Springtime Post

The boys enjoying some early spring sun!

Man-o-Man...April has already come and gone. After our fabulous trip to Africa time has been passing rather slowly. Jeni and I are just one week away from being reunited, and I can not wait for her return from Ice Station Zebra!! Spring in Luxembourg can be dodgy as I found out last year, but this April has been quite mild. In fact the sun has even graced our patio from time to time! I am super excited to see Jeni again, and I know she's just going to love the remaining Printemps à Luxembourg. Now that I look back, the month of April was actually filled with several events that kept me occupied. Let me wish you a belated Happy Easter and attempt to regale you with tales of birthdays, banquets and beers!

I spent the Holiday weekend back in Culles les Roches with Tom, Oivi and their daughter Sonya, but before I left one of my neighbors stopped me while I was walking the dogs to give me a few colored eggs (and of course some treaties for the boys). I have no idea how she knew I was a Hokie!

Culles les Roches nested between the frosted hills and the vineyards.

Easter was a feast in the truest sense of the word. As you may recall I am working with Tom and Oivi to create gardens for their country home down in France. That holiday weekend, however, featured absolutely no work whatsoever. Tom and I made a valiant effort to drink all the wine in Burgundy, and between great food and conversations we were able to take a few strolls through the beautiful countryside surrounding the village. 

The Burgundy region is criss-crossed with old train grades. The rails have been removed, and now these tracks form a network of trails and bike paths that meander all through the valley. I am definitely going to take advantage of this and bring the bikes down later this summer!

An abandoned tunnel we found along the way...

Tom, Oivi and Sonya at Easter supper. They had lamb, I ate a mountain of side dishes...

and the boys helped with the clean-up!

'Don't know what that was, but it sure was tasty."

April also saw a few birthdays including Mom's, my brother Tim and our illustrious wiener-dog Toby turned 13! My friend Christian had a birthday too, and, as is the custom here, he invited many of his friends to dinner and paid for everything. I prefer the American way of doing birthdays. If I'm getting older, I at least want a free night out once a year. Now Christian's roots are deeply set in the fertile valleys of Alsace and Lorraine, so it no wonder the main course was a huge plate of Sauerkraut with pork-five-ways.

Needless to say I ordered off the menu, and was pleasantly surprised with a vegetable gratin that was more gratin the veggies. I probably consumed more protein by way of cheese and cream than that entire tray of choucroute contained. Ah La Vida Luxem!

The City of Luxembourg also held its semi-annual Flea Market, or Floumaarkt, which is very reminiscent of the Rte 11 Yard Crawl in Shenandoah County, VA. For such a wealthy country, Luxembourg has a penchant for all things Chatzki. I swear nothing ever leaves this place…it simply moves from one family to the next. This appears to have been going on for generations.  It's surreal to see women wearing rings that would make the royals blush thumbing through bins of old books or boxes of old jelly glasses…and haggling over the prices! I'm sure there are some hidden treasures, but you'd have to sift through a lot of poop to find that pony.

Jumble Sale doesn't even begin to describe this scene.

Yeah, I got an old glass.

Perhaps the most anticipated weekend of April came on the 26th. A group of us Luxembourg expats trundled up to Leuven, Belgium for the first BeerFestival of the season. The Zythos Bierfestival is host to some 100+ Belgian brewers and well over 500 different beers. Have no doubt, just one week after attempting to drain Burgundy, I went on to dutifully drink my way through Belgium! To my surprise the festival was held indoors, and it was a very proper event. I took notes, I savored the flavors and I even tried a few beers outside my comfort zone…two words for you. Cactus. Beer. 

We were 15 all together, and we had a wonderful time. I originally thought I'd be reporting on all the various beers throughout the region, but there really is no need. The Belgians have the market cornered, hands down. Beyond the beerfest, we were able to poke around this quaint city that is home to many of Belgium's top universities. Here are some of the highlights…

Leuven's Sint Pieter's Cathedral and Town Hall

Michele (you met him at the International Expo) and Alesandro having fun at the fountain.
Please note Natalia in the background…none too amused.

Breakfast for eleven…we needed to keep our energy up.

Because this scene on the shuttle bus might have been the alternative.
(Total strangers btw)

A typical Leuven plaza…before 9am on a Sunday :)