Pre-Christmas Post

Miss Paloma sporting her Winter Snook!

Seasons Greetings, dear reader! The Holiday Season has snuck up on us once again, and as we scramble to ship off gifts and cards to our friend and family back home there have been a few interesting things to report from the Grand Duchy. As I write, the drizzle continues unabated from the dull gray skies. Therefore I think a white Christmas will be out of the question this year. We have had a few snow events so far, and after last year's hiatus from the white stuff, Jeni and I are actually looking forward to a nice and snowy winter. Lord knows, we invested in the hardware last year, so let's see if these stupid snow tires actually work!

Of course the Christmas Markets are in full swing this time of year. Jeni and I have visions of traveling the region to find new haunts, so stay tuned to see how we fare. In fact our little market in the Ville isn't so little anymore. Still it's neither Trier nor Cologne, but the city of Luxembourg continues to step up their Christmas Market game. This year the city even installed an outdoor skating rink to entice the young and young at heart to  take a spin around the ice. I must admit that this, being our third Christmas with the Luxembourg market, I better understand the anticipation ahead of the fête as well as the yuletide fun associated with the annual fair. Its now become an almost weekly occurrence to meet friends and colleagues down at the Place d'Armes for a glass of mulled wine and some of the ever-popular Grompererkichelcher! 

Well you just knew the skating rink had to be a covered pavilion with the weather around these parts!

This year I was introduced to a new wrinkle in the warm wine racket…Vin Chaud Flambé! As if heating wine to 100℉ then adding cinnamon, cloves and spices wasn't enough to make the booze sprint like Hussein Bolt into your bloodstream, we can now add a sugar cone doused in rum into the concoction. The sugar is first lit (hence the flambé part) and the sugar is allowed to slowly melt into the mulled wine. Yeah, it just like you imagine!

1.) Pour the booze.

2.) Light those bad boyz!

C.) Swantje and Rodolfo approve…merf!! 

Meanwhile on the other side of the Duchy, folks are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. During the winter of 1944-1945 the US Third Army, led by General George S. Patton, repelled a German counter strike through the Ardennes forest that includes parts of Belgium along the frontier of Luxembourg. Seventy years on, there are still a few folks around that remember the events of that fateful winter. Here in Luxembourg, there have been parades, ceremonies remembering the lives lost and there was even a visit from a 92 year old GI who portrayed Saint Nicholas for the children just after the liberation of the town of Wiltz in the north of the country. If you haven't already (and I shouldn't even have to write this), check out HBO's Band of Brothers to get a great take on this historical battle in the fight to free Europe. Also, click here to see a really cool before and after slide-show on the Luxembourger Wort online.

Other than that, things here have been rather mundane. We just set up our first Christmas tree since we arrived. Our first year here was incredibly  hectic and last year we travelled, so this year we made it a point to set up a bit of the ol' Holly-Jolly! Although we're still missing our friends and families spread all over the planet, we are certainly looking forward to a festive Noël here in the Grand Duchy. Big hugs from afar, and we'll keep you in our thoughts this Holiday Season!

…there'll be more presents, don't be so alarmed!

A November to Remember

Cimetière Norte Dame after All Saint's Day

As far as months go, November rarely stands out as one that invokes a lot of nostalgia. Sure there's Thanksgiving at the end of the month, but mostly it's the just a cold period after the onset of autumn and the before beginning of the Holiday Season. Here in Luxembourg, the only official holiday is All Saint's Day on the first. Thanksgiving is celebrated sporadically among expats from the US and Canada, but mostly this is a time to get everything sorted out at the office before Christmas and the ever-popular winter ski season. The good news is that Jeni and I were able to find a slew of events to keep us busy even if an ad-hoc Thanksgiving isn't in our future this year.

Just after the dust settled from our Halloween experience, Jeni and I attended the 239th Annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball. Elsewhere in the world, an invite to such an exclusive event would be hard to come by…not so much here in the Grand Duchy where there are exactly five (5) active duty marines. To fill the remaining seats in the banquet hall, our Marines send out invitations to the myriad of expats, former military members and of course those of us in the Ice Station Zebra community. The evening was a "Class A - Black Tie" affair, so of course, Jeni and I had to go for the experience. We were joined by our friends Tom and Oivi, and in yet another surreal experience, Jeni and I were the only Americans at our table that night! Yep, in a room of 200 people (mostly Americans) we found ourselves dining with an international cohort from Japan, India, German, France and Finland. It was a lot of fun, but perhaps the highlight of the evening was when the Guest of Honor, a Three-Star General, took the floor and executed a flawless version of the Electric Slide (or whatever the kids are line-dancin' to today).

