Luxembourg's Christmas Market v 2.0

Jeni and I weren't able to get too far afield this winter, so we ended up spending much more time at our local Weihnachtsmarkt. You may recall from last year that we weren't overly impressed with the Luxembourg Christmas Market, but after a year of mixing and mingling with the locals we decided to have a second look. Yep…still the same. Jeni and I did, however, use the rare opportunity of a sunny afternoon to sneak over and take a ride on the Grand Duchy's ferris wheel! 

…trying to look cool.

Jeni putting on her brave face.

So the observant reader will notice that we are not in the same photos whilst riding the wheel…that's because this thing was TERRIFYING. Well not terrifying, but the gondolas would spin 360 degrees if the weight wasn't dispersed correctly! OK, let me rephrase this. It was really really scary when the wheel lurched backward toward the ramparts and Jeni and I were sent spiraling around as the wheel reached its apex approximately 15 stories above the floor of the Petrusse Valley! Scambling for stability, we needed to sit on opposite sides or else the bucket would start whirling again. Yikes.

All in all we did get some great views over the Place de Constitution...

…and a view down the Petrusse Valley. Please note the white knuckles :-0

In Luxembourg City, we observed that the Christmas Market was a sort of after-work happy hour gathering point. By far the best selling items were the various fair-foods and, of course, the Gluhwein! We were able to meet up with friends and co-workers this year. That made this year's market more amiable, and we did, indeed, look forward to our visits downtown.

Jeni's office mates...

…and some Ultimate players.

We even got our own Gluhwein Pyramide this year!!

As with most things cheery and bright, there always seems to be some dark undercurrent. This year the Nativity scene was brimming with animals mounted in a taxidermy shop! Yeesh! Nothing creates that "you were there" vibe like stuffed livestock.

This little guy got nibbled on somehow,

and this guy appears to be on guard for the next snacker.

And, yes, that is a donkey next to a disembodied cow's head.

But let's not forget the real reason for the season. Missing all of our friends and family and wishing you the very best during this Holiday Season!

Merry Christmas to All from your pals in Luxembourg!!!

Who's in the Kitchen Makin' All that Raclette?

Why that would be Christian, of course!

Yikes…who's that creepy guy lurking in background?!

Not to be outdone our Luxembourg Man-Friday, Christian, hooked us up with what may be the tastiest treat we'd had in quite some time. Jeni and I had our first taste of Raclette at the annual Bazar International here in the Ville. Each year, all of the expat communities gather and set out their traditional foods, drinks and hand crafts to be sold with profits going to various charities. The Lebanese sell falafel, the Russians sell Vodka, the Americans sell crappy junk food, the Canadiens sell maple syrup and Moose Milk…on and on this goes from Burundi to Japan! We went with Michele and Natalia, so it was a great time with truly international companions! It didn't, however, quell our desitre for melty cheese and potatoes! Rather, it only whet our appetites.

A true Swiss-Miss at the Bazar International de Luxembourg serving up our first taste of Raclette.

Natalia (Russian/Belgian) and Michele (Italian) - super cute, non?

Moose Milk is a better version of Eggnog - Milk, ice cream, spices and Canadian Whiskey!

I can hear you asking, "So what, exactly, is Raclette?"Glad you asked, dear reader. It's basically a cheese melting apparatus like this…

…with grilled potatoes and ground beef patties (if you're into that kinda thing)…

…the cheese is baked in these little trays under a hot element…

Oh this is heavenly!

…then garnished with pickles and a side salad...

…and VIOLA!

It is sooo good, and not at all healthy.

True, our palette hasn't really grown that much with the introduction of Raclette, but we are certainly willing to see how many different ways we can consume potatoes and cheese. Let's see…we can choose from omelets, fondue, stuffed Zweikartofflen, au gratin, cheesy-potato pizza, roti and now raclette! I'm pretty sure Santa is going to get one hastily written letter from two rubes in Luxembourg  asking for such a device :-(") Yumm-O! 

The Unhappiest Place in Luxembourg

For those of you that have been keeping up with this blog, Thank YOU! The real reason I write this, however, is as a public service to those planning on living abroad. This centers me and give my life purpose.

Psyche.

The line at Controle Technique 9:30am - not too bad (I thought).

The really real reason is because this is a great place to vent some steam and gripe via digital postcards. You may recall we have a car, and her name is Vicki. Why is she named Vicki? I'm not sure, but I believe it came in some sort of martini inspired vision. Anyway…to paraphrase an earlier post, this is Luxembourg, and NOTHING here is ever a one time event. This is especially true for a special little place over in Sandweiler called Controle Technique Please follow the link because I have no idea how is is that 61 people actually like them! The FaceBook comment says it all…Michael states, "Ugh! There is a super long wait in line, the people are in poor spirits and not very nice…the entire organization is bad!" Seriously, I just spent five hours waiting in line because my tires didn't have a special European Certificate…I still don't know the significance of this document, and one again poor Vicki has been rejected.

A 046 - 11:15am. "There are 30 people ahead of you." I left at 2:30pm - rejected & dejected :(

Oh yeah, the reason for all of this rejection drama is because I bought new wheels and snow tires (online - mistake #1) from an American retailer (mistake #2 - for a really good price I might add). Snow tires are mandatory here, and nowhere did I read that the wheels they must be Euro-certified with the EU seal of approve. Alas, I now must find a mechanical engineer to state in writing that these Michelin tires (French Brand by the way) are sufficient to be driven on the roads of the Old World. Yikes. So much for a great price on tires…what do you think an engineer is going to charge to size up Vicki's new winter wear.

So. Now, I have to go to these guys (or someone similar) and pay an additional €600 for Vicki's new shoes. 

In other news, Luxembourg has finally organized its first new government in 40 years. Parliament has been led by the CSV (Christian Socialists Peoples Party - sorry no English here) since the 1970's! Now the new coalition is run by the DP (Democratic Party - no English here either) with the former mayor of the Ville, Xavier Bettel, as the new Prime Minister. This in kinda big news around here. Not to name drop, but your cub-blogger has indeed met Mr Bettel. Super nice, and just like everyone here in Luxembourg, very warm and welcoming! Ok, that was a rather large name drop :) Mr Bettel is an interesting guy, you can read an interview here on BuzzFeed.

In yet more news…poor JoJo got in a dust-up at the dog park. He's fine, but he did get his ear bit because he was being too aggressive with a toy. The funny part is that the sweetest dog there, Dita, put him back in his place. The dog park is for everyone, and there is no room (Jonas) for a dominant male…especially when your one of the smaller pooches in the park. Again, he's made a full recovery, and he and Dita have made up.

Here he is just after the incident...

…then recuperating...

…and now JoJo is back to normal.