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.
