#17: National Day

Hey everyone! It's been a while, and what better way to start up the blog again than to tell you about one of my craziest weekends? As you can imagine, those of us who aren't from Luxembourg don't always know much about festivals or traditions. But one that we've all known about for months is National Day, or as we called it The Duke's Birthday. We found out about it months ago and people were telling us "essentially the country shuts down for a day and everyone just parties". That sounds pretty amazing, right? So we all marked our calenders and patiently waited for the weekend to come. Months in advance, remember.

Well my friend Rita who is studying in Germany had been wanting to visit for a while, and so naturally I told her she needed to come this particular weekend. I couldn't think of a better time to first visit a country than when it's getting ready for the biggest party of the year. Her trip here had a few hiccups, and she ended up waiting/trying to find me at the Esch train station for close to an hour. I felt awful, but I think I was quickly forgiven after some food and time to relax. My apartment then initiated her into Esch life by taking her to Pitcher. We had to do it right, of course.

The next day we explored pretty much all of Luxembourg City. Wandering from the Grund to the Golden Lady and stopping at the Chocolate House in between. But Sunday was when the real party started. We went to the deer park in Esch, you know starting off the day light, then met up with my apartment mates to...partake in the spirits. And let's just say a lot of spirits were partaken in, but it's all in the spirit of fun. When we made it to the city, it was already pretty full of people, more people than I'd seen my whole time here! As more spirits were taken and the sun went down, it was like the whole country was packed into this particular city. For me, it was a pretty amazing feeling.

This is an actual picture from National Day 2014. This was over by the Golden Lady though, I was on a different side of the city, but just imagine this all over. Oy vey!

Then we saw fireworks starting. So we tried to wander down to get a better view. Well, so did the other thousand people there. For all of the 10 minute show (what kind of fireworks show only lasts for 10 minutes?) we were lodged between strangers and were unable to move. Rita was not a fan, to say the least. Eventually though we found a little crevice to sneak through and managed to find our group of friends again. By this point the streets were turned in a giant club. There were lights going, DJs spinning, people dancing, and beach balls flying through the air. It was just crazy!

Next we wandered into a little bar to watch the U.S. game. Well this game, if you don't remember, was against Portugal. Also, if you don't know, there are a lot of Portuguese people in Luxembourg. So this bar had about 6 people cheering for the U.S. and the rest rooting for Portugal. It was a pretty crazy atmosphere! We ended in a draw and got out of there peacefully. A portion of our group was taking the draw pretty hard, but I was still focused on the giant party going on around us. So we danced for a while until we realized how exhausted we were then took a special 3 am train home. Side note: I wish this train always existed...it would make my life so much easier lol.

After an interesting trip home (filled with drunk people having a blast, and others being less than friendly) we made it back to my place around 4:30. Rita and I then feasted on left overs and ice cream cake. It was a pretty good end to a night full of adventures.The next day we got up a tad late, wandered into Luxembourg City to explore and then spent a bit of time in Remich to relax by the river.

It was a great weekend, and if you're in Luxembourg around the time of National Day, do not pass up the opportunity, it's a totally different world. I had a great time and got to share it with a friend from back home, what more could I ask for?

#16: A Saturday Away - Brussels, Belgium

Here’s a story I’ve been forgetting to write about, my trip to Brussels! As I said in my last ‘Saturday Away’ post, one of my flat mates and I have been coming to the realization that we’re going to be leaving soon. So the answer to this problem is to get the most out of our remaining time as possible. To solve this we planned a few trips to keep the excitement flowing and to see more and more of Europe. For this day trip we decided to make a trip to Brussels, Belgium. 

We had to get up earlier this time because the trip to Belgium was about 3 hours. So we figured to get to most bang for our buck, we should get up early and head out as soon as possible. So after a quick run to the train station, we were off. The train to Belgium was so comfortable, which was great because all we wanted to do was sleep the whole way there. That plan worked like a charm and soon enough we were making our way out of the train station and onto the street.

The first thing we saw when we began our walk was a huge church, and as you may or may not remember my flat mate loves churches, so off we went. It was so lovely, and it was a nice way to start the day. As we walked around the front an older couple asked us to take their picture, and we ran into a bit of a language standoff. First the woman asked us Spanish, then my flat mate answered in English, I responded in Spanish, and her husband thanked us in French. So many languages, so little time.

