Luxembourg’s forests gave us a great show of colorful foliage this fall.
More words later. Pictures now!
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5 November 2010
22 October 2010
Best Shopping Day of 2010
Last Saturday, totally out of the blue, Will and I had the best shopping day ever, or at least of 2010. Here’s our story:
It’s a special time of the year in Luxembourg – it is the fall wine season. Our preferred grocery store had issued a special flyer listing all the wines that would be available.
Will took his responsibilities seriously. Like a young boy with the Sears Wishbook, he sat down with the flyer, his Hachette guide and a fresh sharpie. His goal – find excellent wines at a reasonable price for us to sample.
There were several that he was excited about.
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19 October 2010
Cruise Photos: Corfu / Kerkyra
We were promised sun in Luxembourg yesterday, but we got something more like early winter. So my thoughts turned to our cruise to the Greek Islands this spring.
Corfu was the first actual Greek island on the itinerary. It was also one of the largest, and one of the least Greek! It lies very close to the coasts of Albania and Greece, but its history lies closer to Venice and Dubrovnik.
You’ll learn that, and more, from the photoset on Flickr devoted to our day in Corfu. If you’d rather just look at the pretty pictures, we recommend the slideshow. And, of course, there’s always the set of leftover photos.
What? You want a preview before you commit? (more…)
15 October 2010
Wéi seet een “boneless pork patty” op Lëtzebuergesch?
How do you say “McRib” in Luxembourgish?
Last weekend, Anita spied the McRib on a McDonald’s menu in Ingeldorf, Luxembourg.
“That’s interesting,” she said, “I remember reading that the McRib isn’t widely available in the US.”
“Me too,” I said, “But maybe I’m just thinking of that Simpsons episode.” And so the situation passed into our long list of Notable Oddities Here in Europe.
Serendipity had other plans, however. 
She waved her hands and lo, on Monday, the Wall Street Journal published an article on American fans of the McRib who track its ephemeral appearance across the nation. (It’s a pretty good read, as these things go.)
There are blog posts and fan sites devoted to the McRib, of course. (And some of them will burn your eyeballs, of course.) And this is 2010, so there’s a social network which maintains a McRib Locator. There’s quite a bit of information available on the McRib, easily accessed via google. I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Still, once Anita sent me the article, I knew that I had to return to Ingeldorf. For you, dear readers, I would find and eat a McRib. (more…)
11 October 2010
“A randonée is not a race.”
Yesterday, I did this.
Let me provide a translation.
This event is a randonnée, which is a waymarked ride rather than a race. This randonée had three different lengths for three levels of mountain-bikers.
(1) Fit,
(2) Super-Fit, aka Jens Voigt,
and (3) Chuck Norris.
It’s called a “Benefitsride” because a cyclist who is not in great shape should check his or her level of health benefits before attempting to ride the route. (more…)
6 October 2010
Oh, American Press, bless your heart
The US State Department released a broad travel advisory for Europe on Sunday. It cautioned Americans who are traveling to Europe to be extra vigilant. As one would expect, some of our loved ones in the US expressed concern over our safety. Suffice it to say, I have felt safe and continue to feel safe in Luxembourg. In fact, I cannot imagine a safer place to be.
But feeling safe and actually being safe are two different things. So, in the interest of learning as much as possible, I checked my usual online newspapers on Monday. The most prominent piece was in the Wall Street Journal. The article was reasonable in its tone, but the photo and video captions made be laugh. Not a “ha-ha” laugh: I was laughing at you, American newsmedia. You amuse me.
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4 October 2010
Cruise Day 3: Dubrovnik
Day Three of our cruise (in May and June of this year) took us to Venice’s medieval rival: Ragusa. It is now known as Dubrovnik, Croatia — and it’s an UNESCO Heritage Site! So we could tick another box on the list, at the very least.
Regardless of what the UN thinks, Dubrovnik was an ideal stop for us. It’s a gorgeous walled city with lots of historical significance, from the first millennium to the present day. We walked around the high city walls and then descended into the Old Town for more.
We have lots of photos to share — as usual, in two photosets on Flickr:
- The main photoset, with plenty of descriptions and commentary
- The leftover photos, which fill in some of the details
Here’s a preview of what you’ll see: (more…)
30 September 2010
The Tour de France: the October stages
The Tour isn’t over until the UCI says it is.
Alberto Contador finished the riding stages of the Tour de France on July 25, with the best time of all the competitors. Andy Schleck had the second best time.
Today, Contador’s publicist revealed that a doping test of Contador’s blood, taken on a rest day during the Tour, was positive for a banned substance.
Worse yet, the violation occurred the day before Andy Schleck attacked Contador fiercely and repeatedly on the Col du Tourmalet. Contador withstood every test, as Andy noted in that evening’s interview:
I changed rhythm and I tried everything but I think we’re on the same level on the climbs. … I tried to find out how he was feeling. You need to look at someone to see how he was coping. I think you can find out a lot if you look someone in the eyes. He didn’t have the sunglasses on today so it was possible to see, that’s why I looked so many times. But he always looked good and that’s kind of what killed me. … El Pistolero [Contador] is strong, huh? I could not drop him. He was always there. I wanted to find out if he was getting weak but he didn’t succumb. He even attacked me to show, ‘Hey, listen young boy, I’m still here! You better stop playing these games with me.’
So, wow, and…
Yay! Andy won the Tour!
Not so fast. (more…)
23 September 2010
What was behind the big protest?
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…)
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17 September 2010
A little late to the big protest
I tell you what, let’s forget the fact that you’re coming a little late to the party and embrace the fact that you showed up at all. *
I like a good protest as much as your average expat — much more, probably. Yesterday’s demonstration in Luxembourg’s center promised to be a big one. At the end of July, after Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced his intention to go ahead with budget reforms over the protests of unions and other groups, those disregarded organizations announced the September protest. So I noted 16 September, 5:30pm, on my calendar and started reading the politics section of the newspaper more carefully.
Protests in Dublin, while I was there, could be large or small, but they were always long. As in the US, they usually took about an hour to get warmed up. So, at about 6:15 yesterday, I walked to Place Clairefontaine to snap a few photos and to learn how to dissent publicly in the Luxembourgish style. I wanted to met Anita for the walk back home, so I thought, “Boy, this timing worked out perfectly!”
Here’s what I found on Place Clairefontaine. (more…)