxembourg live in Belgium, Germany and France. But because Luxembourg offers free transportation, this is no problem. You can get to Germany, France and Belgium within 15 minutes to an hour at any given time.

There are three official languages in Luxembourg; French German and Luxembourgish. Luxembourg is the only Grand Duchy in the world. What is a Grand Duchy, you ask? A grand duchy is a country whose official head of state is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Grand Duke Henri celebrates his birthday on June 23rd, which is also known as National Day, more about that special day later! 😉

The Castles of Luxembourg

There are over 70 castles in Luxembourg, most built in the 9th-14th centuries! The Medieval history in these castles are very much alive and preserved!

When we arrived in Luxembourg my first initial reaction after seeing the lush green forests, with a castle glowing from the sunset in the background, was, this isn’t real. Are we in a fairy tale? Seriously, it was like looking at something straight out of Beauty and the Beast. It was so magical!

Luxembourg’s official motto is 

‘Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn‘, which means ‘we want to remain what we are’. Which references the country’s plight to remain independent now and in the future.

Wine Country

All along the Moselle river, which connects Germany and eastern-Luxembourg the countryside becomes wine country, producing wines from 8 different grapes.

And this is where our family story begins.

Our Speltz Family Lineage

Our earliest traceable ancestor is Oswald Speltz, who was born around the year 1700 in Ersange, Luxembourg. He later moved to Greiveldange and married Joanna in 1742. They were grape growers there and had nine children. Oswald Speltz was buried in a Catholic cemetery in Grieveldange in 1764.

Oswald’s house in Greiveldange is still standing today. It is thought to be dated around the year 1751. The two-story home has an attached stable which is super common to find in Luxembourg. A Speltz family still lives there today, but they weren’t home when we stopped.

The eighth child born to Oswald and Joanna was Nicolas Speltz.

Nicolas Speltz I was born in Greiveldange, married Elizabeth Frisch had 10 children and they both died in Greiveldange in 1820/1835.

Nicolas Speltz II was born in the 1796 in Greiveldange, Luxembourg and was one Nicolas I and Elizabeth’s 10 children. Like his father and grandfather, he raised grapes in the steep vineyards along the Moselle River.

He and his wife Catherina Michels had nine children. He lived long enough to see his two oldest children leave his beloved homeland. One of which was my Great, Great, Great Grandfather! Matthias Speltz.

Shortly after Nicolas II death in 1859, in Dickweiler, Luxembourg, his wife and the rest of his children emigrated to the New World. Only one daughter Anna Maria (Meisch), remained in Luxembourg.

The 2 older brothers of the family Nicholas III and Matthias Speltz emigrated to America to find productive farmland. After their long journey across the Atlantic, they landed in America on May 15th, 1852. They first traveled to Dubuque County, Iowa, then settled in Mount Vernon Township. This land reminded him of his native homeland. He then met Margaretha Rivers, a girl who had also immigrated from Luxembourg with her parents and they were married.

They had 9 children one of which is Peter Matthew Speltz, born in 1870. He married Mary Gengler in 1895 and is my great, great grandfather.

They had my great grandfather Herbert Sr Speltz, who then had my grandpa Herbert Jr. Speltz, who then had my dad, Eugene Speltz, who then had me, Emily Speltz!

Phew, are you still with me!?

Luxembourg Citizenship

With an all-male lineage according to Luxembourg law, I and my children were eligible to apply for an Dual Citizenship-Article 7. This meant that if we could gather all of our lineage, proof, and birth, marriage and death certificates of everyone from our kids, all the way back to the person who came here, from Luxembourg, that we could become dual citizens of Luxembourg without having to travel to Luxembourg, take a language course etc. There’s no telling how long they will keep this program open for, so we jumped on it. This process took me the better half of 6 months to complete.

The kids, my dad and I were approved and received our Dual Citizenships last summer. A few relatives decided to join in later on.

Even before our group had all been officially approved, we were already talking about taking a trip to Luxembourg, to see if we could retrace our ancestor’s steps.

This is what happens when text threads and in-person meetings turn into real-life family adventures!

Some Travel Advice

#1. Just take the trip! There are a million excuses we could come up with not to say yes to a trip. It’s too expensive, it won’t work with my schedule, I don’t have time, on and on and on. Just do it! Take the trip!

Life moves so fast and you never know when you’ll get another opportunity. For some of the folks along with us, this may be the first or last time traveling to Europe.

I am so dang glad, I said yes and had the opportunity to spend 11 uninterrupted days with my family. I think we laughed the entire time!

#2. Pack a light suitcase only 1/2 full. Save room for wearable souvenirs, antiques etc. I’m glad that I packed light, linen-type clothing that was wrinkle-resistant and easy to roll up tight in my suitcase.

I came home with a little something for all the kids, European candy, a couple of pairs of shoes, yarn, an antique framed drawing from a French antique store, reusable bags done up by a German artist, etc. I was so glad I had planned for the extra space on the way home.

