Bakker Bugle Blog

Rest assured that the guests of the Bakker Bugle B&B are comfortable during their extended stay in northern Europe. Luxembourg is not blanketed in ash as of Sunday morning — indeed, we’ve had an unusually long stretch of sunny weather.

Only one guest has been affected by the air travel restrictions across northern Europe. The BBB&B has made all our facilities available to her, in order to make her prolonged stay as serene as possible. Our laundry facilities and our kitchen will help her cope. Remember as you plan your summer holidays that our laundry and kitchen are available to all guests at all times!

In the local community, the Bakker Bugle has organized relief efforts for families with members stranded far away from Luxembourg. We’ve provided pet-oriented nutritional aid and home security operations for those who have opted to travel across the continent to retrieve their loved ones.

At the time of publication, it looks like nobody is flying into or out of northern Europe until late this week. But somebody is enjoying some extra time in Luxembourg! (And it is unusually quiet without Cargolux 747s landing every hour.)

We’re also coming to understand how important air travel is to Europe. (And how easily Nature can upend our daily expectations.) Consider:

• Business and political deals relying on express document services (FedEx, DHL), some of which may be renegotiated or abandoned, if delayed
• Organ transplants, both scheduled operations and those waiting for opportune donors far away
• Perishable goods, stranded at their points of production — flowers in Holland; food all over Europe, especially seafood.
• Travel insurance, personal and derivative
• No contrails, leaving skies as blue as that dreadful week in September 2001
• Unusual professions that require tight schedules: musicians, performers, lecturers; military, both the soldiers deployed and the army of civilians who manage deployments; emergency services and NGO personnel, such as election supervisors and Red Cross volunteers
• The inevitable call-up and vacation cancellations for those who will make up for the lack of air transport: truck drivers, sailors on rivers and seas, travel agents and administrative assistants (of course), and more

Have you heard any surprising stories in the past few days?