2015 - Wow...

photo - Christophe Ena - AP

As a testament to our busy Holiday Season, my blogging has been absent for far too long. The end of 2014 saw a flurry of activity including a visit from Ol' Saint Nick, a hair-raising car ride and a trip to Paris for New Years. 

So...I last left you on the Eve of Christmas, and as is often the case we ate and drank way too much again this year. There were no less than three full-on feasts that including two Italian-multi-course-bonanzas as well as Jeni and my own Christmas buffet featuring (among other delicious side dishes) homemade four-cheese and conchiglie. Yeah, that would have been made with; 1.) Aged Cheddar, 2.) Fontina 3.) Brie and 4.) Chimay Classique (that's right... the Trappist Brothers who brew such sweet nectar also make amazing cheese)! I won't even attempt to recount the many dinners we attended with friends and colleagues. Suffice it to say I probably averaged 5000 calories a day during the last two weeks of the year. Boff. Time to get cracking on those resolutions.

The dinner table at Brie and Gianni's where we enjoyed not only two different homemade raviolis but also a bevy of sides and of course tremendous desserts!

Gianni's Mum…seriously if you can't find a friend with a house in Burgundy, you must find an Italian Mom to hang out with :)

Christmas tradition in this part of the world typically doesn't include a midnight visit from Santa Claus or Père Noël. Rather the kids in Luxembourg set their shoes out on the window sill or door step December 6 in hopes that Saint Nicholas will fill them with sweets. Often, if the kids are really good, St Nicholas will leave some presents under the dining table and some Boxenmännercher on the table as a treat to tie them over until the Christmas feast. A Boxenmann or Boxenfrau is a sweet yeasty bread in the shape of a man or woman that are quite popular here in the days leading up to Chrëschtdag.  In reality the Grand Duchy is such a heterogenous place traditions from all over mingle and intertwine. Since our boys don't wear shoes, we celebrated on Christmas morning in true American fashion. From Santa, Toby and Jonas received two new beds as well as some toys and copious amounts of treats! 

OMG! Last year we were away, so the boys got a nice Christmas Cake from their Belgian Family at the kennel. 

After the initial fervor shared by both dogs, Toby decided to reestablish his Big-Brother status and nearly scared the bejeezus out of poor JoJo. Yep…Toby's still got it when he needs it!

"Sheesh…all I wanted was a turn with the new goose!"

Fat Chance…Toby was in charge of Christmas morning.

Saint Stephen's Day is December 26th, and this year we were invited to a brunch with our dear friend Christian and his faithful companion, Paloma. Brunch in Luxembourg is a whole 'nother animal. It takes the better part of a day, and contains not one, but TWO pastry courses. I shall have to write about this in its entirety at a later date. Until then, I will leave you with this picture of Miss Paloma trying her hardest to be a good girl. It's terribly difficult when there are so many good things to try :0

The in-between time from Christmas to New Year's can be a bit slow here in Luxembourg….which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This year Jeni and I thought we'd take this quiet moment to slip over to the American Air Force Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany. There we can pick up all kinds of things from the good ol' U.S. of A. Items that aren't readily available on the economy. It's really a nice perk of Jeni's job as not all American expats have access. The tricky bit, as we found out, was actually getting there in the dead of winter. This year we weren't blessed with a white Christmas, but the snow did eventually arrive on Saturday Dec 27. Our first mistake on this little excursion was to attempt the maneuver on the following Sunday morning. If the week between the Holidays is slow, the Sunday contained within that week is absolutely inert, so when our windshield washer fluid literally froze on the way through the Saarland we knew we were in trouble. As the salt from the motorway began to cake on the windscreen, cars started overtaking us at an alarming rate. The smutch that had accumulated became so thick that we couldn't see the road. At one point my beautiful bride was scrubbing the glass with chunks of ice while we were pulled over onto the shoulder of the A1 autobahn! (No pics…absolute panic mode.) 

…so here's a photo of Toby at the beach.

We managed to get off the highway, and after some searching (thank God for GPS) we found a service station that was actually open. Here we bought some washer fluid rated to -20 ℃ and cleared the windscreen. Unfortunately the supply lines were completely clogged with ice, so with no mechanic on duty we decided to limp back to the Grand Duchy taking the back roads. Here is where I would normally write something positive about the lovely scenery or of the joy in watching the locals out on their Volkswandern. Alas, no…we simply made a three hour slog through the by-ways and farm roads of Germany's equivalent of Eastern Kentucky. 

