I hope you’re not fed up with Christmas yet! On December 21, Anita and I went to the Christmas Markets in Cologne (Köln to the locals). As in Trier, Strasbourg, Luxembourg, and Aachen, the city arranges for distinctly themed markets in several squares around the city.
The market furthest from the center (and closest to where we parked) was the Village of St. Nicholas on the aptly-named Rudolfplatz.
In theory, July and August were supposed to be quiet months. We were supposed to have time to recover from the busy first half of the year, plus catch up on some of our outstanding chores. While July and August were a bit slower than the rest of 2015, by no means were they empty!
We kicked off July with a Fourth of July event co-hosted between the American Women’s Club of Luxembourg (AWCL) and Democrats Abroad. Since the Fourth fell on a Saturday, the groups arranged a picnic at a lovely spot in Luxembourg. In the weeks before the event, there was much concern about the amount of indoor and/or covered space available at the location because Luxembourg tends to be quite rainy. However summer 2015 proved to be the second hottest on record and July 4th was the hottest day in July…. ever. (more…)
[Anita’s note: I wrote this blog post on the last day of April with the intention of inserting the photos and publishing in the first few days of May. Then…. May happened. You will hear all about it in Random Happenings 9, but let’s just say May was a bit busy! My apologies for the long, long delay on this post.]
In movies and on television, occasionally they will use a clock that starts spinning faster and faster to illustrate time flying or life getting out of control. At this moment, I feel like our clocks are spinning faster and faster. Both Will and I are grabbing precious time with our friends as best as we can, but we cannot stop the clock. It’s moving season in Luxembourg. Moving season is the hardest season of them all!
March and April were two months where the clock spun faster than ever. While work slowed down a bit for me, it was as busy as ever for Will. Thankfully, he was able to free up time to do lots of fun things during our time together on the weekends. Never let it be said we aren’t good at balance!
March started not with a bang, but with a bark. Dexter the dog arrived to stay with us for a week. Dexter last stayed with us in June 2014 when he got to tag along with us while we watched the Tour of Luxembourg. (more…)
While writing has never been a pleasure for me, I have enjoyed creating these Random Happenings posts. I hope those reading at home have also enjoyed hearing a bit about our routine life in 2014. I plan to continue in 2015 if for no other reason than to remind myself about all the things that happen, both large and small.
Unfortunately I did not manage to write the detailed posts on various topics I promised in 2014. I have hopes to manage one or two, but my track record says to not get excited about those anytime soon. We’ll see if I do better in 2015. (more…)
…with bonus New Year’s Eve!
First, let’s wrap up the Netherlands with a Christmas-specific store in Leiden. We saw just a little of Leiden and it’s now on my list of places to see again. (more…)
It’s National Day in Luxembourg! (We posted three times about National Day 2009 — one, two, three — and once in 2010.)
Perhaps this is a good time to note that, for the first time since the 18th Century, the rules of succession for the throne of Luxembourg have changed. (more…)
I had to travel to Morocco to get a straight answer. French adults don’t acknowledge my accent, bless their hearts. French children just say that I talk funny.
Morocco’s unofficial second language is French. (Arabic is the first language, and the Berber family of languages are second, officially.)
Anita says that it is like Florida for France, with all the French retirees in campervans for long vacations, and in the resorts for slightly shorter trips. That certainly appeared to be true in Agadir, a city rebuilt for the purpose of foreign tourism.
My first diagnosis was from a supervisor at one of the resort’s restaurants; she simply assumed I was German. (more…)
Why did thousands of people come to Place Clairefontaine last Thursday? As always, there is a simple answer that glosses a complex situation.
The simple answer is that Luxembourg’s government changed the laws in a way that many consider unfair to people who work in Luxembourg but live across its borders.
Not satisfied with that? (more…)
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…)
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…)
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