Otherwise, this was a very nice evening in which we had the opportunity to get dressed up in formal wear and rub elbows with all sorts of interesting people.

Standing next to a Marine always improves you posture!

As you know, I am still participating in the local Ultimate Frisbee Club, and November has seen quite a bit of activity on this front as well. Last week was what we shall refer to as "the week of the flying disc."  There was a tournament on the weekend as well as the usual training, but the highlight (ahem) was our team's presentation at the Sports Gala for a nearby town of Differdange. 

In an effort to expose more Luxembourgers to our niche sport and increase our own team's profile, we decided to put together a short production on the sport and about our team. This was followed by an exhibition of our mighty frisbee skills. Yet again I found myself in a banquet hall full of people, buffets and loads of glass stemware. This time (and I really don't know how I find myself in these situations) I was to hurl a 175 grass piece of plastic over the heads of a few hundred athletes and their families. What could go wrong?

Yep, that was my view from the tribunes above the banquet!

Fortunately I made it through the throw-and-catch without causing any damage, but a couple of teammates weren't as lucky. An empty glass was clipped, and someone just happened to make contact with the head of an elderly gentleman. He was not injured, nor was he amused. It's a good thing the errant throw came from an attractive blond German because although she apologized profusely (auf Deutsch) it could have been much worse if I had to try and sort that mess out!

Yeah, I appear to wearing something form the Captain Kirk Collection. Weird.

November's real highlight came two weeks ago when Michele's mom visited from Bologna. Somehow we coerced her into a Pasta Workshop…the night before she was to fly back home! Yes, we were able to strong-arm Michele's mom into teaching ten of us how to make the perfect pasta from scratch. Participating in this workshop will definitely go down as one of the most memorable moments Jeni and I have had so far in Luxembourg. How often do you get the opportunity to watch an Italian Maestra create home made pasta, and then try to replicate? Almost never…that's the answer! 

Héléne and Thierry forming the dough...

…and my attempt which ended up better than any previous pasta I've made!

Sheer Genius…It must be said that I did request workshop, and I'm ever-so-glad I did :)

I have made my own pasta numerous times, but observing Ivana form the dough, work it into a pliable mixture and run it through the pasta machine was absolutely sublime. I think I stole at least a dozen techniques within the first 30 minutes of her 'demonstration.' There must be something genetic because she made it look so easy, but by the end of the evening, we were all in the swing of it. The best part, by far, was eating our results. Michele and his mama, Ivana, had already prepared an authentic Bolognese sauce, but they were gracious enough to make Jeni and I a Gorgonzola sauce which led to another discussion entirely. Apparently we broke centuries of tradition by actually topping a tagliatelle noodles with gorgonzola. Just to appease the pasta gods, we were served gnocchi along side a small portion of this "experiment." 

Tamara, Michele and Ivana…a true Dream-Team in the kitchen! 

Now that I have hopefully made you hungry, let's get ready for Thanksgiving. We don't have any real plans this year. There are sporadic dinners in the area, but nothing that makes one feel like he's at an authentic family feast. Of course, we miss our families and dear friends. Our new acquaintances have partially filled this void, but, unfortunately, this doesn't make up for the time apart from our loved one's back home. I suppose that's one of the downfalls of the Grande Aventure. That said, we miss you all, and we are wishing you the warmest Day of Thanks in 2014! Eat a bunch of food, drink a little too much and enjoy each others company. We'll be thinking of you! After you've dined, I hope you experience a scene like this while you watch the big games :)

All that's missing is an empty bottle of Lancer's and the warm glow of a 60" plasma TV.

Oh where to begin?

Apparently I use that phrase a lot in the blog, but it is often very appropriate. Bear with me as I regale you in this my latest bit of blog-arrhea. After the monumental first nine months of 2014, Jeni and I laid low and relished in the relative calm during the month of October. That's not to say we sat idle and binge watched our backlog of shows on Netflix (which we also did). In the last month we've hosted and have been guests at a bevy of informal events. There was our latest foray to Burgundy with Tom and Oivi, dinners with friends, day trips, frisbee tournaments and of course the Epic Halloween Party in Kirchberg!

Boo.

