This was to be my post about the wonderful institution of the
winter Christmas Market. I, however, feel the duty to proto-preface everything
with a quick tale of our first Christmas Celebration in the Grand Duchy. With the entire hullabaloo
surrounding our move and with Jeni’s rapid assimilation into her new job (all
of the deployments and long hours) Christmas this year really snuck up on us.
Without a shred of garland or a string of lights, we carried on together with
what was to be a quiet and unassuming fête.
Since electrical appliances in Europe are totally wired differently, we
planned on purchasing a new TV and entertainment system once we arrived here to
avoid any issues with voltage, frequencies and the like. We treated ourselves
to a nice new ‘Smart’ television and a new Blu-Ray DVD player…more on these
(perhaps) later. All we wanted was a nice quiet day together in front of the
tele and to feast like nobody’s business.
A subdued Christmas we did have! Now, we know that Europe is
operating on a 220-volt electrical grid, but we didn’t ever – in a million
years – think we could possibly fry an entire apartments electric system trying
to bake our Holiday goodies! Well, somehow we did. On Christmas Eve while utilizing our 'American'
mixer to blend up some scrumptious gingerbread, we somehow (even with a converter)
blew out a circuit, and not
just any circuit. Apparently 90% of the outlets, the upstairs guest bath, the
Internet connection, the phone line and
the stovetop are all somehow connected on the same switch. Bummer. We do have
lights, outlets in the master bedroom, heat (Thank You Baby Jesus!) and an
oven.
Christmas Day was quite a lazy affair. We sat around,
feasting as best we could, watching old DVDs in our bedroom a la John and Yoko. Apparently Boxing Day is also a national holiday here in Luxembourg, so we spent a rainy December 26th house-camping a bit longer. Our problem was resolved the following day when a representative from our property management company popped by to take a look. Evidently there are twoelectric panels for each apartment! The one hiding in the basement of the building had tripped as well. He had us up at running in a few minutes...result!
Breakfast Christmas Morning - Souffles with potatoes and cheese (shocker).
Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!
oo Now onto
the Markets! oo
The town center in Trier
Warm wine with mulled spices!
Let me now preface the remaining post by disclosing that I
am a true neophyte when it comes to Christmas markets. I have now been to a
grand total of TWO. From what I gather, these open-air markets held in mostly
German speaking countries consist of little stalls that sell anything from fine
woodwork and glass trinkets to any type of fried food associated with sausage, potatoes
and cheese and, of course, Mulled Wine!
The food really can’t be beat, and for me this is the sole
reason to go. I really don’t see the need for an 18” long porcelain panther
posing for the cover of National Geographic. I also don’t know where I’d stash
the glass dragons, the ‘essential’ oils or the tiny replica of the Grande Duke
that doubles as an incense burner.
Enjoying the Luxembourg Cheese Fondue and Gluhwein
All that said, I do think the German market in Trier was a
bit superior to our market here in Luxembourg. The local market may be best
described with a metaphor. Imagine your cousin from French speaking Canada
wanted to throw a Texas style pit Bar-B-Que. Now your cousin has been to Texas.
He’s seen how it’s done, and even though your cousin is rich like the guy that
invented Cirque du Soleil, there’s still something missing. Either his heart’s
not into it, or it’s just not in his DNA. Your cousin’s BBQ is great. The food
is tasty, there are rides for the kids, the tchotchkes are all lined up, but
it’s just missing something. Luxembourg may just be that French-Canadian cousin
of yours.
Santa made an appearance in Trier...and he sings White Christmas!
Trier is a beautiful city, steeped in history, but it really
doesn’t compare with amazing Ville de Luxembourg.Because of their German-ness the citizens of
Trier just do the Christmas Market slightly better. Sorry adoptive city…just
calling it as I see it. Anyway, I’ll leave you with a few photos of the
amazingly saturated-fatty-goodness that is Weihnachtsessen! YUM!
Not everything is potato and cheese - Here we had sauteed mushrooms with sour cream sauce!
Butter fried potato pancakes with applesauce!
...this Beauty enjoying mulled wine in her new hat!
Flamkuchen - Basically a potato and cheese pizza with a sour cream sauce. First Place in the tasty competition.
