My first few days in Lux!

Moien from Luxembourg! 

I've been vacillating between starting a blog or not, but I know I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands, so I figured it was time to full send. I'm going to try not to do my usual "write under immense emotion only" and just do some more regular normal if less literary updates. 

Here we are- my first weekend in Luxembourg. Backing it up to this past week...

Insanity getting everything together to leave. No matter how much time you allocate, it never will be enough. Luckily I made it and had a few minutes to chill before the best Heidi and Grace took me to the airport. After dumping 2 giant suitcases, I had a bit of time to relax before the flight. My seatmate was an American lady on her way to Munich to see her kids and grandkids, and it was altogether an uneventful flight. I kept falling asleep before I could eat, but my new friend kindly nudged me so I could get dinner. I watched the Barbie movie in pieces through the course of the flight, as well as a few Kung Fu Panda shorts as we came into Munich. 

The Munich airport was AMAZING! I practically walked through customs! After getting situated, I found more food, began hydrating with water and soup (unlike all the Bavarians around me with pretzels and beer) and woke myself up snoring a few times. After several hours in Munich, I made my way onto the last leg of the journey- the flight to Luxembourg! Luckily I had the seat free next to me, passed out for most of the flight, and enjoyed a few different chocolates from Lufthansa. It was a cloudy journey, but the skies parted just before we began our landing. There was the most beautiful green land below me, and it was incredible to see. I have often been reminded of a promise a pastor's wife reminded me of post-cancer: the years the locust have eaten, the Lord will restore. Looking onto the lush country, I was encouraged that this is my restoration. Off the plane, I loved the feeling of fresh air (after more than 15 hours in planes and airports) and found I matched the LuxAir colors as well!  

In my jetlagged brain, I had totally forgot to request info to get into my temporary housing, but my driver was kind enough to help me call the lady in the UK and get the information. Once inside, I found the energy to unpack all 4 pieces of luggage! I ran across the street to a gas station grocery store. I found fresh pasta and sauce and marinated chicken and an unknown piece of meat (Google translate found to be ham), so there was pasta and chicken for dinner. 

Friday was chicken and an iced coffee for breakfast, before I made my way to the grocery store. Aldi provided the familiar layout I know. I may have forgotten that I didn't have 4 wheels to get home, and overdone the shopping a bit. However, one new giant grocery bag and 2 busses later, we made it back home with an assortment of clearance items, iced coffee cans, olive oil, some drinks, and spices. 

Friday night, a kind colleague had invited me to celebration drinks downtown. I met her, and a 3rd colleague and they kindly welcomed me to Luxembourg. They are both new to the company and Luxembourg, and it was the sweetest gesture to include me in a lovely evening. I was also invited to brunch with both of them on Saturday. 

Saturday found me living my best European life. I stopped at a flower market to bring flowers to them both, then on to Lea Linster's madeleines. It had come recommended to me as one of the quintessential Luxembourg gifts. I had them in October, and got to meet Lea Linster herself then. She presented me with a warm madeleine that was absolutely scrumptious. I was the first customer Saturday, and the cashier kindly gave me a warm madeleine, that went perfectly with the iced coffee I was carrying. One assorted dozen later, and I was on my way. My colleague asked me to grab a baguette on the way, and so I made a pit stop at a local bakery. Une baguette didn't get me as far as I had hoped, as there were three types to select from (I choose the one that seemed the easiest French name to pronounce). Finally we made it to a delightful European brunch: meats, cheeses, baguette, croissants and jam, and eggs, all washed down with piles of delicious coffee, fresh juices, and Keller sec (basically German champagne). 

Afterwards, I was graciously invited to join in a car-driving shopping excursion! We made our way to a local giant mall, set a rendezvous time and place, and split. After a quick lap around, I made my way to an Auchan. This particular location basically was a Meijer (a classy Walmart if you will). I happily wandered through the kitchen appliances (I'll be buying new ones due to the voltage) the adorable kids clothes, and then the actual grocery. The fish section had piles of fresh fish and a long line. There were at least a dozen types of mushrooms. I purchased more seasonings, salt, butter, and tea bag to supplement my Aldi purchases. I may have also stumbled across the Lego section, and treated myself to a Technic Bugatti to build. 

While we waited for the 3rd person to finish shopping, two of us got Starbucks. My favorite drink is the Cool Lime refresher with passion tea. The cool lime was discontinued in the USA a few years ago, so I happily indulged in the refreshing beverage. My colleagues very kindly drove me all the way home, and I was kinda out of it by then. I managed to stay mostly awake until around 9pm! 

Sunday was church. I made my way by bus to a church I had found online. It was lovely to be greeted by one of the pastors, who was from Louisville, KY! The pastor who preached is also American, and there was something so comforting about hearing a good American accent again :) After church I met a Canadian lady who's been in Europe longer than I've been alive, who was so warm and welcoming. I took the long way home, stopping to look at the Golden Lady statue and a few other interesting landmarks before the cold finally got to me and I went home. Also included was a pitstop for dishwasher detergent to make sure we could finally get the dishes clean! 

I'm so grateful for the colleagues who included me in so many things this weekend. I've always found the empty weekends to stretch so endlessly when you don't have people yet. I was very uncertain the European norms on mixing work and personal time, but I'm beyond grateful that they choose to mix those, and include me this weekend. 

Au revoir!