Treasures from the brocante - Thank you MJP!

You guys I can't believe it's been two years since I've last posted on this blog. Thank you so, so much if you manage to find somehow this post and give me some feedback. 

So the story is simple, really. 

It's Spring time here in Arlonia (for the readers of this blog who just come to join me, Arlonia is some bits of Luxembourg, some bits of Belgium, some bits of France and some bits of Germany and the Netherlands, I could as well call it the Grande Region or the Greater Region or Benelux and France and Germany, but Arlonia, to me, sounds nicer) and the brocante (brocante is similar to thrift market, car boot sale, garage sale, second hand market, flea market, but it is the word in French) season is open. Usually in Arlonia the brocante season starts in March and finishes in October, so during the warmer months each city or town picks a Sunday to do a brocante. Don't ask me the rules of a brocante cause I don't know, who could sell, what could be sold, but what I know is that almost every Sunday there is a brocante somewhere in Arlonia. 

I stumbled on this particular brocante by pure chance, cause I was acting as a guide for some guests, we were visiting Luxembourg and in Knuedler there was this brocante. I think the guests are important as well for this particular story, because the ladies are experts in wooden furniture and craft objects and in textiles from a prestigious museum in Romania, the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu.

And as we were walking, debating what to buy and, most importantly, what to do with what we bought, my eyes fell on a cardboard box with old textiles. I always love to look through old textiles, most of them hand made.

I first saw the year, exactly 30 years older than me, and then I've examined the object. It was 5 euro, but only if you do hand embroidery or hand stitching you can quantify the amount of work that went into producing this tiny object. It is embroidered, it has lace, the cloth is prepared with hems and stitched in the shape of a pouch or maybe a pillowcase.

To me it looks like a school project.

So 4 years after the war, MJP (I like to thing it was Marie Jeanne) had to do a school project showing what she (or he) learned in the craft classes. It is well executed with attention to details, I hope MJP got a big grade on the project.

Now why did I say my guests are important?

Because the textile expert is not expert in regular Romanian textiles, but in Transylvanian Saxons textiles. And the Transylvanian Saxons used to write their name or just their initials on their clothes and on their houses and on their objects. True, this is a school project, the pouch doesn't seem to ever been used and the initials are there to show who made the school project and maybe differentiate with the others in the class, but what a nice coincidence. Moreover the Transylvanian Saxons first came from a region very close to Arlonia, way earlier than the war and 1949. BUT is still a nice coincidence.

NOW I do hope to pop back here again sooner than two years, I've forgotten how much I love to write on this blog and believe you me, in the span of two years I have plenty of topics and ideas to write about, so keep close.

As always, Raluca

Luxembourg - Tasting cheese and ice cream in a family owned farm - Petopia Event

Need I say it again, I love Petopia Events?

Not only we are young and we do not have children, but we also have a beloved dog. So for our demographic events are still countable by the fingers in one hand here in Luxembourg. Even more, our foreign working language is English and this cuts off a few other events that either take place and we have no clue about or just we miss because we are not confident speaking a foreign language.

Now I am more and more opened to French and I love German, but I do remember I was a pain in the arse when I first arrived here, and I thank my friend from the bottom of my heart for putting up with me when she was trying to make me understand that I do need French and I would not have it.

Back to the Petopia cheese event, from the first second I saw it on Facebook I wanted to take part. Luna loves cheese more than we do, she even knows the Romanian word for it (brânză) and whenever she hears it, she goes wild. And to be fair, she ate most of my cheeses.

We hiked for an hour and a half close to two hours on a sunny day like you don't usually see here in Luxembourg, I even got a workers tan out of it. After that we went to Schéiferei An “Dottësch” farm, a family owned business in the southern part of Luxembourg where we tasted six or seven cheeses and two ice creams.

We had a blast! I loved the hike, I loved the whole event, Luna was happy, we were happy, we met some nice people and overall it was a successful afternoon. If you look for freshly made cheeses please look for the farm.
As it happens here in Luxembourg, you have nothing to do for a whole month and in the same day there are two or in this case three nice events that you want to check out. So we had to leave early to go to a Romanian concert and later that evening we went to a local celebration in Arlon. So packed Saturday, but a fun Saturday!

