Vianden Castle, and a regular house today.

Vianden Castle, Luxembourg










Home, Luxembourg.



We saw many castles as we drove around, then chose Vianden for lunch - the town is post-card quaint, and the castle is beautifully restored. We sat at leisure just below the castle, and watched all the bikers who also happened along. For a site on the castles in Luxembourg, see www.luxembourg.co.uk/vianden.

Castles anywhere:  originated for defense. Choose any castle anywhere for a time of refreshment and watching the world. Luxembourg is a favorite spot for bikers - big machines on those winding roads, so be careful going around corners. Big boots stomping in the pubs for lunch. Pubs are best for inexpensive, fresh food, smaller portions than restaurants, and faster.

Home, Luxembourg

Regular modern houses: Orderly, and all very tidy. Is this a country where people are on time? T
hey seem very organized.

Luxembourg Black Pudding - and other 4-star cuisine - Michelin

Some people want to know what they are eating. Here is a fine site for Luxembourg cooking. We found delicious Black Pudding, a specialized sausage that gets its name from a particular ingredient, which is why it is also called Blood Pudding. It is a practical use for that ingredient, also found in other countries, especially the British Isles, and Germany. Look under the meat dishes here, just scroll down at www.luxembourg.co.uk/recipes. Tiny country, big taste.

For a fast look at how to make Black Pudding, in case the topic is new, following here is an ingredient list. These are similar to the ingredients in hot dogs, both are sausages, but the texture and combinations are different. Black pudding is crumbly often. Chewy. Hot dogs look like pureed ingredients were used, and far too pink for cooked meat, so coloring is there. A far-too-chipper account is at www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/hotdog.asp. Sounds like we should eat them every day. Is this sponsored by a hot-dog promotion council? This next site at least notes that recipes for hot dogs usually don't include the preservatives, coloring and sodium nitrate in store-bought dogs. See home.howstuffworks.com/question177. And how do the chemicals interact - well, you know.

In the United Kingdom (Scotland, England, Ireland), they use oatmeal in the Black Pudding, among other inside things. Check the list at.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_blackpudding.

For Luxembourg, they use bread. You can make "treipen" this way. There is an accent over the first "e" - looks like an accent grave (accent grave slants forward, to the grave; accent aigu points back to you, I recall from early French classes):

Assemble: pork head, lungs, kidney and tongue; cabbages, onions, dry bread, salt, pepper, herbs a bone grinder, pig's blood, casings (natural). For all the instructions, go to www.luxembourg.co.uk/recipes. Then do a cookbook for us all on worldwide sausages.

Luxembourg eating out. Twelve Michelin stars for nine restaurants, says this site: www.visitluxembourg.lu/prof-en-18-230.

We eat humbly abroad, maybe one or two real tablecloth places per trip, and they have always been memorable. We dress up (put on the other pair of trousers) and hob-nob. Hobnobbing is a kind of "chumminess" with "hob and nob" appearing about 1763, says this Bartleby site, a dictionary: www.bartleby.com/61/84/H0228400. How I wish I could do a direct link for that to you. Fun is lost when time gaps intervene.