Finally, an Excuse to Go to Luxembourg
June 22-25, 2017
Kirb has had a singular dream since arriving in Europe. The thing he wants most - and has verbalized often in hopes of bringing it to fruition - is to be invited to a new friend's childhood home so their mom can make him food. It doesn't really matter which country; Kirb simply wants the experience of traditional home cooking from an international family. It's the sort of thing you simply can't buy as a tourist. It requires friends, and hospitality. And a mom who likes to cook.
Unsurprisingly, the one who made this dream a reality was our good friend Spritzboi, whom we met in Berlin but originally comes from Luxembourg. Spritzboi is the nicest human being alive, and he is always finding ways to make our lives more pleasant. He invited us to visit his home in Luxembourg for the Grand Duchy's Birthday, a national holiday similar to the 4th of July in the US. There would be lots of barbecuing, music, and fireworks, and most importantly, home-cooked Luxembourgish dishes prepared by his sweetheart mother, Colette.
Without having a friend from Luxembourg, we might not have ever traveled there. It's a small country, with a population under 600,000, and its reputation in Europe is basically that the entire tiny country is full of banks and bankers. Spritzboi, however, is not a bank, he is a very fun dude, and we were excited for the opportunity to be led around this new country by someone who grew up there and knew the ropes. A trip to any new country is always more fun when a local shows you around.
The stereotype of Luxembourg as a place of significant wealth was not particularly shattered when we arrived in the airport and the TV screen informed us how to tell the difference between legitimate and bootleg Lacoste clothing. Spritzboi picked us up and we headed back to his mom's place, where it was time to commence the first of many BBQs.
It was particularly hot that day, hovering around 100 degrees, so clothing was optional and cold Luxembourgish beers were mandatory. Spritzboi and his mom had pulled out all of the stops for us, getting a wide assortment of sausages from their favorite butcher shop, including bacon-wrapped Luxembourgish favorites "Blanne Jangs" and spiced merguez. After we had our fill of meat, we drank some Maagbitter Buff, an herbal digestif "exclusively made of exotic plants," and Rieslingspaschteit, a baked pastry filled with pork pâté and Riesling-flavored aspic.
We took the bus partway into town and got off early so Spritzboi could give us a guided tour. He showed us particular buildings of interest like the philharmonie and the National History and Art Museum, taking us along the edge of town to a large elevator that brings people from the valley below up a large, vertical hill face. We made our way to a crowded bar by the canal for some Aperol Spritz, the preferred drink and namesake of our Luxembourgish guide.
The streets of downtown Luxembourg City were packed with people and festivities, with flags hanging everywhere and music stages with live performers set up every few blocks. Every band was playing cover songs ranging from 80s classics to modern pop hits. There was a massive procession of people wielding torches marching down a thoroughfare; Spritzboi wasn't entirely sure why they were doing that. When the sun went down there was an impressive fireworks display from the Grand-Duc Adolphe Bridge that lasted over 15 minutes.
We met up with some of Spritzboi's friends and made our way through the crowded streets, where thousands and thousands of people were drinking, eating, and dancing throughout the entire downtown area. Luxembourg City isn't a huge place, so people in the local music scene all know each other, and a hip hop crew called De Läb made up of guys Spritzboi grew up with were performing on a main stage. The crowd got really into it, and at one point dozens of people were dancing while waving lit sparklers.
The next day was also warm and sunny, so we decided to take a trip through the pastoral north end of Luxembourg to hang out on Upper Sûre lake. To get there, the GPS took us through a stretch of Belgium. We weren't in the country for more than 5 minutes before we found a Minions-themed frites shack on the side of the pastoral road. Clearly, we had no choice but to stop for some fries and Belgium beers. We parked on the far side of the lake and enjoyed a nice walk to get to the beach, stopping on the way to make a horse friend.
Kirb stripped down to his underpants, like he does, and went for a dip. We sat in the sunshine and drank beers. There was a castle and we drove up to it but they didn't let us in. We found a place in the country for pizza and wine that wasn't particularly good. Then we went back to town and saw Wonder Woman at the cinema by Sprtizboi's mom's house. Everyone in the theater laughed extra hard when Wonder Woman was like, "Who are the bad guys?" and Chris Pine says, "The Germans!" It was a breezy, leisurely, lovely Luxembourgish day.
Each morning when we woke up, Colette had laid out a wonderful breakfast spread for us, dotingly preparing us coffee and making sure we had anything our hearts could desire. There were a variety of fresh baked breads, with a tangy, traditional Luxembourgish cheese spread called kochkäse, and a steak tartare called "filet américain" they get from their favorite butcher shop. There were also fried eggs, granolas, jams, the whole shebang. We'd spend the long mornings sipping our coffees and chatting, with Kirb always asking questions about food. Though the Luxembourgish language is closer to German, the cuisine (unsurprisingly) takes most of its cues from the French neighbors. Surprisingly to us, Colette said that the pride Luxembourg has in its dairy products, which are excellent, has roots in American soldiers situated in the country during WWII and the practices they brought with them from the heartland. She was equally surprised to learn from us that 16 million Americans had fought in that war; she had assumed it was only in the hundreds of thousands.
We spent our unhurried morning chatting and noshing until we decided to head into town and eat some more. At the café we discovered Battin Fruitée, a delicious alcoholic beverage perfectly suited for day drinking that was like a mix between a Belgian lambic and fruit punch. On the way back to the house we stopped by the grocery store to stock up for the BBQ we'd be having for dinner, and to buy a variety of pastries to enjoy with some late afternoon coffees with pomace brandy and grappa to sip on.
Spritzboi spent his late youth playing in bands, and for a decade or so his buddies have been in possession of a practice space in a sparsely inhabited part of town where they can play loud music and party until the wee hours of the morning. We met up with his buddy Dan the Drummer at his house, where we became friends with an adorable little pup named Echo and basically drank beer and pet the dog for about an hour. This is a dream scenario for Mazz. We then all made our way to the practice space where we fired up the grill and cooked up another assortment of traditional Luxembourg wurst. The dog's dad gave us Cuban cigars, we filled ourselves with delicious meat, and everyone took turns switching around on the musical instruments to varying levels of jam quality. As Kirb also spent his late youth playing in bands, he was overjoyed by the opportunity to make loud noises again with friends.
We had a light breakfast the next morning to save room for one of Colette's special dishes: homemade potato salad. Made with her own herb-infused vinegar that she steeps in the basement for a year, it was light and perfectly prepared and miles more nuanced than any potato salad you will find in the States. She had been slowly preparing it over two days, soaking the potatoes until they were just right, and you could taste the labor of love in each bite. For dessert she gave us fresh meringue from a French bakery, topped with what she assured us was the best ice cream you could find in Luxembourg City. It was exactly the sort of lovingly crafted and skillfully assembled meal that you can only get from a discerning mother. The hospitality Spritzboi and Colette gave us in Luxembourg made us feel like we were at home in a place we'd never been. It was exactly what Kirb had been searching for.