#3. A few things that made my travel life easier:

My Wonder Cow Colostrum, that helped keep my gut in check. If you’ve traveled at all, you know how much of a toll traveling can take on your gut and digestion. I would not leave home without it.

A foldable Hand Fan. Sure you can call me an ol’ seniora if you want, I don’t mind. I’ve had a hand fan in my possession for 20 years since studying abroad in Barcelona and you can bet I always have one in my purse. When we were waiting for our plane to turn on out on the tarmac when it was 98° outside and we were sitting in our airplane-like sardines with no air conditioning. My cousin and I both pulled out our hand fans simultaneously and began fanning in sync. It was hilarious! Ironically enough, I also used it on a woman who had fainted just last week. You never know when that thing can come in handy.

XL Sandcloud Towel went with me everywhere! I used it rolled up as a pillow or back support or unfolded as a blanket on the plane. I took it with me when we would go out for the night in case it got chilly and would use it as a shall. Our hotel rooms didn’t come with a flat sheet, so I used my sandcloud towel as an additional blanket, swimsuit cover-up on my way to the pool, and yes, I even used it as a towel when I flooded our bathroom from the wild European showers. It’s light and dries so fast. It even floats in the water, if sinking towels have ever been your concern.

A Traveling Humidifier. You never know when you’ll get a super dry hotel room, making it impossible to sleep. This is another essential and it’s small enough to toss it in with my makeup.

Luxembourg Citizenship and Passports

While our family was lucky enough to be able to file our dual citizenships, with article 7, here, back at home, some folks were with us to register and apply for dual citizenships while in Luxembourg. My uncle, Dad and I decided to get our Luxembourg passports while we were there! It was relatively inexpensive and they were hand delivered and presented by the passport director, Mario, himself during our dinner at the Bourglinster Castle.

Our Trip Highlights

Flying into Brussels, we spent the day in Belgium, then boarded a bus to drive 2.5 hours to our hotel in Luxembourg City. We stayed at the Alvisse Parc Hotel in Dommeldange.

We also did group walking tours in Luxembourg City, Metz, France and Trier, Germany.

Visited castles, cathedrals and ancient ruins in all 4 countries.

Ate at some incredible restaurants.

Paid our respects at several World War II sites, the Battle of the Bulge field in Bastogne, American Cemeteries and war collection museums.

Got to take part in the torch-lit Faakelzuch procession and Luxembourg’s National Day, presenting the Duke and Grand Duchess with gifts from America for Duke Henri’s birthday celebration.

We met some incredible people like Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Mike (An American in Luxembourg) and his lovely wife Jen McQuaide, the director of the Bureau of passports, Mario Wiesen and his wife, the United States ambassador to Luxembourg, Tom Barrett (who used to be the mayor of Milwaukee), artist Jacques Schneider, Roland Gaul (the #1 authority on WWII) and the chefs and owners of the restaurants that we ate at. All these connections and introductions were all made possible by our faithful and knowledgeable guides and tour administration at Luxembourg Adventures with Kevin Wester and Rene Daubenfeld.

The most touching part of it all was getting to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors.

Having the privilege to cook with my new friend Anne Faber, in her Luxembourg home, was a dream come true! Paging through my grandma’s handwritten recipe cards always had me curious (since her family was also from Luxembourg).

I wondered what might have been spin-offs of the traditional recipes her great-grandparents brought with them from Luxembourg and which were more depression inspired. In both cases, meals would have begun with humble- farm-raised ingredients, no doubt.

I longed to know what real traditional Luxembourg cooking was like. After I connected with Anne and we set up a time for us to come over to her home to cook, I was so excited! I was chatting with some other Luxy folks, as they asked about our schedule and I told them that we would be cooking with Anne Faber tomorrow.

They almost dropped their jaw. See, what we didn’t know, what that not only is Anne a television chef for RTL but she is considered the Martha Stewart of Luxembourg. And we were getting invited to her personal home. She is currently working on her 6th cookbook.

We met and it was almost Kismet. She is the sweetest thing, so kind and welcoming. She gave me her cookbook called Tastes of Luxembourg and we made Gromperekichelcher with apple compote (which translates to potato cookie) and got to taste this amazing cheese called Kochkase. We enjoyed her quaint little private backyard with the food we cooked and a ‘prost’ (cheers). She is such a gem and I’m blessed to call her my friend!

Our Luxembourg Trip Day to Day:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

The Full YouTube Video of our Trip is Still in Progress

(It will live here when it’s finished)

The Doors and their handles! There must be a space here for them.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have about our Luxembourg heritage, dual-citizenship or our trip in the comments below. I’ll do my best to get to them all!

Other Treats:

Havre Flan Cookies

Luxembourg Sweet Pretzles

Making your own Valentines

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