Bakker Bugle Blog Say it three times fast. In Luxembourgish.

20 July 2010

Tour de France: Way Back in Belgium

Filed under: europe,france,luxembourg,photos,sports — Will @ 21:34

This year’s Tour de France is one of the most exciting in recent memory, especially after yesterday’s events.
The Course Car Two weeks ago, the Tour began with a few stages in Holland and Belgium. I attended two stages within a two-hour drive from Luxembourg.

First up, the Bruxelles-Spa stage, which was the first day of a real bloodbath that set the tone of the Tour until it reached the Alps. Here’s the link to the slideshow, which includes thorough notes on the drama of the day. (If you don’t see the descriptions, click on “Show Info” in the top-right corner.)

A 90 minute drive brought my companions and me to a wet and windy spot in Basse-Bodeux, Belgium. (more…)

7 July 2010

German adventures, Day 3: Baden-Baden and tantrums

Filed under: europe,germany,photos,travel — Anita @ 11:29

Technically, we arrived in Baden-Baden at the end of a long day two. We checked into our hotel, found a lovely place to dine al fresco (with blankets to help keep us warm in the chilly May air) and enjoyed a relaxing night after a busy and interesting day. We retired early, intending to spend the day exploring the town and possibly a bit of the Black Forest south of town.

The BBB&B favorite guide Rick had a walk through Baden-Baden that hit all the major (and some of the minor) sights. The photoset will take you through the details, but I thought I would give you a preview of some of the lovely things. (more…)

30 June 2010

Mysteries of Europe #42: Why oh why?

Filed under: culture,europe,travel — Will @ 22:23

Anita enjoys visiting Holland, in part because many television programs are subtitled in Dutch but keep their original English audio tracks. Tonight, RTL 7‘s prime-time movie is Monster Ark, written and directed by Declan O’Brien. Here is an excerpt from a review by Gorepress that both of us enthusiastically endorse:

Monster Ark is ridiculous, but not in a good way. It is shoddily made, terribly scripted, blindly dumb and tragically dull. Even for a straight-to-TV movie it lacks depth, intelligence and charm. … It basically becomes a vomiting cliché-ticking mixture of Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones, which it shamelessly and liberally plagiarizes from. The film manages to insult anyone religious, the entire U.S. Army, all archaeologists, every pioneer of CGI and its audience’s intelligence.

(By the way, the review is worth reading on its own. Take a look when you have a moment and keep it mind that it does not exaggerate, in any way, the awfulness of this program.)

As children of the USA, both of us understand how such a movie could be made and distributed on the Scyfy channel. The mystery is how it winds up in Europe. (more…)

16 June 2010

Postcards from Germany

Filed under: europe,germany,photos,travel — Anita @ 10:31

Life has been a little crazy for the Bugle staff over the last three months. As you may have pieced together from previous posts and photo sets, a colleague from the US was in Luxembourg for the better part of April, thanks to the ash cloud. After three great weekends of company, we were alone again.

But not for long! We had one weekend to “turn” the guest room for Sharon and Jaime, our friends who were making a second trip to see us. In order to make the most of their visit, we decided on a three phase approach: I would pick them up in Frankfurt on Friday and the three ladies would enjoy a Germany weekend. (more…)

11 June 2010

A day in my life at the BBB&B

Filed under: B&B,entertainment,europe,luxembourg,travel — Sharon @ 18:26

[Editor’s Note: Sharon is a founding member of the Friends of the Bugle. Due to our recent crisis in content-generation, the Bugle’s editors foresee an expanded role for Friends of the Bugle. To learn more about this exciting development, please contact us!]

I was a guest of the Bakker Bugle B&B just a few weeks ago. I could tell you how much fun we had traveling & enjoying time with our friends & their hospitality, as well as Belgium beers, wine, and food, but instead here is a snippet of what Will & I did one day……
In the park
We decided to walk around the city center in Luxembourg City, then the crazies came out… but this isn’t about them…it’s about us. (more…)

9 June 2010

Back from the Mediterranean

Filed under: europe,travel — Will @ 16:16

The year 2009 was a game-changing proposition for the Bugle, as we moved and expanded our online and bricks-and-mortar presence. Once the dust settled, Bugle HR proposed an innovative one-time award for the best-and-brightest contributors to the enterprise. Two employees were selected to enjoy almost two weeks on a cruise on the Aegean Sea, almost entirely disconnected from the internet-based environment that defines their working lives. (more…)

27 April 2010

Keukenhof Photos, by Anita

Filed under: europe,photos,travel — Will @ 18:35

Anita often leaves the documentary photography to me. But she knew that last weekend’s trip to Keukenhof would be something special. Keukenhof is a garden in the bulb-producing region of Holland, and it is open each year only for springtime flower displays. So Anita packed her fancy new camera — “James” — and an extra battery.
WideView
When we returned to the Bugle Abode, Anita volunteered to select the photos for Flickr. I was delighted to have her help. (more…)

18 April 2010

BBB&B guests relax during travel turmoil

Filed under: B&B,europe,travel — Will @ 20:15

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 (more…)

18 March 2010

Sneak Peek: Comparative Timeline

Filed under: administrative,culture,europe,ireland,luxembourg,usa — Will @ 19:26

The Bugle staff have been working on an exciting new project that will give you a new way of looking at the world.

Our guests in Ireland would sometimes visit, in the same day or two, three important Irish sites: Kilmainham Gaol (1796-1923 CE), Newgrange at Brú na Bóinne (3500-3200 BCE), and the Guinness Storehouse (2000-present).

Even the most historically aware tourists had trouble grasping the time periods involved: what was going on other places, how long monuments were originally used, and how long it took civilizations to change. (more…)

12 March 2010

Luxembourg by the numbers: From news352.lu

Filed under: culture,europe,expat,luxembourg,news — Will @ 12:45

Anita and I stress the number of non-residents commuting into Luxembourg just about every time we talk about life in Luxembourg. To us, it seems to touch nearly every part of life here. Add to that the number of non-native residents, and you have part of what makes Luxembourg City a special place.

We’re often unclear on the numbers, particularly with respect to non-native residents. You can imagine my delight, then, when I found the following article, “Luxembourg: A City of 156 nationalities,” in 352 Luxembourg Magazine, the leading English-language weekly in Luxembourg. (more…)

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