Looking back I can honestly say that, barring the circumstances, it was a nice drive…and we got to test drive those snow tires after all. 

This was to be the cover art for our debut album…back in 2004.

This leads us up to New Year's Eve and our swift-yet-thourough visit to Paris. It's hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since we are last in the City of Lights. The train from Luxembourg to Paris is only a two hour affair. Perhaps this ease of access is why we've not made it there in the last two years. It has always been a "one of these days" kinda place. Well, now that we know that Paris is so close, I imagine we'll be going back soon!

photo - SNCF

The ride over provided an interesting insight into the French Railway system. Yes, the train is fast and efficient, but apparently they can over sell tickets…and everyone is OK with this! Jeni and I boarded the train here in Luxembourg, and to our delight we discovered that is was rather empty. Not entirely satisfied with our backward facing seats, we decided to pop over to another car and take two of the empty seats going in the 'right' direction. Just across the border we had a stop in the town of Thionville, and here's where we should have just gone back to out designated seats. The places we purloined were ticketed to another couple, so we decided to go to the café car then wait and see which seats remained after our second stop in Metz, France. Big mistake. In Metz apparently 1/2 of the city joined us for the final leg to Paris. It was insane…people jostled just to sit in between cars. To sit between cars on∙their∙luggage! The alternative was to stand in the aisle. At this point we decided to trudge back through the seven car train to out original seats. Backwards or forwards we at least had a spot to sit down! When we arrived there was an older couple occupying our places…when I asked if there was a mistake, they simply said we were probably correct and then, resigned to their fate, they joined the others in the aisle to stand for the last hour plus as we made our way to Paris. Talk about awkward situations…this poor couple thought they hit the jackpot when they found two empty seats (side by side no less), and then we booted them out to look at the backs of heads for the remainder of the journey. Needless to say, there was very little eye contact in that car that day. Two lessons were learned that day; 1.) Buy your tickets in advance and 2.) Find your seat and keep it because no matter how crappy your seat is, it's better than balancing on your Samsonite over the linkage between rail cars!

Montmartre beneath (mostly) blue skies!

At last we arrived in Paris, and boy, I forgot just how fantastic this city is! There is such a unique, almost electric feel in the air, and all the storied sites and squares are absolutely breathtaking. Jeni and I nearly walked the entire city in two days! From our hotel at the Gare du Nord to Notre Dame, then to the Bastille and the Viaduct and finally to Montmartre and the Champs-Élysées. wW covered so much of the Right Bank we should receive honorary citizenship! We did end up taking the Metro (which was open all night and FREE on New Year's Eve), but wandering through all Paris' varied neighborhoods really gives you a Sense of Place. 

The sprawling quartiers of Paris' Right Bank

Speaking of a free metro ride, we opted to rest our tired feet and utilize the public transit to go to the Arc de Triomphe to ring in the New Year. We were, however, not the only ones with this bright idea. We boarded the underground after dinner near the Bastille and as we progressed toward our destination, the train grew more and more crowded. This culminated in a absolute crush of humanity at the George V metro stop. So much, in fact, that the exits were completely blocked….from the outside! There were so many people on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées that the rest of us couldn't even get out of the terminal! Maybe it was l'Esprit de Paris or they general excitement of the coming new year, but for some reason no one panicked or started to shove their way through the crowd. We eventually turned around and made our way against the tide of people to find a train heading back up to the Concorde where we celebrated with tens of thousand of our closest friends and a bottle of Luxembourg Cremant! 

There was literally nowhere to go!

Nowhere.

Well at least we survived the Metro

In sad fact, the Parisians don't really have a spectacle at Midnight. I imagine that's because normally they are just sitting down to dinner at that hour, so they can't be bothered to make a big fuss. We were told (on good authority) that the city actually spends its entire fireworks budget for French Independence Day in June. Guess we'll have to venture back for that show! 

At the strike of midnight there were a few obligatory bursts over the Arc, the Eiffle Tower shimmered and then we all went our separate ways to wander the side streets and continue partying in the various cafés and restaurants until the early morning hours. 

What possessed these drivers to cross the Concorde at midnight on New Year's Eve is beyond comprehension!

Now that the dust has settled, we are back safe and sound in the Grand Duchy. A bit heavier but none the worse for wear. Before leaving we took one last bite at the Pomme du Parigot at a local café while waiting for the train…then is was back home to convalesce for the remainder of winter! 

Happy New Year form Luxembourg! Wishing everyone a most prosperous 2015!!!

Brian & Jeni.

PSP - Please Send Pepto!