In the two years we've lived here in Luxembourg, we have

* - I know this may not be realistic...

been very fortunate to find so many wonderful people with whom to share our grand adventure. Just as the leaves began to turn and the evenings brought the crisp chill of autumn air, Tom and Oivi once again invited us down to Culles les Roches in the Burgundy Region of France. Forgive me if I am repeating myself, but one thing you must put on your bucket list is, "find a friend with a country house in Burgundy.*" Dining al fresco in the French countryside is such a wonderful experience, and the weather last month was stupendous. Our days were bright and sunny with mild temperatures, and at night a cool mist would roll in from the surrounding hills making the fireplace cozier and wrapping the quaint village in a gauzy ether. Our garden project continues, albeit a bit slower than anticipated. Contractors can be the same everywhere is appears. Undaunted, we will persevere. This is becoming a personal challenge for me, and I am using these little trips to better understand the cultures we are discovering.

…but you should try :0 Thanks as always, Tom!

Culles les Roches.

JoJo and I on an early morning stroll along the abandoned rail lines.

I won't bore you with all of our comings and goings, but suffice it to say we've been happily active on the dinner scene recently. Our next stop, however, was the bucolic Belgian region of Gaume. Less than an hour away by car, Gaume is in the French speaking section of Wallonia. While Wallonia has its many detractors (the Flemish speaking Belgians being some of the loudest), I personally find it charming and it reminds me a lot of the Piedmont regions of Virginia and North Carolina. Because it is in venerable old Europe, there are loads of historic sites and, of course, the Abbeys where they brew beer and make fabulous cheese! We shared our day trip to Gaume with Christian and Paloma. First we stopped at an ancient priory that has been converted into a restaurant and hotel. Needless to say, even in dog-friendly Belgium, three dogs was a bit too much for their dining room, so we had our aperitif in the gardens and went on our way.

The main house at Le Prieuré de Conques

The owners were very nice, but still couldn't see a table of three people with three random dogs filling their lovely dining room. Christian was a bit crestfallen, but the proprietors told us of a fun bistro a bit further down the Semois River. There we set up on the terrace and enjoyed a traditional lunch of omelets, wild mushroom toasts and wild deer (of which Jeni and I did not take a bite). Our boys sure seemed to enjoy the rare treat as Christian shared with them. I think he takes pity on our dogs because Jeni and I are vegetarians. That's OK, I think it reminded Toby and Jonas of our time at our old country house where deer hooves were like manna from heaven!

Photo by Erik Verdonck - www.belgian.beertourism.com

That takes us to Halloween. While the rest of Luxembourg prepared for All Saints Day, our friends Michele and Tamara were busy setting up a shin-dig like few others in the Grand Duchy. As you can imagine, Halloween isn't quite as big in Europe as it is in the States. We were actually caught off guard last year when a troupe of Tick-or-Treaters came ringing the bells in our apartment building! That said, this year we stocked up on candy, readied our costumes in advance and set out with the other ghosties and goblins for a soirée like no other. I was very happy to see that our other expat friends were up for making costumes and merriment! The party was a veritable UN of masquerading mischief makers. Of course the US was represented, but there were folks from Bulgaria to Brazil, Germany to Great Britain, Hungary, Italy to Iceland, and the list list goes on and on! Everyone was in full Halloween spirit, and celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. The entire evening was a great success. 

Our gracious hosts!

We had a fantastic time, and unbeknownst to us, there was even a Best Costume Contest.  Any guesses who won??? You can see even more great costumes here… 

Well that's it for now. Thanks as always for reading. It's time to get geared up for the rain, prepare the entry for sopping wet pooches and settle in for the long gray winter. Don't worry, we'll find lot more interesting things to share. Don't forget the Winter Holidays are nearly upon us, and there's always the Buergbrennen to look forward to! 

TTFN!

Can you believe it???

Wow! It's been two years already. Jeni and I arrived in the Grand Duchy two years ago this month. This is almost too much to process. In many ways, we've acclimated well and things that seemed foreign and strange are now quite normal. Yet, it still seems like just yesterday we were kicking down King Street and scarfing down pupusas at Los Tio's…I guess that's because of all the great support we've had from folks back home. Though we're thousands of miles away, our connections to home remain strong. Thanks again to all those that were able to visit, and we look forward to our next trip Stateside to see everyone we miss. To be sure we are eagerly anticipating our future guests as we never tire of sharing what we love about this fun little shire nestled in the heart of Europe!

Since our return from Venice life here has somewhat settled down. We did enjoy a bit of an Indian Summer, but as the calendar flips, the weather is bound to change. All in all things have been rather quiet, but there have been a few events of note here in the Ville. 

Toby does not approve!

Aside from the occasional dinner with friends, the monthly poker game and our normal comings and going, we had a few highlights other over the last month. First, and most importantly, our friend's Brie and Gianni, celebrated their recent PACS (pacte civil de solidarité in French) which is a formal civil agreement akin to marriage recognized by the state rather than the church. That is…a civil ceremony.