...and it was good! Our household goods finally arrived this Tuesday after a brief, 15 day, delay. Our guaranteed delivery date was November 26, but apparently there was some sort of mix up with the paperwork. Someone stateside didn't make sure the shipment was to continue on to Germany, so our gear just sat at the port in Belgium. The delivery date came and went...no furniture. A quick call from Jeni to Spangdahlem got the ball rolling. Since we officially moved in on November 9 (expecting to 'rough-it' for a couple of weeks), we've actually been roughing-it for more than a month now! (Jim & George - I know you hold the World Record for house-camping...we feel your pain) All this elation did come at a small price.
You should see the curb along the road!
Our replacement washing machine was due the same morning of the furniture shipment. The initial delivery resulted in a broken knob. Now these machines are small, but so are the spaces they occupy. The deliverymen unfortunately banged the unit into a wall, and rendered it useless. This was two weeks ago. We've been washing socks and underwear in the sink just to make due - can't believe I just admitted that, but I believe I've already explained there are no laundry mats in Luxembourg. I'll reiterate. THERE ARE NO LAUNDRETTES IN LUXEMBOURG! The replacement washer, as well as a spare refrigerator, arrived with a single delivery man...needless to say I had to help him unload. I also had to help him reload the refrigerator since it didn't fit through the little doorway. Upon heaving the fridge into the van (yeah, I was on the dumb end since the delivery guy was like 100 years old) , my fingers (five in all) were slashed with the paper-thin sheet metal at the base of the unit. I wish I could have taken a photo of my actual fingers, but alas it looked like a murder scene leading from the sidewalk to the apartment. Fingers were at a premium that morning.
Our household goods arrived that afternoon delivered by two super nice Italians, David and Luca. David speaks perfect English...I think he may have even dropped a "Y'all" in there somewhere.
Luca with the box and David to the right in the foreground - Thanks Fellas!
This is what we were left with...
...this may be why. 12 fondue forks and 6 sets of chopsticks!
Offloading went very smooth, and the furniture was in place in no time. Even though we've purged ourselves of 3+ alleyways of excess belongings, it appears we still have a lot of crap! David and Luca helped set up the beds and even offered to unpack the dishes and glassware, but I don't think there's enough surface area in the apartment to set everything out end-to-end. They are very hard working men, so I sent them on there way...back to Vicenza! They began their journey in Italy, went to Holland, then to Belgium to get out gear. After us the went on to Kaiserlautern to pick up a load headed back to Vicenza. This was over a 48 hour time span!
Wednesday morning...no Santa, but we're grateful nonetheless.
It's been a grind, but we think it's certainly worth it. Once the place is together, we'll post some final pics. In the meantime, I shall regale you with tales of the Christmas market in the days to come. Those of you not in the know...please do a search on Gluwein!
Well the calendar flipped and right on cue we got our first snow of the season on the very first weekend in December. It was a wet snowstorm that came in fast coating the roads and making all the spruce light up like Christmas trees. Jonas and I took the occasion to take a little walk through the neighboring forest of Bambesch.
The forestry practices create an open park-like feel
Bambesch is definitely an urban forest, but it is, no doubt, a forest. One can wander all though the area on hiking paths, bike trails, old logging roads and even a horse trail. It's a little gem I think the Luxembourgers would like to keep to themselves. It's not huge by American standards, but to be able to amble through Beech and Spruce forests for hours is a great joy. To be able to do this only minutes from the center of the Ville is truly amazing. Fall is ending, and with winter soon to arrive there seemed to be no shortage of people willing to take a snowy walk on a Monday afternoon.
Scouting is huge her with the youth. Camps like this are all through the area
As if having this wonderful resource wasn't enough, we are also lucky to be just at the bottom of Parc Tony Nueman. This city park has many interweaving walking paths with sculptures dotted throughout. Just a quick walk up the hill into Limpertsberg, and voila more green space. There's even a dog run for the boys to meet and greet all of the local pooches. Around 4:30pm is the best time to sniff your neighbor's bum...or at least that what JoJo says! Toby's getting in on the act too. He's learning how to be a dog and share the park with others...wonders will never cease! Toby's not perfect, but who is, right?