Our strategy for this trip was to just wander and see what we found (though we did have a list of popular places at our disposal). The city was so stunning, it really was a beautiful place. As you probably already know, Belgium is famous for its chocolate, so both of us were bound and determined to get chocolates for our families, and get some waffles. We were told to go to one area to buy chocolates, and on our search we found a cool place that sold all kinds of chocolates. As we continued walking, we realized that the place we found before was the right place and we were on a bit of a wild goose chase. It was alright though because we found a thrift store that was selling clothes based on their weight. That would have been so cool, but it was mostly jean jackets, acid washed jeans, and 90’s windbreakers. Sadly, I wasn’t going to be able to pull any of those things off. Also on our journey we met a guy who'd been to Wisconsin and knew the Green Bay Packers, now that's what I'm talking about!

And don't you go thinking we didn't get those waffles. We actually ended up getting waffles twice that day, at a fancy place, and at a street shop that was recommended to us. Both were great, but the street shop was the best place ever. But I ended up accidentally dropping that waffles on my shirt. So there I stood with a hand covered in chocolate and my shirt covered in chocolate, gah! Luckily though I had a tank top underneath...which I spilled on as well. But ah-ha! I had a scarf in my purse, problem solved.   

My flat mate and I traveled all over the city visiting all kinds of tourist attractions, from Manneken Pis (I’m not sure why everyone loves it, but you have to go see it, you just have to) to the Atomium. We spent our last moments in the Square Royal listening to the jazz festival. On the train ride home, we even met some Americans who were traveling around to see WWII memorials. It wasn’t until we got home that we were told we committed a deadly sin by not trying Belgian beer, but I guess that’s just one more reason to go back.

#15: Odd Groceries

One of the oddest things that I’ve gotten used to around here is the grocery store. Not that I usually find grocery stores confusing, but there are a few things here that are just a bit strange to me. And for your entertainment I would love to talk about it and bring you into my world.

First of all, milk is not quite the same here. Milk is sold near the refrigerated section, note that I said near not in. Milk isn’t refrigerated in the stores. That was the first thing that was so weird to me. How doesn’t your milk spoil, Europe? I guess its processed in a different way…and it tastes different, which is sad. I can’t wait to get home and have a giant glass of milk. It’s also sold in little square cartons, whereas I’m used to large plastic jugs. I suppose that part is fine, I’m just not over the taste. Eggs are also sold near the refrigerated section, not in it. So odd.

Second on my list of shocking things in packaged beverages. If you’ve been to Europe then you’ve seen drinks are sold in liter sizes, and that’s pretty big. It was a little shocking to see for me, but I adapted to that change pretty quickly. The one thing that is still odd to me is being able to take a drink out of the plastic package. Ok so in the U.S. packages of bottled water come in packs of 6 or 12 and so on. That means if you want to buy it, you have to buy the whole pack or go to the front of the store and buy a single one out of the cooler. Here that’s not the case, if you want a drink you can open up the plastic casing and take a soda and pay for it individually. That’s a big no-no back home, I would get in trouble for that. The first time I saw this happen I was a bit shocked, and I had to ask and make sure it was ok for me to take a single drink. Again, so odd.

Lastly, what is American sauce? In the grocery stores there is this sauce sold near the ketchup and mayo (by the way, Europeans seem to really like mayo. Like when you buy fries you’re asked if you want mayo for them…ick). “American sauce” is orange and its pretty good, but I have no idea what it is. I’ve never seen it in America, I’ve never had it served on a burger (like I have here), and I have no idea who determined that this was an American thing. I’m sorry Europe, but you are being lied to! I don’t know the origins of this sauce, but from an American, I’m a bit suspicious.

(Here's a picture for you fellow Americans. Can you please confirm that you've never seen this sold back home? I'm not losing my mind, right?)

But it's not all so strange. One thing I really love is that croissants are sold in grocery stores. Every European would yell at me for buying them in grocery stores instead of going to a bakery, and I would agree, but its just so convenient and they are so good. Also, there is a small "American" section in a few grocery stores that are kind of nice. They usually just contain a few things like peanut butter and maple syrup. The peanut butter here isn't as sweet as the stuff you buy back home, but it has helped me with my cravings for PB&J's so I don't mind. I haven't tried the syrup yet, but just the thought of it makes me pancakes. Someone take me out for breakfast when I get home!

Side note: waffles are considered desserts here, I'm not complaining though. A chocolate covered waffle is such a good treat.