Budget Trip to Prague

Our latest trip to Prague was enhanced by some money savers!

• We flew WizzAir from Charleroi airport in Belgium.  Discount airlines do not use our local airport Findel.  Total cost for both of us round trip = 133.96 euros
• To get to Charleroi from Luxembourg, we took the Flibco shuttle bus. Cost 5 euro pp each way = 20 eur
• Since our flight left early (budget airline schedules often don't fly every day), we stayed at Charleroi Airport the night before our flight.  Hotel for 55 euros
• We belong to the A|Club and stayed at the Ibis Praha Wenceslas Square for 4 nights (no breakfast, which was 11 euros extra)  Total price = 253.11 euros
• On our way home, we spent the night before at the Marriot for 45.94 euros which I thought was a great price for the Marriot!

So not including our daily expenses for food, metro and touristy stuff our cost for the trip:   373.35 euros

Top 10 Things I Love about our house in Luxembourg

10.   I have a gas stove. 
 9. There is a garbage disposal in the sink, apparently rare in Luxembourg.
 8. The cricket and rugby fields across the street where games are played often and when they're not, I've gotten some nice views of wildlife.
 7.  Rose bushes.  Lots of them.  Roses grow like weeds here.
 6. My fridge has water and ice in the door - score!
 5. The spa/fitness center is a 3 minute walk.
 4. Two bathrooms  
 3. Heat on the 1st floor is the floor.
 2. There is a nice, big oval bathtub in the upstairs bathroom.


And the #1 thing I love about our house in Luxembourg is....


    that it is in Luxembourg!

Soon to be an Expatriate

expatriate 

1768, from Fr. expatrier  "banish," from ex-  "out of" + patrie "native land," from L. patria  "one's native country," from pater (gen. patris ) "father." Related: Expatriated ; expatriating ;expatriation . The noun is from 1818, "one who has been banished;" main modern sense of "one who chooses to live abroad"is 1902. 

(from Dictionary.com)

Yes, that's right - I am going to be an expat "choosing to live abroad." The preparations are being made; it will be a month or so before we are actually in Luxembourg.  In the meantime - Berlitz language training!!  

American Military Cemetery

Unbeknownst to many Americans, there are 22 military cemeteries in foreign countries.  General George Patton is buried in the American military cemetery in Luxembourg.  The Battle of the Bulge was fought in Luxembourg as well as Belgium.  All over Europe there are memorials and monuments to the soldiers of our country for their service in both World Wars. 

At the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg, remains of 5,076 soldiers are buried, 101 of which are unknown.  My favorite inscription surrounds the mosaic on the ceiling of the chapel and reads:

IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THOSE MEN OF THE ARMED SERVICES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WHO IN THIS REGION AND IN THE SKIES ABOVE IT ENDURED ALL AND GAVE ALL THAT JUSTICE AMONG NATIONS MIGHT PREVAIL AND THAT MANKIND MIGHT ENJOY FREEDOM AND INHERIT PEACE.

Also an inscription set in the granite paving at the center of the memorial terrace from Eisenhower’s dedication speech:

ALL WHO SHALL HEREAFTER LIVE IN FREEDOM WILL BE HERE REMINDED THAT TO THESE MEN AND THEIR COMRADES WE OWE A DEBT TO BE PAID WITH GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR SACRIFICE AND WITH THE HIGH RESOLVE THAT THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY DIED SHALL LIVE ETERNALLY.

So on Memorial Day this year, please gratefully remember their sacrifice and resolve that the cause for which they died shall live eternally.

Luxembourg City market

Saturday morning was the Luxembourg City market.  In the old part of town at Place Guillaume, we bought flowers for our hostess that evening, olives, fruit, sausages and a baguette.  There were also cheeses, homemade jams and honey, fish, and lots of beautiful vegetables.

Travails

Ahhh Travels - some of our most memorable times have been the mishaps of getting to where we're going.  Usually I turn the wrong way from the start and spend a LOT of time trying to get either where I'm going or at least where I've come from.  This past weekend in Paris, I didn't bring the hotel address or map or directions, so we wandered in the direction I thought it was, asked a few times and finally made it.

Also, when planning the return trip every leg of the journey should be thought through.  Make no assumptions.  Here the bus and train schedules are reduced on Sunday, so on the way home from Paris we missed the last bus home in addition to missing one of our stops because the train made an extremely quick stop and the exit door in our car was out of order.  Even so, we still would have missed the last bus home.  Luckily, an innocent driver pulled into the gas station and was cornered and persuaded to drive us home.  People here are very accomodating.  Think about it - would the first stranger you saw at night be willing to drive out of his way to take a couple foreigners home?

Burning the Cross

Last Sunday on the way home from Bruges, we got to see a burning of the cross.  It seems to have worked; it is warmer this week.
From wikipedia:
The Burning Castle (Luxembourgish Buergbrennen) is a tradition in Luxembourg and the adjoining German borderlands, where the first Sunday (after Carnival the first Sunday of Lent) to make a big fire. It symbolically represents the burning of the winter away.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Here are the sheep on the farm:

Diekirch carnival parade

A parade should have floats, bands, baton twirling, candy and beer.  Huge double decker floats being pulled by giant tractors.  Bands of friends – not high school bands.  One baton twirling group.  Candy throwing…and passing out cups of beer from the floats.  Yes – every parade should have that.  And everyone in costume, mostly cow costumes.  And the floats should have huge speakers mounted on them playing the latest hugely popular pop songs and big cannons that shoot out confetti and a theme and be able to be rocked back and forth without overturning crushing the crowd below.
 