Parc Tony Neuman
We're still working on getting further afield, and we have received word that our household goods have arrived in Germany!! Once we get totally moved in and the car registration sorted out, I know we'll have many more destinations to share...keep checking in! I'll leave you with this parting shot from our bedroom window.
Why Jeni decided she's a Vicki is really anyone's guess. After seven years with the old girl - the Mini Cooper that is - the name just sort of materialized, and it stuck. Vicki's saga is an interesting tale, but it's all over for now...well nearly. This is Luxembourg. Nothing is ever completed on the first attempt :-) All of our gear was / is being graciously (and gratis) shipped by US Army. This includes one automobile or POV. Everything in military parlance has a cool code name. I think this means 'Personally Owned Vehicle'. Anyway, Vicki was shipped over on a freight-liner and wound up at an airbase in Spangdahlem, Germany - about an 1 hour and 20 minute drive away from Luxembourg City. One of Jeni's co-worker's, a super nice guy named Jim, hauled us over to the airbase one Friday afternoon to retrieve our car. This is where the story gets rolling - pun intended. Since the airbase is in Germany and we live in the Grande Duchy, temporary tags were not an option. We were told to strap on our old Virginia plates and head to the border. No one added, 'and hope for the best!' After an afternoon of ID creation, bank account opening and of course shopping it was dark before we were able to leave the base. Thankfully the Base Exchange sells GPS, or we may never have made it back. Spangdahlem is in the sticks! The GPS valiantly guided us through narrow river valleys and through quaint medieval towns en route to the superhighway that leads back to Luxembourg. Under cover of night, with Jeni behind the wheel, we made it without detection. Only the poor locals behind us had to look at that silly little VA license plate...no doubt with one hand clamped to the steering-wheel with the other repeatedly slapping a forehead or a dashboard. Jeni did an excellent job driving. Cool as a cucumber.
Vicki in her new garage
Once safely garaged, the task of registering the vehicle in Luxembourg was next. Seeing the Virginia tags, a neighbor asked if we drove here. To which Jeni replied 'It would appear that way'. The car does need a good wash.
I'm pretty sure next to rocks the greatest domestic product in the Grande Duchy is paperwork. In order to register a car from a non European Union country (e.g Les Etats-Unis) there are no less than six steps (seven if you work for NATO). Fortunately Jeni's office supplied us with a checklist. Well, most of a checklist...they kind of left off one crucial step. Briefly (tee-hee), these steps are to; 1.) Go to the Administration of Registration and Customs and prove we're living here legally. For €50 you get a stamp that says, 'OK you are now able to register the car'. This office is in Cessange. 2.) Locate the Customs office next to the train station, hope to choose the correct floor and get another stamp that allows goods to enter the country duty free (this is a NATO perk). 3.) Call Société Nationale de Contrôle Technique (Control Technique - more on these guys later) to get your plate number. 4.) Purchase insurance...yet another sticker for the file. 5.) Actually register the vehicle. This phase was omitted from the NATO checklist, so when I skipped ahead to step number six, things really picked up speed. The immatriculation (pronounced eh-mah-tric-yoo-lay-cee-ohn - I learned this pronunciation on the fly) or 'registration' takes place at the Control Technique headquarters in Sandweiler, a small town just north of the city. 6.) Have your plates made and mounted in Howalt. This seems like a simple step, but if you don't have the car registered, Control Technique won't schedule your inspection. No appointment for your inspection...no plates. So armed with a little white lie and a GPS, I headed to step number 7. 7.) Contrôle Technique - If your keeping score, that's FIVE different locations. Without a car to drive this can take some doing.
We've heard a lot about this place, Control Technique. None of it good. Even our insurance agent was lamenting his pending visit to the parade of grease, gas, cigarettes and bureaucracy. Apparently every car, commercial vehicle, big-rig (trailer too), personal recreational vehicle and motorcycle IN THE COUNTRY must pass through this place at some point. Seems like you should have an appointment or somethin'.
Looks like the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, non?
Yep - an oil truck. Those geezers in the back just kept smoking!
Luck is my middle name.