Gianni and Brie met here in Luxembourg. She's an American co-worker and Gianni works for a bank (shocker!)

The affair was catered with Thai food. The chef made this centerpiece from fruit and vegetables... 

…if ever you cross paths with this person, eat her food! So Good!!

Beyond the PACS celebration, the Ville has had a bit of excitement as well. Recently, there were three (THREE!) bomb scares within a week of each other. They all ranged from mundane rusty old pipe near a construction site to the ever-popular forgotten luggage at the bus stop. Back in DC, they's send in the robots and blow these suckers up without hesitation, but here in Luxembourg they take a more traditional approach. As it happens, your cub-blogger happened to be on the scene for the third incident, and with true Luxembourgish style the whole episode passed without panic, three-cornered hats or xenophobic subtext. Unfortunately some poor traveller had a rather rough holiday, Not only did he lose his suitcase, but the contents of the valise were also strewn across the Avenue de la Liberté. Most likely they are in an evidence vault by now. 

The road was closed as a precaution...

…then the sniffer dog was brought in...

…and finally they had a 'senior' officer open the suspect package. Next step for him will be sweeping the steps in from of the precinct offices :)

So our second year is in the books. As we continue to explore and meet more and more interesting people, we look forward to see what the future holds. Thanks once again for following our antics. I'll continue to keep you posted. Remember, life is short, so whenever the opportunity presents itself…Play with a Puppy!

Venice…and the SoF is officially over.

Sorry to be so late with this post. Jeni and I celebrated our seventh anniversary on September 12, and in true Summer of Fun fashion we went back to Venice where we were first married. Yes, that Venice! Aside from wandering through the living-post-card that is Venezia, Jeni and I have been relishing in the Indian Summer Luxembourg has been experiencing of late. Now that I've written this down for posterity, I am certain the rain and driving winds will return by sundown ;)

One of the many fantastic benefits of living in the Grand Duchy is the fun new words we have added to our lexicon. For example, Summer-Sweater is a term I'd never heard of as a native Washingtonian. Summer in DC is a hot and muggy affair and can only truly be appreciated by those lucky enough to walk the National Mall on the 4th of July with 250,000 of your closest compatriots. Never in my life would I imagine that I'd be wearing layers in August, and yet here I am. 

Me with an enormous gourd (zucchini?) of unknown variety. It was a gift from the neighbor lady who feeds the dogs cakes in the morning. Yet another skill I've mastered…walking two dogs while balancing a 5 lb squash on my hip!

Piazza San Marco under stormy skies :-/

Going into our third winter here I've observed that the good folks of Luxembourg take such delight in pulling out the winter coats, popping on the wellies and finally stashing the Summer-Sweaters away until next June. This all culminates in a crescendo of scarf layering like nothing you've seen before. The end of summer is somewhat of a mild celebration here. So this is where I apologize the good folks of Venice where I imagine summer will be missed. As is often the case, Jeni and I brought a little bit of traditional Luxembourg weather with us. While the Luxembourger's were enjoying a bit of late summer sun and some warm breezes, Jeni and I were thanking our lucky stars we had the foresight to bring our Summer-Sweaters to the Adriatic coast. Many other tourists did not have this foresight. I saw a girl in flip-flops in St Mark's square with feet so blue the poor thing looked like a water-logger cadaver. 

Venice is a city made of over 100 islands nestled in a emerald green lagoon protected from the Adriatic sea by a barrier island known as the Lido. The main 'center' of town is connected with over 400 bridges, each one unique and more beautiful than the next. Venice has a rich history far too long and complex to get into here. Suffice it to say the mixture of Roman, Byzantium and uniquely Venetian architecture weave a tapestry that is so beautiful words simply fail to describe its grandeur. The Republic of Venice has been electing its leaders since Roman times, and because it is the only true pedestrian city in the world, a sense of equality and pride can be seen through this maritime community.

Obviously without a boat of your own, the best way to get around Venice is by foot, and that is just perfect for me and Jeni. We absolutely love getting lost in the labyrinths that make up Venice's various neighborhoods. There were, however, a few occasions we decided to take the local water bus. On the night of our anniversary we booked a table a a fun little restaurant recommended to us by the hotel concierge, Caffé Centrale. Jeni and I donned our fancy clothes and headed toward St Mark's Square aboard the local public transit. Thank goodness for google maps because I have no idea how people navigated this city before the internet. After we disembarked, we managed to find our little restaurant perched on a skinny canal on a side street not more than ten feet wide about 300 yards away from the world-famous Piazza San Marco. The food was great, the wine was better and the atmosphere was absolutely brilliant.  I must say that the world's longest aquatic bus ride was certainly worth it. 