The market debacle

So the bus ride was timed for a leisurely coffee until the Tourist Office opened.  They directed me to the post office practically across the street from where I had my coffee.  In my defense, no big post office sign was visible.  Postcard stamps to the US are .90 Euros (over a dollar each)  Now to the market with my list!  A clerk spoke enough English to answer my question: “Do you take American Express?”  and weigh a few pieces of fruit.  Into the basket went spaghetti & sauce, applesauce, yoghurt, lemon tea, orange juice, a few other things and of course, a baguette!  Checking out, I whip out my ecologically correct bag just as she asks if I have one.  Ah – hah!  Aren’t I clever – less than a week and I’m almost in the groove.  But wait!  The market DOES NOT take American Express and I am shamed into spending all my Euros on only the fruit and baguette.  Certain that I was a few Euros short, I am thankful the clerk took what I had.  Hey – wait a minute!  Wasn’t she the one that said they took American Express?? 

Of course, the bus that stops is not the right one, but I hop on then off at the next stop so I can hop on the correct bus.  The driver & another driver buddy were making fun of me (I think). 

Living and learning in Luxembourg.

On the farm

The apartment is one bedroom, a nice size kitchen/dining area, a living room with a nice sized TV and a bathroom.  There is a bed that comes down from a cupboard and an extra cot, so if we have guests visit, there will be room.  It is dark when we arrive about 7 pm and we snack on a baguette with cheese with a couple Diekirch beers.  Betten, the village where we are staying is a couple miles from Diekirch, which has a brewery.  Most people in the area drink Diekirch in order to support this local business.  The owners of the farm have arranged to the wi-fi to be moved closer to the apartment, but we cannot get online and will need to wait for Monday.  So much for calling the kids to say we’ve arrived safely.
When it is light out the next morning, I step out for a smoke and look around.  One of the herding dogs was laying outside the door and went off when I came out.  Looking around, the only modern items in sight are a kids Little Tikes style slide, a small tractor with a load of firewood on the trailer, and a basketball hoop in the driveway.  That must be for the two school aged boys that live here.  On the farm. 
Looking around, it reminds me of The Princess Bride when the farm boy would say “as you wish”.  Or Everafter with Cinderella walking down the lane and being noticed by the prince.  If it weren’t for the slide, tractor and hoop – it would be so.  In Bettel or Diekirch it is easy to picture Belle shopping for books. 
We slept for 14 hours after our 24 hour+ day of travel.  Ready to settle in!  On the farm.

Up before the rooster crowed

The rooster on the farm across the road started crowing as I was drinking my first cup of coffee this morning.  The temperature here is not freezing cold.  There is no frost on the windows or snow on the ground.  The sky is grey, which is typical.  Today I will see about buying a pass for the public transportation which will allow me to ride the bus and the train anywhere in the country.  I hope to walk into town (over the hill and around the bend) after checking out the farm.   The wi-fi hopefully gets working today.  I hope the kids are not worried about our arrival. 

And a baguette

Having only water to drink and trail mix left from snacking on the plane, we have to go out for lunch and groceries.  We have omelets with ham and cheese, frites (fries) and small salad.  Coffee comes with a small candy or cookie here.  We get caramel on a thin cookie wafer covered in white chocolate.  I think it would be nice to save these to take home to share since they can have different treats at each cafe.  Of course that would be impossible, but it’s a nice thought.  Rob didn’t care for his, so gave it to me(bonus!).  If I wouldn’t have already eaten mine that could have been the extra to take home.  Or not.  Hey – it’s still a nice thought.  Now the search for an open grocery store.  It is Sunday and having been told by our friend which one may be open we find they are all closed  Luckily the shop at the gas station has enough and we get eggs, cream, sugar, coffee, cheese, bread and of course, a baguette.  Tomorrow will be a trip to pick up what other things we made need from the grocery store.  I will most likely find a market to pick up dinner every day or so.  And a baguette. 
I’m also going to try to find a baking or pastry class.

A Day of Travel

We left from our local airport late in the afternoon on Friday.  A big storm was coming through and our flight was delayed for de-icing.  It looked like we were getting out of town just in time.  Already people were unable to get to their destinations because of the weather.  We changed flights in Detroit with a 3-4 hour layover.  By the time we got a meal that would have been a lot better had it been warmer at Chili’s, went to the bathroom and got to our gate, the plane was already boarding.  That is perfect timing.  As is common on some international flights, the plane was not full and so we were able to take turns laying down in the center 4-seat wide section to sleep.  Before my turn I was able to watch the movie Up.  Well, actually I saw the little 7 or 8-year old girl across the aisle from me watching it, so brought it up on my TV unit.  I noticed a bit later that the young woman behind the little girl had started to watch Up also!  I wonder if the Up-idemic spread.  Another 4 hour layover in Amsterdam one gate down from the smoking area.  Now it is late in the afternoon in Europe.  After a city-hopper flight to Luxembourg, we arrive!  A co-worker was kind enough to pick us up on a Saturday afternoon and take us to pick up the company car.  Oh my!  A Mercedes!  I don’t think I’ve ever been in one!  We then followed him to our apartment in a farmhouse.  On a farm.