I arrived at 10am and explained my situation, and to my surprise they were quite helpful. I took my number and went to wait. Remember that Luxembourg has three official languages. It seems that German is preferred in the garage. Fortunately I have enough recall from high-school German class to recognize numbers and general instructions. Even more fortunate is the fact that 4 in 10 Luxembourgers speak English - whew! By eleven I was in the system, and I was pushed through by 2:30pm...quite literally. The battery died while I was going through the tests inside the garage, and I had to shove poor Vicki through the various analyses. They not only check safety equipment, but they also jack the vehicle up shake and shimmy the struts, run it on a treadmill and check the color of the headlights. All in all it was rather anti-climactic, but we passed! Well sort of...
Vicki going through the paces
Mostly legal and ready to roll!
We must now go to the US Embassy and request a letter that states at some point Jeni's last name was actually the name showing on the car title. I can count at least four different last names for her...serial divorcee?! Evidently women in the EU don't take their husband's name. I like our social security system where you're just a 9 digit number. It's less personal, but I won't have to carry an affidavit around with me if I choose to change my name to Metta World Luxem.
Yet another interlude while we wait for our furniture to
arrive. I could go on about the insurance requirements or the condo association
(which is actually called The Syndicate –
not joking) or the climb up and out of the Rollingergrund, but I won’t.
This post is all
about FOOD! Glorious food!
I know you've seen this sandwich before, but it's so ubiquitous I couldn't resist
After eating in restaurants for two to three meals a day, we
were so very ready to get into our place and start cooking. It’s amazing what
will inspire you after eating out constantly for well over a month! It’s always
the simple things you miss. Our very first meal in the apartment was…Tacos! Man
we miss good ol’ Mexican food. I rounded the ‘international aisle’ of the local
supermarché at least four times
before I spotted the Euro-style taco kit. I knew these existed because I saw
the 'Old El Paso' kit in the grocery over by the hotel. These 'NEW!' beauties were hidden between the Felafel and the Fish Sauce...We’re still getting used
to all the new brands here.
Frittata w/ Salad
Grilled Veggie Sandwich - Avec Merlot!
We’re very pleased they sell textured soy protein (fake
ground beef) and all types of Quorn products. So far we’ve also created an
ad-hoc Pizza Genovese, Frittata with Garden Salad and a warm Veggie Sandwich
with fries! Even though its rapidly becoming winter, I am still quite excited
at the prospects down at the farm market. Held on Wednesdays in Place Guillaume (great photo, I can't take credit, though), the market offers all types of fresh produce as well as dairy (plus
game and homemade sausages – if your into that kind of thing) and even flowers
and nursery plants!
Look at the crazy colors of Heather! - more on this later ;)
I certainly don’t want to give the impression that
Luxembourg’s restaurants are terrible. Far from it…even as vegetarians, we’ve
been able to track down a wide variety of food. The scene is actually quite
diverse. We’ve enjoyed some really good Thai – although you have to order the
vegetarian curry off the menu. The Nepalese restaurant down by the Gare is amazing – can’t wait to go back
now that we have a fridge…the portions are huge! Then there are the more
traditional Brasseries and Cafes. These are great lunch places for soups and
sandwiches, etc.
Luxembourg's only pure Vegetarian restaurant - Mesa Verde. Looks like a dog's breakfast, but tasty nonetheless.
Pizza - C'mon!!
Baked Gnocci alla Pesto!
One interesting note is the abundance of Italian restaurants.
By far these outnumber all other cuisines in the Ville. Pizza is the food
version of that little black dress…it just goes with everything! Most Italian
restaurants have excellent house-made pasta as well.
Probably our best find to
date is actually a Luxembourgish restaurant in The Grund – at least I think its
Luxembourgish…could be German. With a name like Bosso’s, it’s anyone’s guess. Anyway,
they have an extensive vegetarian menu full of Flammekuechen (a type of flatbread
pizza with a ‘crème fraiche’ sauce), Zwei Kartoffeln (literally two whole
potatoes stuffed with all kinds of yummy stuff), Spaetlze(cheese or mushroom) and of course Eieromelets!
I did mention that the Luxembourgers are culinary geniuses, didn’t I? An omelet
with French fried potatoes for dinner…wow!
