2011 Christmas Market Roundup

My dad at the Strasbourg Marché de Noël

I’m just going to come right out and admit it. I’m a Christmas market junkie. I love the wooden chalets, I love the lights, the festive tunes, the holiday bustle, the treats and of course, the glühwein (or vin chaud, depending on where you’re sipping it).

Last year, in addition to Luxembourg Ville, we enjoyed visiting the markets in Trier, Kassel, Bad Hersfeld, Strasbourg, Maastricht, Valkenburg, and (pausing for a breath) Montreux. If you’re heading to any of those for the first time, I’m happy to share thoughts or recommendations for all of them if you e-mail me at luxemblogger@gmail.com.

On tap for us this December: Köln, Brussels, small towns in Alsace and the Black Forest, Stockholm, Paris and Besançon – whew! (Something tells me that I’m going to need to borrow a pair of pants from Santa Claus himself by the time this month is over…)

If you have nearby markets to add to the list or any tips, recommendations or maybe a glühwein recipe to share, please contribute to the comments section below!

Joyeux Noël!

Time to Wine

It’s a given that the wines of Luxembourg are delicious: grapes for wine have been grown in this country for over 2,000 years, so, winemakers here obviously know what they’re doing. Taste aside; moving to Luxembourg last year, I immediately discovered two wonderful reasons to drink Luxembourgish wine.

First of all, wine is bigger in Luxembourg. Oh yes, you read that correctly: in one of the world’s smallest countries and the only Grand Duchy on the planet, the wine is bottled in 100ml bottles that are 25 percent larger than a normal wine bottle. Which makes your lovely dinner last about 25 percent longer. (Don’t worry, it’s available in normal 75ml bottles, too.) We’re talking co-operative produced table wine in big bottles here, but it’s tasty, crisp and refreshing and – to get to the second reason I love Luxembourgish wine – it is so much easier for me to recycle. Instead of walking my grocery cart full of empty jars and wine bottles all the way down the street, nearly a full mile, to the nearest recycle bin like I normally do, I can just skip to the grocery store two minutes around the corner with my giant empties. (Score!)

Alima grocery stores in Luxembourg Ville have a large, boxy green machine, usually near the registers, where you can insert your empty 100ml wine bottles and – voila! – out pops a coupon refunding the 20 cent bottle deposit that you didn’t even realize that you paid because the wine was so inexpensive to begin with. You can use the coupon toward groceries. Or toward more giant bottles of wine.

Oh, and did I mention that these giant bottles can be purchased for less than 5€ each?

(Keep reading and you’ll get a primer on Luxembourg wine, and a heads up on two can’t-miss wine festivals taking place in September.)

The 671st Schueberfouer (A Bit of History)

You’ve seen the posters up all over town; you’ve read articles in the news and on blogs in recent weeks, the program schedule has been released and finally: the Schueberfouer is here. It officially opens tomorrow (Aug. 18) at 5pm, though restaurants open at noon and rides are available from 2pm onward. This is the Luxembourg version of the summer state fairs you’ll find in the United States, but without the farm animals and without the deep fried pickles, Coca-Cola, Snickers and Twinkies. (Yes, world…Americans really have deep-fried everything.)

The Schueberfouer is a big deal. It attracts more than two million people annually, has been the subject of documentaries and a number of books, and is one of Luxembourg’s oldest traditions.

But like most things in Luxembourg, there’s more to the Schueberfour than meets the eye.

Sunday Funday: Women’s World Cup & Wine (July 17)

It’s never really too early to start thinking about the weekend, is it? 

(I didn’t think so.)

I just hope you’ve recovered your voice from cheering (or jeering) during the exciting Germany v. Japan and Brazil v. USA women’s football matches over last weekend, because you’ve got more cheering/jeering to do this week.

But, if football isn’t your thing, maybe you’re in the mood for a wine festival this weekend?  

Or, maybe you're interested in both? I am, too. So, read on...

Luxembourg National Day Events (June 22-23)

It’s the big day, folks: today is the start of celebrations marking the Fête Nationale, Luxembourg’s National Day. The weather looks a bit iffy at the moment, but Weather.com claims that the rain should move out of Luxembourg Ville by about 6pm…let’s hope their forecast is correct, because we’ve got a lot to do this evening!

While the actual National Day is tomorrow, June 23, the celebrating starts today with concerts all over town (and all over the country), a torchlight parade, a dazzling fireworks display and more food and drink stands than a merry-maker would ever need to make merry. Read on for the schedule.

Octave Procession (May 29 at 3pm)

If you’ve been in Luxembourg any time over the last three weeks, you’ve probably strolled through the giant fun fair set up on Place Guillaume II. There, you’ll find enclosed restaurants that have popped up on the square to serve fried fish and other items, you’ll find carnival style games, more sweets stands than you could ever imagine; and of course, the infamous Jean le Gauffre Luxembourg’s most recognizable waffle man, who is out in full force with a VIP waffle room set up for the occasion.

7 June Events You Won’t Want to Miss

If you asked me which one month of the year I’d recommend for visiting Luxembourg, it would be June, hands down. The weather is warm, outdoor cafés are bustling with customers soaking up the sun, sausage and beer truck season is well underway, the hiking and biking trails are full of happy people, and there’s an event on the calendar practically every weekend. So, if you happen to find yourself in Luxembourg next month and you’re in the mood for a Luxembourgish folk festival, a street party, a major sporting event or a centuries old tradition, read on for dates, locations and a bit of background…

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Péckvillercher (Éimaischen 2011)

My souvenir péckvillercher.

Easter Monday is a national holiday throughout most of Europe. But on this day in Luxembourg Ville, every year, tens of thousands of birds of all colors and shapes invade the city and chirp away without end. With a little human help, that is, since the birds are actually ceramic whistles called péckvillercher.

The celebration is a uniquely Luxembourgish festival called Éimaischen…a festival that I also like to think of as the official kickoff to sausage and beer truck season. (Sausage and beer trucks are common staples of Luxembourgish festivals that you’ll be seeing me mention regularly in the coming months.)

This year was our second Éimaischen and so far, the best. Last year, Nick and I wore winter coats and froze our fingers tasting our very first mettwurst, but this year we enjoyed loads of sunshine, much warmer temperatures, and the company of our friends Ashleigh and Scott, who drove up from Switzerland to spend Easter weekend with us.

Stréimännchen 2011: The Video Recap

Every year on Ash Wednesday, the town of Remich holds an event called Stréimännchen. It’s a celebration that marks the end of the Carnival season, but is also a ritual held to chase away the winter and welcome in the spring. Stréimännchen is Luxembourgish for “straw man” (in leap years it’s a Stréifrächen, a straw woman), which is what Remichers carry through the streets of town and to the top of the bridge that crosses the Moselle River and connects Luxembourg with Germany, where the straw man is then lit ablaze.

It’s a celebration that is unique to Remich and was very cool to be part of; I highly recommend adding it to your calendar for next year if you’ve never been. But in the meantime, here’s a show-and-tell to give you a feel for the event:

Buergbrennen This Sunday

The long list of winter’s end celebrations in Luxembourg continues this Sunday, March 13 - rain or shine - with Buergbrennen, a ritual that is uniquely Luxembourgish. Traditionally held on the first Sunday after Carnival, Buergbrennen is a giant bonfire that is lit in order to chase away the winter, so the spring can arrive. And aren’t we all ready for that?