Those would be Porcini Mushrooms and Potato Mousse!  And, why do I always look like a doofus in the dinner pics???

Well perhaps our ride to dinner was the world's second longest aquatic bus ride. The next day the sun began to peek out of the steel gray sky, so we took the opportunity to head over to Burano, a sleepy little borough on an island just north of central Venice. Unlike its better known sister island of Murano, Burano is a sweet, calm, quiet slice of old world charm completely electrified by shocking colors straight out of Timothy Leary's waking dreams. We spent the afternoon on Burano enjoying the sunshine and the scenery, but alas it is a small island. After an afternoon coffee we hopped back aboard the water bus and bobbed our way south to the main islands of Venice…or so we thought.

No travel tale of ours would be complete without a small amount of drama, so here goes. It must be said that the water busses may be slow, but they are certainly prompt. The pilots are somehow able to keep to the time tables. That said, if you miss your connecting bus, you may find yourself with some idle time on your hands. Alas, it would be in one of the most picturesque cities on the planet…right? As we pulled in to the floating bus stop we saw that our next bus (the 4.2 - not the 4.2 which in another line completely…don't get me started on the numbering system. This is not a typo. There are two lines with the exact number!)  was just letting passengers off. As we made our mad dash over to the next floating platform, we screamed past a sign showing this bus (the 4.2 - not the 4.2) actually goes around the island of Murano before heading back to the canal on which our hotel was situated. 

LONGESTBUSRIDEEVER!!

 

Now, let me take a brief side trip and give you my thoughts on the island of Murano. Murano, as you may know, is home to the world renown glass forges that have been creating glass and glassworks of art since the Middle Ages. Jeni and I visited this island back when we were in Venice for our first visit. Been to Murano. Check. While there are certainly fine works of well crafted glasswork being produced on the island, the vast majority of the stuff is worthy of any carnival midway. In fact, as you walk the narrow streets of the island the glass-hucksters try to persuade you into their stalls. Peering out of dim doorways these street vendors try to entice by scooping handfuls of glass tchotchkes and pouring them back into the punch bowl from whence they came. This clattering and clinking follows you all through the streets, and does not stop as long as there is a tourist within earshot! Been to Murano. Check. Done.

Murano - Home of glass knick-knacks of all shapes and sizes.

Well...not so fast. We apparently hopped on the 4.2, and lo and behold we found ourselves heading back to Murano which is about a mile away from Venice proper…over the lagoon. Not to worry, dear reader, we had a plan. We'd simply get off on Murano and take on the next bus heading toward the centre of town. As it happens, that wasn't so easy. The first bus stop on Murano, Colonia, has a plethora of lines. None of these, however, went in the correct direction. So we decided to grab a Aperol spritz at a nearby café and wait for the 4.2 bus to make its way around the island and return to the Colonia station. This should have been about 20 minutes. As luck would have it, the electronic board was on the fritz. Bus lines and time tables would blink on and off. Some routes would disappear only to reappear minutes later. Before our drinks were empty our little twenty minute diversion on Murano turned into a full blown 50 minute wait! There was no way Jeni and I were going to be lured back into that den of bauble hawkers, so we ordered another spritz and enjoyed the scenery. C'est la vie! Fate, as it turns out, was on our side that day. We paid for our drinks (its called foresight - see above under Summer-Sweater), and as we settled in and gazed out over the jade colored water on St Michele's cemetery our ship had come in! Without warning the 4.2 pulled up the platform. Spritz' were pounded, and we embarked on our last leg of the longest bus ride ever! 

Three platforms at Colonia and only one bus heading back to town! What a problem to have :)

The Church of San Michele / Cimitero di San Michele

We got back to the hotel with plenty of time to grab a glass of wine at our new favorite bar, Al Parlamento.  When in Venice, make this place a destination. The servers are warm and friendly, the food was nice, and nothing compares to sipping a lovely Pinot Nero along the Canale di Cannaregio. Watching the boats slip in and out of the city, hearing the children play along the Fondamenta Savorgnan and soaking in the beauty of Venezia with my wonderful wife was the perfect way to end what has been the most amazing summer of my life. 

As the say in Italy, Allora! That's it for now. We're back here safe and sound in the Grand Duchy. Stay tuned because I'm sure we'll have lots more to share. Thanks for following our zany antics and Arrivederchi!  

This is from our wedding day!

Eerily similar, no?

Ahhh…back to good old Luxembourg!