Zwei Kartoffeln...
...rather sorry salad, though. I think my arteries grew three sizes that day!
Paris Mushroom Spaetzle!!
Now I’ve made myself hungry. Please pray that our belongings
arrive soon…it’s like a McGuiver episode around here at dinner. We have two
frying pans, one spatula, a butcher knife and paper or plastic options for
plates, cups and flatware. We’re nothing if not resourceful :-)
Check out the cutlery drawer - We've since been to the US Air Base, and I am happy to announce we now have pots and pans!
Imagine, if you will, a creature with two heads. One head is
on the end of a long extended tendril and the other hovers above. The monster
drools and slobbers all over its cave-like floor, and with the precision of an
Olympic archer can shoot a blast of liquid heat straight into your face! This
is the loathsome brute we encountered on our first night in our new home!
It really doesn't have a scary face...I added this for effect.
Now imagine two Rubes from Virginia trying to figure out how
to use their new European fixtures…probably not the best showing by the Yanks
since the battle of the Ardennes.
As I was tucking in nicely with our the two dogs and a good
book on our air mattress (borrowed air mattress I might add - along with the
two barstools left by the landlord – our only sticks of furniture at the current
time), I heard a series of water gushing followed by a litany of expletives (we
shall not repeat) emanating from the bathroom.
After several clicks and a few rushes of water – plus the
curse words – I deduced there might be a problem. As a problem solver, I ambled
into lavatory to see what I could do to help. Help I did not! Upon tweaking and
turning the various knobs, I was actually able to land a direct hit into Jeni’s
unsuspecting left eyeball! The stupid jets were at a perfect level to hit her
squarely in the face!
Beyond our Laurel-and-Hardy-esque
caper, we can’t seem to figure out how to seal the glass doors. So this
thing leaks all over the floor, and we just mop it up every morning – yeah,
Rubes! It’s also impossible to keep clean. Oh well…the adventure continues. We’ll
figure it out.
We're back online - Yea!! - but only with an analog DSL line. The dream of the nineties is alive in Luxembourg! Fiber Optic cable should be installed in a few more weeks.
We are rapidly getting our affairs in order. Of the litany of 'to-do' items on our list, telephone and internet acquisition are obviously at the top. By law all households in Luxembourg must have a land-line. There are several providers for internet and cell connection, but the Standard Bearer here in the Grand Duchy is Enterprise des Postes et Télécommunications or P&T for short.
The Hotel des Postes - It's hard to gauge the scale of this edifice, but that's a city bus in the lower left corner.
Since all the major carriers are pretty much the same, we thought it a good idea to stick to with Old Lady Luxembourg's tried and true supplier. Originally the Post and Telegraph, P&T now offers everything from fiber optic networks to banking to television broadcasting. One funny thing about life here is that most businesses don't really worry to much about their web-presence. Check out P&T's own webpage for the Postal Museum (yeah, just keep scrolling down). I spent an afternoon at the main branch downtown in order to hook up our land-line, internet and cell phone service. This experience is amazingly similar to the trip to the DMV back in the states. You take a number in the lobby and wait your turn.
That dude's not real, and I think I risked deportation snapping this picture inside the post office!
The board was on number 947 when I arrived...and the number I pulled out of the machine was...
YEEESH!!!
Fortunately most folks gave up once they saw their ticket number, but not me. It was still about a two-and-a-half hour ordeal, though. There are only four desks in the main Teleboutique, and it takes at least 30 minutes to get all of your paperwork in order. I'm glad I did stick it out because I was informed by the super-helpful attendant that in order to do all of this online, you must print off the application and mail it in. They will then contact you by mail to set up the installation date...makes absolutely no sense!? The soonest we can have our lines installed (even though the apartment is wired, it is not wired for P&T) is ten days from 'activation'. Oh yeah, the high speed internet line will be come about four weeks after that! I really think they believe that they still have a monopoly. Oh well, at least I got a new toy out of the deal.
...my new life-line.
In other news, the car arrived on the 8th of November. I'm certain we'll have lots to report on that topic...let me just say 'snow tires'. Keep checking in. With limited internet access, posts may be even more sporadic than they currently are.
