Bakker Bugle Blog

The Schueberfouer will end Wednesday, so we visited one more time this Sunday. It was packed! We took lots of photos, of course, to give you a feel for the event.

Objective Number One: Ride the big swings!

We loved the swings, especially the spinning view over Luxembourg. I think it was better than the Ferris wheel, although it requires a stronger stomach (and a warm jacket).

But wait, what’s the La Liberté doing? Looks more like La Libertine if you ask me. And since when is there a male version of the Statue of Liberty? Maybe one of Bartholdi’s men decided to visit the United States in mufti. Or this is a metaphor for intercultural appreciation. Any ideas?

There were comical representations of American culture all over the rides. It’s my favorite part of the fair — for cultural value, even better than the sex games and the beer gardens.

This year, we got a massive six-story waterfall as part of the water rides area. This is Luxembourg, so it was about 50°F — but that didn’t seem to make the splashing water any less attractive to the masses. Not us, no way!

The food is at least as important as the attractions, especially when the Jean La Gaufre is serving the Best Wafels in the World, with a VIP Room no less!

You can have your waffle plain, or loaded with whipped cream and strawberries (fraises). There’s chocolate sauce, too — and a gelato stand with a great Belgian chocolate flavor.

To assure us of their authenticity, there were several copies of the Manneken-Pis adorning the Jean La Gaufre stand, including one that periodically drenched the crowds walking by.

We’re becoming more Luxembourgish all the time, so we were sure to meet friends at one of the fair’s restaurants, to partake of the traditional meal of whole fish. (Alas, we have no idea what kind of fish it is.)

There are a few more photos (of things other than fish heads) in a new photoset, so be sure to click on over to Flickr.

If you’re looking for more, the Schueberfouer website is super media-savvy, with dozens of videos and a massive number of photographs. I can’t help kibitzing, though: Be prepared for a visual assault of bad website design (and turn down the volume if you’re at work — random sounds may be built into the webpages).