Cheap room – entertainment included

I knew going in to my stays at hostels in Europe this weekend that it wouldn’t be “normal” nights of sleep, but I never expected quite the level of entertainment that I got on my first night in Luxembourg.

First, a quick review of the hostel in Luxembourg: It is awesome. Clean, modern and really quite nice. The views up the hills toward the ruins of the old battlements were impressive, though a reminder of the hill to be hiked to get up to the city center.

The view from room B101 at the youth hostel in Luxembourg.

They had a shuttle van parked out front but I never saw it in action so I’m not sure what the deal is with that. The doors closed a bit louder than I would have liked, but I was tired enough that I slept through most of that. I skipped breakfast there this morning so I cannot rate that, but the guys I talked to said it was pretty decent the previous day, and it is included in the rate, so nothing to complain about there. They also didn’t charge me extra for not having a hostel card even though they were supposed to so that was nice. Sheets are included in the rates but not towels. They make you buy one if you need it and they aren’t cheap. Or if you are only staying one night you can do as I did and just use the sheets to dry off in the morning as you’re leaving. That worked out pretty well for me.

Now, on to the entertainment. When I got home from dinner I was a bit surprised to see someone laying in the bed I had made up before going out. Apparently one of the guys I was sharing a room with decided that he should use that bed since I had made it up. In his defense, I get the feeling that he had used it the previous night, but it was unmade and appeared unclaimed when I got there, so I’m not totally sure.

And then there was the Finnish guy. He was the last of the six to arrive in the room and he seemed a bit apprehensive about claiming the last bed available since it was a top bunk. Still, it was the only one and he went ahead and made up the bed. I thought nothing more of it as I made my way out to dinner. His somewhat noisy return to the room rather late was annoying, especially when he felt it appropriate to turn on the overhead lights, but I got over it.

At about five in the morning when he fell out of the bed, however, it took the fact that I was still pretty tired to avoid cracking up laughing. He seemed to survive the fall OK, and I know it is not nice to laugh at others’ misfortune, but it really was entertaining to watch him stumble – presumably still drunk – to the bathroom at that point and then try to get back in to bed. He managed to sleep through my departure this morning so I never got a chance to ask him how he was feeling. Hopefully he’s OK.

I certainly got my money’s worth in both the bed and the extra entertainment offered. I hope my hostel in Brussels is a bit more subdued, but I’ll take it either way.