The
Schueberfouer is celebrating its 673rd incarnation this year, and love
it or hate it, the annual fun-fair always brings in the crowds. Yes,
that's correct...Luxembourg's annual festival has been a fixture here in
the Ville since 1340! From talking to the locals, the Schueberfouer
is much more than a carnival with rides and, of course, food &
drink. It is part of their cultural heritage. It's fun to see people
walking the concourse and stopping every 10 yards to chat with old
friends. However, for the good people living in the Limpertsberg neighborhood
adjoining the festival site, the fun-fair can be a bit of a nuisance
with parking at a premium and of course the rivers of beer and urine
running down the gutters! You just have to look beyond the carnies and
lop-sided 'games of chance' to see a more gentile tradition that
originated as an opportunity for neighbors to meet and merchants to sell
their wares.
The
festival runs for three weeks at the end of August through the
beginning of September. Apparently over 2 million people visit the
Scheuberfouer each year...that's about four times the entire population
of the Grand Duchy! There are beer gardens and restaurants galore, and
to my surprise there was even a burlesque review in drag on the
main concourse! The fair runs all day long with the real revelry
starting well after dark. Every night I can hear the bands and the
partying from my window until all hours of the early morning. Down in
Rollingergrund its more white noise to me...I can only imagine what it
sounds like up on the plateau!
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| The Scheuberfouer from above - via the uber-sized Ferris Wheel |
The
Scheuberfouer is fueled with a myriad of traditional foods including
grilled sausages (of all types), fried fish, pommes frites and the one
and only GROMPEREKICHELCHER! (Say it slowly - gromp-er-ah-kish-ell-shur.)
Thank
goodness they only roll these goodies out on special occasions.
Gromperekichelcher are deep fried potato pancakes loaded with herbs,
eggs and Lord knows what else. Unique to Luxembourg, the technique - as far as I can see - is to prepare a batter of the potato-ie-yumminess then pan-fry
this mixture into square 'gallettes'. From there they are deep-fried to
order...I'm seeing a pattern, and the tasty benefits of double frying
potatoes! Wash it down with a local brew, and you're ready for anything the Scheuberfouer has to throw at you!
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| Here's the Gromperewerks! |
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| Say no more:) |
The
view from the Ferris wheel was quite nice, but the modern buildings
really block the view of the old town. It was a great way to see the
city though.
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| See - you can just make out the spire of the Cathedral behind that hideous block of concrete. |