I have to admit that I took the first three photos of this post from the event's page, because after the hike I was not able to move. As you know I am a Romanian vampire and I don't like the sun. But as usual a very nice and well organised Petopia event. If you want to know more please check their Facebook page. I wrote about the events we went to here and here. 

I hope you loved reading this post as much as I loved putting it together! Also, if you fancy keeping in contact with me, drop a line at Dichisuri.ro on Facebook.
Raluca

P.S. If you want to know how the dog bowls we made on the last event turned out after the second firing here is an unclear photo pf them. But they were featured in my Instagram stories so go there and check out how Luna uses them already.

Luxembourg - Decorate a dog bowl in Jane Barclay's workshop - Petopia event

I'm in love with Petopia Events and if you live in Luxembourg and you have a dog you should check them out!

Compared to other countries, Luxembourg is pet friendly. You can take your dog with you on the bus for free, you can take her/him with you inside the stores, on some restaurants and for the places where your furry friend is not allowed yet, there are Petopia Events. You can find them on Facebook and they organise this events which almost always involve a hike of some sort and an activity. We've been with them on a Castle Visit and now we took part in a Jane Barclay ceramic workshop. 

Almost always the events are organised in English, but if you speak other language I don't think it's that much of a deal. This time we decorated food bowls for dogs or cats. They were pre-made by Jane Barclay and we only put some paint on. I've been following Jane Barclay on FB for a while and for me this was an opportunity to get to know her and take part in one of her workshops. Since she lives in Dalheim, so outside Luxembourg City, for me without a driver's licence it would have been harder to reach her.

The Sunday event involved a themed hike, we went to look for clay deposits in the local forest and grassland, and then the workshop. For us it was a win-win-win situation. Luna got to socialise with other dogs, dig in the forest, stay in the mud and roll around in the leaves, Alin enjoyed the hike and took pictures with the new camera and I loved the workshop. I think it must be magical to make something with your own hands from some dirt and to make a living out of it... Tops staying in front of a computer for hours on end, I think!

I leave you with pictures and I do admit I stole one or two from Petopia FB event.

I hope you loved reading this post as much as I loved putting it together! Also, if you fancy keeping in contact with me, drop a line at Dichisuri.ro on Facebook.

Raluca

Luxembourg - Emaischen in Nospelt and Luxembourg City

Sorry I haven't been around much lately and I hope to get on track soon, as I have quite a long list of posts to write, but that's the life of a freelance especially when that freelance wants a new camera :) Target accomplished, so back to the routine, now. I have to tell you that video content is on the way, I'm now fighting the Final Cut war :)

SO consider yourself up to date with my life, now about Emaischen. If you are with me for a while you know already that I love local, rural, ancient traditions. As the carnival season comes to an end in this region, the Easter preparations begin, the burning of winter, the pretzel Sunday and Emaischen.

Basically, on Easter Monday when everyone is sick of eating too much or spending too much time with the relatives, in a small town in Luxembourg called Nospelt and recently in Luxembourg City, there is a clay whistles shaped as birds market. Another reason to go out, walk the streets and socialise. The bird shaped clay whistles are called Peckvillercher and they are popular among children, but this celebration has an adult component as well. Traditionally lovers would exchange whistles, there are folk dances and singers on the streets and food and drink trucks, so overall a nice day out, especially if the weather helps.

This year we wanted to check out the celebrations in Nospelt, looking for the more traditional component of this celebration, but we went to Luxembourg City as well. On a minus side, year by year this celebration is turning more into a street fair and less into a clay whistles market, even the whistles are more commercial and less traditional, more machine made and less handmade. Such a pity!

