Certainly writing this down will be the jinx-iest of all jinxes, but today marks an auspicious occasion. I have not worn thermal underwear in four days...FOUR DAYS! A few days ago, the sky turned a funny cerulean color, and the sun made a risky appearance to mop up any snow that may have been hiding in the shadows. I'd been nearly sown into my long-johns since back in November. I had to buy some just to make it through until our household goods arrived in December. Fortunately I backpack, and therefore I have plenty of warm clothes for walking the dogs...actually, come to think of it, almost all my clothes are suitable for kennel work. The Spring Equinox is still over a week away, but this little jolt of warmth has everything and everyone in Luxembourg ready to burst out of our quasi-hibernation.
Crocuses....eeep! Super excited!
Bonus Points if you can ID this flower :)
We also recently went out with a group of Jeni's co-workers to celebrate and say farewell to Graziella, who is changing jobs within the agency. Our soiree was along the Alzette River in neighborhood of Clausen. We began the evening at a Pub, run by real Brits, called - coincidentally - Britannia.
That's Graziella at the front right (wearing white) - we're waaay in the back on the left.
From there we crossed the street and dined, at the Mousel Cantine. The Cantine is a remnant from the old brewery that dominated the area in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mousel and Diekirch were since bought by InBev (yep - Budweiser) and most of their production now takes place north of the Ville in Diekirch, Luexmbourg. The factory area was redeveloped as a gastronomical center in 2008, and now boasts a micro brewery that supplies beer for all of the restaurants, bars and clubs in the Rives des Clausen. This place really gets packed when the weather is nice...we're told it's totally the hip place to be in summer.
Schweinhock - it's the size of a rugby ball!
Being the original restaurant for the brewery, the decor is traditional, and so is the food. Their specialty is a little dish called Schweinhock...or Pig Shank. They smoke them in a back room, and you get to choose your own hock - like selecting a lobster from the tank. Yeesh! Jeni and I dined on our ubiquitous omelets, and enjoyed the side dishes served Family Style. It was a fun time out with a truly international cohort. We represented the US along with two other Americans. There were also Canadians (both Franco-phone and Anglo-phone), French, Dutch and British delegates at our dinner party.
The only vegetarian dish on the menu - very good nonetheless
...and this is all that was left of the Schweinhock!
After dinner we just had to go and check out the dance scene :-)
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