Autoworld - Brusseles

A lot of cool cars.  The last one is my new dream car I think.  About a 1945 Ferrari.  Not exactly sure of the year and model, but definitely a cool ride.

The Men and Women of Brussels Past?

We are not sure who all of these guys and gals are, but they sure did make it feel like the old world.  All of these statues are at a complex of old buildings that house several museums (Autoworld, Military History, Ancient Art, etc).  We went to Autoworld and the Military History Museum.  Surprisingly the military museum was free.  It had a great exhibit of Russian military items from the era of the last Czar.  The Russian stuff might have been the best stuff on display.  Some of the exhibits were not open yet (WWII, Post WWII).  It was the first time I had seen some of the WWI stuff though.  All great items to see, but a little hard to keep kids interested. 

Brussels Toy Musem

Brussels has one museum that is open 365 days per year and is completely interactive for the kids.  The Toy Museum.  It has toys that were protected as well as many toys that could be played with.  It was a bit dirty, but the kids had a blast.

Off to Brussels - Christmas 2011

 

We rode the train to Brussels; it made the trip more of an adventure for everyone and cheaper too.  The train was nice and on Christmas Day it seemed like there were not too many passengers either.  I definitely recommend the train for future travels, but consult with the locals to determine the best way to buy tickets (i.e. children rides free, etc.).

Santa Comes to Luxembourg Too!

Santa came to Luxembourg this year.  I was a little surprised as I thought that he did not like Europeans (just kidding of course).  The kids woke up early (now I know how my parents felt 25 years ago).  They seemed to like everything that they got and were not too upset about having to leave there new toys behind as we journeyed to Brussels later that day.

Lychee - A New Fruit For Us

We found this interesting fruit today.  The all knowing Internet claims it is from Asia. Don't let that scaly shell fool you.  There is a tasty eyeball inside.

http://www.bijlmakers.com/fruits/lychee.htm

Spaceship Swimming

We went swimming today.  A great place to spend an afternoon.  Speedos required.  We had fun and with the speedos there was plenty of eye candy for the spousal unit.  Everyone loved the slides.

http://www.lesthermes.net/de/main/default.html

The First Winter Dusting

A small amount of snow started falling last night.  It is not cold enough for it to stick around, but there will be plenty more to come I am sure.

Christmas Traditions Continued

Buche de Noel

Belgian Chocolate

We are trying to enjoy the unique traditions locally.  Gluhwein (aka warm spiced wine), Buche de Noel (Christmas Cake) and some Belgian Chocolate are all some of the great things that they have to offer. 

An Early Christmas Present For The Kids

Santa came a little early here in Luxembourg.  We have acquired our first family rodent.  Lacey is what Carolyn named her.  So far she is very timid and quiet. Hopefully she will not escape the cage.

Holidays in Luxembourg

This holiday season is full of exciting discoveries for us.  December the 6th is the day when St. Nikolaus comes to visit kids.  For the first 5 days, before he comes with toys, St. Nik leaves the kids sweets in their slippers.  As we are learning about all these traditions, kids are having a blast with all these sweet surprises.

Another tradition is to bake a Boxenmachen (Man is the Pants). It is a sweet bread made in the shape of the man.  You can add chocolate chips, raisins, cover with glaze, powdered sugar or any other awesomeness.  I did not try to bake, but boxenmachen from the bakery were delicious.

Metz France

So we went to Metz France today.  It is about 40 minutes away.  The Christmas market is a bit bigger than the one in Luxembourg. We have tried some sweets.  There are several artizans that sell chocolate covered fruit (to die for!!!!). Carolyn and Ian rode on the carousel.  For the first time we have tried roasted chesnuts.  There is that song that someone sings about chesnuts....., so we tried.

We have also visited St. Etinne Cathedral (Cathedral of St. Steven).  The architecture is amazing.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2011 - Luxembourg Edition

Thanksgiving day we knew would be different since we are abroad, but certain elements were the same.  Let's start with the differences: 1) I had to work and school was in session, 2) Ian had to go to the doctor for conjunctivitis and the doctor was in normal operational hours, 3) We knew the oven would not fit a turkey (nor could we eat a turkey with just 4 of us) so we had a chicken, 4) A had to make several of the items from scratch because we could not find them in the store, 5) There were no football games to watch, 6) There was no nap to be had during the missing football game, 7) Left overs would not fit in the fridge, 8) We did not have to travel anywhere.

So now to the similarities: 1) We said thanks to GOD, 2) The food was all great (especially the home made items).

All in all a good Thanksgiving!

Shipment Arrived

We finally got our shipment from the state this week.  It was like Christmas for kids. I put the bikes together and we went for a ride this weekend.  I know it looks a little bit cold there, but the weekend was actually quite nice.  Mid 50s I think.

Cathedral of Trier & Other Trier Sights

Some photos from Trier Germany.  It is the closest town of any size in Germany.  There are several things there to see but we limited ourselves to the market, cathedral, and Porta Nigra.  The town is quite old.  Oldest in Germany according to the all knowing internet. 

The cathedral is said to have the robe of Christ.  It will be on display in April and May next year.  The last time was 1996 and there were over 1 million visitors.  We think we might go see it.

To My Loyal Followers & All Fans Of Belgian Ales

So I have noted from the Orval website that there are tours of the brewery in the monestary once per year.  In May one can make reservations for the tour that will occur in September.  It appears that I have found my first fall of 2012 adventure.  Below I have a link to their website.

http://www.orval.be/an/FS_an.html 

Old Church on the Sound Trail

Along the sound trail was an old church that I had mentioned in the previous post.  Below is a photograph, even though it does not capture the church in all of its uniqueness.  Oberschlinder is the most reliable name I can find for the chapel.  It is said to have been built in 1874.  Not really that old I guess.

http://www.ardennes-lux.lu/index.php?page=culture&id=749&lan=en&lieu=&types=

Hoscheid Sound Trail

The Hoscheid sound trail is 6.5 km hiking trail with various "sound sculptures" along the way.  The hike itself is a pretty difficult hike.  Several times during the trail I had to carry Ian.  The weather was great and we had a good time.  The trail was about 20 miles north of the city.  It gave us one our first adventures in "the north country".  Along the way we say two Castles and some great architecture.

The tail was almost abandoned as we only saw three other hikers along the way.  There also was a fantastic old church along the trail.  I can not find anything about the church online yet but it must have been very old.  It was small and not accessible by car.

http://www.klanglandschaften.lu/en/index.html

Hiking in the Forest

We went for a short hike today in the forest nearby.  It was only an hour hike and very leisurely.  Still fun though.  There is a lot of different species here.  Lots of moss, ferns, and other greenery.  It was a public holiday here: All Saint's Day.

Haloween Costumes

Friday Carolyn had a Halloween party at school.  Students were allowed to dress up.  Since our container has not arrived she had to go as a Cheerleader.  Anya had to make the pom-poms.  I am sure she was the only cheerleader at the school. 

Parc de Merl

We thought that we should try out the another park in town today.  Parc de Merl was the best park prior to Pirate Ship Park's construction.  It is still a nice park and as you can see it has a zip line.  Everyone enjoyed the zip lines.