Nonetheless, we met with our friends and took nice pictures and bought a clay turtle and at the end of the day Instagrammers Luxembourg shared my Instagram picture of the birds so all in all it was a good, relaxing day. Here are the pictures:

Picture from the Pottery Museum in Nospelt where there is a collection of clay whistles from around the world. Expect a post about that museum soon :)

SO, there you have it, Emaischen in Luxembourg! I hope you loved reading this post as much as I loved putting it together! ALSO, if you fancy keeping in contact with me, drop a line at Dichisuri.ro on Facebook.

Raluca

The highlights of 2017 from my Instagram

I was feeling a little depressed about 2017, considering it an ordinary year when nothing happened, but it did happen, a lot actually, so instead of lamenting myself, I will turn to my Instagram profile, which I encourage you to follow (these days I find it easier to use Instagram than any other social network, I don't know why).

Trips

In 2017 we continued to explore the area around Luxembourg, visiting new places or rediscovering the old ones.

In February we spent a week in Brussels with work, but we did find time to explore and get to know the city better (FYI I still don't like it, although I've discovered some nice corners and incredible good food).

10 short day trips from Luxembourg

Hello everybody!

I am a big planner, but not such a big achiever so I will not bother you with my ambitious plan to write 12 blogs of Christmas and skip right on to the New Year's. I have no resolutions, because every year takes me by surprise, but I've come up with a new topic which I know you will like.

Over the holidays we had friends over and every morning the "where are we going today?" question hanged around the coffee ritual. And let's face it, from Luxembourg you can pretty much travel anywhere you want in Europe, that being one of the features I love most about this little country.

I won't promise to do other posts on similar topics, but I kinda want to talk to you about two day trips or even city brakes from Luxembourg, but we shall see. I have the attention span of a retriever so I do tend to lose interest quickly.

Let's do this way, Luxembourg is surrounded by Germany, France and Belgium, but I will include in my post Nederlands as well because it too is close and can be reached within a day. Another disclaimer, one day trips, in my mind, are the places reachable within an hour, an hour an a half driving from Luxembourg. What is over two hours it's already too tiring, cause the driving time is actually four hours... you get my point?

In Germany:

What I always recommend to see in Germany is Trier, especially if you are passionate about history and Roman times. In Trier, beside the beauty of the city and the abundance of stores at reasonable prices, you have the Porta Nigra. It's a gate which dates from Roman times. So if you ever marvelled at the Colosseum in Rome or wondered how the Segovia aqueduct survived, you better check out Porta Nigra in Trier. I always go out of my way to see it when in Trier.

Porta Nigra in Trier, Germany

Also in Germany, you have Bernkastel-Kues a lovely town with timber framed houses which is very Instagramable. You also have a castle to check out and numerous small shops, so a day trip will definitely put you into the holiday mood.

Luxembourg - The Christmas Market from Adolphe Bridge

I'll warn you, this is going to be a sad little post, because what can you say about the topic? Some pictures from a bridge. I've told you all I know about the Place de la Constitution Christmas Market and all about the Adolphe Bridge and these are just pictures I've snapped on my way to the railway station one evening when the busses were running late and when walking seemed like a good idea. I am positive that there are somewhere out there better pictures on the same subject, because there were two photographers with proper cameras and tripods and all shebang on the bridge.

I'm definitely waiting for Spring to come, for the sun to rise and the warm weather to be here cause in this weather Luxembourg is not that great. That's it boys and girls. I hope you liked my little article and if you did please do share it on social media and if you want to drop a line, you can find me at: Dichisuri.ro

Raluca

Luxembourg - Some Christmas window shopping

I was walking to meet some friends in town and I noticed the windows of all the big and expensive brands that have shops in Luxembourg centre. Agreed, it's not London or New York but they are festive in their own way. It wasn't raining and I've considered it a sign to get my camera out and take some pictures.

I did not go inside the stores, I just took a photo of their display windows. I hope you like it and maybe feel inspired to do one last expensive Christmas shopping before the big man comes to town.

That's it boys and girls. I hope you liked my little article and if you did please do share it on social media and if you want to drop a line, you can find me at: Dichisuri.ro

Raluca